Tips to Avoid Common Writing Mistakes

Most students don’t like writing essays. But since writing is the most common assignment at college, none of the students can avoid doing it. So even if you dread having to write your next essay, you will still have to do it anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to learn to enjoy the process instead of complaining about how much you dislike it? It’s not as hard as you think. If you learn to avoid common mistakes, your attitude to writing will change drastically.

Here is something you should know about writing. If you learn to do it, your life at college will become much easier. Learn the techniques of good writing and practice them in your assignments. Use them to your advantage. But first of all, learn what mistakes you need to avoid in your writing. Here are the most common ones (most likely, you make some of them, too):

• • Writing long sentences. When your sentences are too long, they confuse the readers and prevent them from understanding your point. Even if you are writing about something interesting, the reader can be uninterested in it because of these long sentences. So if you have a habit of writing long sentences, get rid of it. Or, at least eliminate all of them when you are proofreading your essay. Reread the long sentences to understand the best way to fix them: to omit the excess information or to divide a sentence into two or three shorter ones. Sooner or later, you will develop a habit of writing short sentences from the beginning and will not have to rewrite them all the time.

• • Choosing inactive verbs. Never think that it is okay to just use any verb you like. The best verbs to use in a paper are active verbs. They will help your reader feel the action. When you do not know which verbs to use, find a list of examples on the internet and you are good to go.

• • Using passive voice. It is better not to use passive voice in academic writing as it prevents you from stating your point loudly and clearly. Use active voice to get a command over the reader. If you are unsure of how to replace the passive voice with active constructions in some sentences, consult your teacher.

• • Forgetting about transition words (or paragraph). It is not good when a phrase or a paragraph just stands on its own. It confuses the reader. Make sure that your writing is continuous by using transition words and phrases. When you use them, you allow your reader to better understand your text.

• Failing to study certain words and punctuation marks. Learn how to use all punctuation marks (commas, periods, colons, and semicolons). Place adjectives before the subject. Place adverbs after the verb. Learn all these things by heart.

Isn’t it easy to learn to avoid these mistakes? Just replace them with good writing habits and the essay writing process will become much easier and more pleasant for you.