Unlike tests, essays do not present multiple choice format (when you need to choose between different possible answers). Essay writing is not strictly limited with time, you can rewrite it many times, and you can ask friends to read your essay. Use all possibilities you have to avoid making these widespread mistakes.
Bad Checking
Do not think you can perform a spelling check and that’s all. Read your essay and make sure there are no any doubtful expressions, bad constructions etc.
Boring introductions. Lack of details.
An interesting essay often loses through being the list of statements without illustrating them with certain examples. Usual cliches can be often met in essays: the importance of working hard and being persistent, learning on mistakes and so on.
Avoid your essay looking like that. Think out the intro that is going to catch up the reader, to motivate them read your writing to the very end and then to think on ideas and statements introduced there. Yes, that all starts once readers look at the first several words of your essay. Do not bore in intros.
Lots of Words
Essay is limited with a certain number of words, so you need to use that number wisely. Sometimes, this means to refuse some ideas of details, especially if they were mentioned before or doubtfully refer to the topic. Those things only distract the reader (listener) and darken the main idea of your essay.
Long Phrases
The longer the sentence is, the better: that is what some students think. Yet this is far from being truth. Long phrases do not prove the author to be right, and short sentences are often more effective. The best way is to write an essay where long sentences are followed by short ones. Try reading your essay aloud. If you feel it difficult to breathe in some moments, divide that paragraph into smaller ones.
When you’re done with writing an essay, do an exercise. Give each paragraph a letter: S (short), M (medium) or L (long. S – less than 10 words, M – less than 20 words, and L – 20 words and more.
Correct essay has the next or likely order of letters: M S M L M S.
Wrong essay can be seen by this order: S S S M L L L.
Do not overload your essay.
When writing an essay, avoid using encyclopedia definitions. Wrong usage of such words takes the reader’s attention, and lowers the meaning of an essay.
Essay Checking
When writing an essay, checking its first version is very important. While composing a draft, your main goal is: to find arguments, to polish your main thoughts and to put them in strict order and supply them with illustrative materials or supportive data etc. After you have written a first draft, let it lie in the table during a day or two, and then get back to work on the check and improvements.
When checking your composition, pay attention to next important moments first of all:
- Remember that an essay is a subjective genre, so the mark for it can also be subjective.
- Presented data. No matter what question you answer, you need to achieve certain goals. They expect you to mean next when writing your essay: “Did I answer the question?” “How clearly have I represented my thoughts?” “Does it sound natural?” “Aren’t there mistakes?”
Details
Everything you write in your essay has to be confirmed by examples, referred to your experience. Details are what make essays interesting, unique, and specific.
Features/Originality/Something interesting or funny
Experts say that you should not be afraid to excess allowed limits, it is better to be yourself. Graduates and students are often worried with the impression they can make, so they cut everything outstanding off their essays. Those texts, which students think are safe, are actually quite boring to read them.
You do not have to tell jokes in your essay to make it interesting, but try doing everything you can for them to be remembered.