Writing academic papers is not child’s play, but an inseparable part of students’ lives. Whether you like it or not, catering to diverse assignment requirements is a must as a pupil, including writing essays. You may already know the drill, and the basic rules, like composing a compelling introduction and an unforgettable conclusion. But is it that simple? Of course, it isn’t!

Many students usually hesitate to submit papers, as they’re uncertain about their academic writing abilities. They unintentionally commit one or the other mistake, undermining their work’s quality. There is no universal template to get familiar with the common mistakes when it comes to writing essays. We have crafted this handy guide for you by shortlisting the seven typical slip-ups and tips to avoid them. So, go through them to uncover all!

7 Common Essay Writing Mistakes And Useful Tips To Avoid Them

• Lack Of A Proper Research

You can’t expect your essay to be credible and accurate enough if you don’t conduct thorough research beforehand. To avoid this common mistake, explore different sources to support your argument, such as academic journals, books, articles, lecture notes, and credible websites. While undertaking your analysis on the topic, carefully take notes and keep a good track of sources. It will make the citation task ten times easier for you. You can take notes in a way that best works for you, whether adding bullets or idea mapping.

• Unconvincing Arguments

An unconvincing argument will undermine the quality of your essay and lead to a poor score. The reason behind it is usually a weak thesis statement and lack of strong supporting evidence, making the paper unfocused. Develop a clear and concise thesis statement that conveys the main point of your assignment. Make sure it is specific and debatable by including statistics, research studies, and other credible sources if required.

If unable to anticipate counterarguments and address them in your paper, request professionals to do my homework UK. An experienced academic writer will consider alternative perspectives and go beyond the limits to strengthen your overall argument. They will leverage their logical reasoning and critical thinking to make your argument sound and evidence-powered.

• Plagiarism

While writing your essay, avoid copying anyone else’s work or ideas. Read other samples on your assigned or chosen topic for inspiration and you can take notes from it. But don’t imitate their ideas while working on your paper. Add your personal touch to it.

However, you can use other people’s ideas or results for references using quotation marks or a relevant referencing style. Present thoughts in your unique style and use different authentic sources to avoid plagiarism. Also, stay aware of self-plagiarism, as writing multiple times on the same topic has the chance of copying your sentences.

• Inappropriate Referencing

Another common mistake students make is including inaccurate referencing, or even worse, no references at all. If you don’t reference a fact or idea that you used of someone else, it would denote your own. And if the professor finds out the reality, you may face serious consequences.

You must properly refer to a source document in your essay using a method preferred by your institution. Common techniques are direct quotation from another source, paraphrasing, or summarizing other’s material. Otherwise, you can cite the source of a whole document.

• A Poor Structure And Flow

Some students are good at brainstorming excellent ideas to make their essays argumentative and credible. Sadly, they don’t possess the skills to shape their thoughts into a logical flow of words, resulting in a poorly structured paper. If you’re also writing confusing academic text with a difficult-to-follow structure, work on your structuring skills.

Start your document with a compelling introduction that outlines a strong thesis statement and enough background information. Deliver your argument logically and coherently, plus ensure a smooth flow between every paragraph. Break down your lengthy paper into easily approachable sections by including headings and subheadings. Finally, conclude it with restating key points and thesis statement.

In case, maintaining a logical structure feels impossible, ask an expert essayist to write my essay in UK. Analyse their delivered text and seek inspiration from it on how you can improve your writing’s structure. Implementing this tip consistently will improve your essay writing ability, thus boosting your grades.

• Complicated Language

While trying to showcase your subject matter knowledge, you might use complex jargon to impress your teacher. However, it will counteract, as the overly complex language will negatively affect the delivery of concepts and ideas. So, control your temptation to use fancy words or complicated phrases and prefer easy-to-understand vocabulary.

Only include short and straightforward sentences, plus prefer active voice wherever possible to make your text effortlessly understandable. Lastly, remove unnecessary words or phrases, like ‘due to the fact that’ and switch them with simple alternatives, such as ‘because.’ You can use Grammarly Premium to fix complicated language within your essay.

• Wrong Usage Of Punctuation

Students usually pay attention to all aspects of grammar, such as tenses, and active and passive voices, except for punctuation. Little do they know that even a slight mistake in a comma or full stop can change the entire meaning. It hinders the delivery of the intended message, thus lowering down essay’s quality.

If you don’t want it to happen, properly learn the right punctuation usage. Don’t confuse between “it’s” and “its.” Avoid the overuse of commas and don’t add an apostrophe to plural nouns are a few punctuation principles. There is so much more to it that you can learn by carefully reading and paying attention to the punctuation used.

The Bottom Line

It is the dream of countless students to write and submit top-class essays. Many also make dedicated efforts, but mistakes pull them away from turning their wish into a successful reality. By keeping these seven common mistakes in mind, pupils would write better-quality essays and score high. Practising the practical tips we shared to overcome each blunder will drastically improve your writing skills. Once you master them, then you can learn about more typical writing slip-ups and gradually excel in academic papers.