Common Pitfalls in Essay Writing: How to Avoid Them
Writing essays is something every learner has to do. In reality, writing well is one of the most beneficial things that one can learn in school. It is, therefore, essential to avoid common mistakes when writing an essay. Writing is not easy, but it is part of our life, especially on school assignments.
Now, you are aware of how to write an essay and what makes an essay a good one. So, let’s focus on how not to make mistakes in essays. No worries if you are unaware of what makes an essay good. You can take the help of online essay writing services UK for help.
Everybody would like to avoid a pitfall. While we can’t prevent all pitfalls in life, we can certainly prevent many in essay writing.
Some of the Common Pitfalls of Essay Writing
That type of essay should present an argument, develop it with different points, and conclude by connecting the points and strengthening your original argument. That seems easy. But anyone who has written an essay will know how hard it is. The following are the mistakes people make while writing essays and how to avoid them.
1.Literature Review
A literature review is an essential piece of writing. It’s where you look at what others have written on a topic and compare, contrast, and analyse their views without adding too much of your opinion. It’s a standard part of theses and dissertations, helping you show what experts think so you can refer to them later without lengthy introductions.
But if you’re not writing a literature review, your essay shouldn’t look like one. Your essay is about your knowledge, ideas, and opinions, not just what others think. When a topic is widely written about, it can seem hard to have an original thought. You might feel like you must credit every idea to another writer to avoid plagiarism.
But even if others have said similar things, your way of discussing them and your reasoning will be unique. Make sure your point of view is clear without depending too much on other writers.
2. Repeating the Same Points or the Introduction
People often repeat the first paragraph of their essays in the conclusion. This means that the conclusion shouldn’t just repeat what you said in the introduction with different words. The conclusion is a crucial part of your essay and should not be ignored.
Avoid repeating the same points. Repeating the same points shows that your research might not be thorough. A good essay conclusion should include an interesting idea about what your essay showed or concluded, along with some new thoughts for the reader.
Pose more questions, consider more consequences, or end your essay with an interesting quote. Don’t start your conclusion with “In conclusion.” When readers see this, they’ll know it’s your final paragraph and the end of your essay.
3. Not Prioritising the Thesis Statement
Your introduction and the entire essay need a thesis statement. A common mistake is forgetting to put this important argument in the introduction.
Example of a vague thesis statement: “Students in high school should be required to do a half year of community service. This is unclear because it does not explain why high school students should do community service for a half year.” A strong thesis statement explains the reasons clearly and answers your questions briefly.
The right way to write a thesis statement is to say, “Community service should be required of high school students before graduation because it teaches them how to make a difference in the world.” This was corrected by answering the question, “Why?” The response is completed by adding the word “because.” Always ask yourself how and why before making a general claim about something. Always make your thesis statement clear and interesting.
4. Not Enough Evidence to Support Your Thesis
This can happen when you don’t have enough proof. You’ve chosen a topic and a thesis statement without enough facts to support them. Or, you might have focused too much on your own thoughts and opinions instead of using evidence.
Before you pick a thesis statement, make sure you have enough evidence and support. Many people don’t spend enough time preparing before they start writing. Then, they make use of an online AI essay writer. While this approach is good, there are some more things you can add to this.
Before you write an essay, make sure you have sources. Do not write an academic essay that does not have facts and information you can present to support your points. But be careful not to include too much information or too many facts. It’s crucial to find a balance.
5. <h3>Long Introduction
This is easy to understand – it happens when most of the essay is an introduction or background, and you never really get to the main point. For example, in an essay about the causes of the First World War, a “long introduction” essay would spend many paragraphs describing the context, the different countries, the personalities involved, and their histories. Then, running out of words, it would quickly add a paragraph or two at the end about how all of this led to the war.
A “long introduction” essay can happen because of not judging the word count well, but it can also happen if you know a lot about a topic and don’t want to make a clear argument. Avoid the lengthy introduction by making sure your argument is evident from the start.
6. Word Count
It happens both ways: when you have to write 2,000 words but feel like you could write a whole book on the subject. And when you need to write 2,000 words but can barely write a paragraph. Every student has some tricks for dealing with that, like changing the margins, font size, or adding/removing words.
But your teachers know these tricks. It’s better to write an essay that fits the length given. This means planning it carefully. If you don’t have enough points for the word count, can you add more details to those points? And if you have too much to say, can your points be grouped together to give an overview without all the details?
Or maybe your topic is too broad, and you need to respond more closely to the question asked to shorten your response.
Final Thoughts
These writing pitfalls can be fixed or avoided throughout the essay writing process. Planning, drafting, revising, editing, and submitting a final draft of the essay you’re happy with, one you’ll be able to put your name on and be proud to send to your teacher.
However, catching or fixing all those issues alone will be overwhelming. Thus, it would be a good idea to use help from services of online essay writing help UK, which are good. Essay writing and proofreading services are always available to ensure your essay is perfect.
Read More: What Are the Benefits of Taking Help to Complete Assignment?