There’s nothing worse than scoring low marks for an essay that you’ve worked so hard to complete. So before you start working on your essay, regardless of the type of essay your instructor has asked you to work on, it’s important to know about essay writing dos and don’ts.
This will help you stay on the right track from the time you start writing to the moment you put the final full stop to paper.
Key Takeaways
- Use short, simple sentences to make your essay easy to read.
- Include a statement of declaration (thesis statement) in the introduction.
- Stick to the format for writing an essay.
- Do not share too many ideas in a single paragraph. Each paragraph should address one unique issue.
- Do not plagiarize your work.
- Do not address your reader in the essay but focus on the objectives while remaining detached and analytical.
- Do use this essay writing service if you don’t have enough time to write your essay from scratch.
- Do not start an essay with the phrase “My essay” or “In this essay”.
The Dos and Don’ts of Essay Writing: 10 Things to Do and 10 Things to Avoid
Here are the dos and don’ts of essay writing:
1. Do Split Up Your Sentences if They Get Too Long
Make sure your sentences are not blocks of words. A block of words will undoubtedly turn off the readers because they will find the essay boring to read.
So, make sure your sentences are short and to the point.
Apart from easing your readers reading experience, splitting your sentence will even help you discover sentences that can stand alone during essay editing.
2. Do include a thesis statement in the Introduction
You should include a thesis statement in the introduction to summarize what the essay is.
Having a thesis statement in your introduction also helps the reader to understand what you are about to write about.
This statement should appear at the end of the introduction paragraph.
In this section, completely avoid the use of complicated words since it is a point where the reader gets a clue of what you intend to communicate.
3. Do Use Simple Sentence
As you write your essay, ensure the language and sentences you use are easy to digest. Use words so simple that even a high school student can understand.
What is the goal of using heavy words in your essay yet no one will understand what you’re trying to communicate?
Just help the reader to understand you more by using simple sentence constructions.
4. Do Remember to Proofread Your Work
Carelessness, laziness, unprofessionalism is what readers see in you when you submit unrevised essays for reading.
Typing errors, grammatical errors, and small spelling mistakes can make an essay you took time to right look bad.
It is your essay nobody else’s so, make the effort to go through it.
Revisiting your essays helps you identify errors. Once you eliminate each of the errors, your essay will have a good flow of ideas and be very easy to read.
5. Remember to Look for Formatting Requirements
Before you start writing an essay, make sure you have gone through the formatting requirements.
Reading these requirements is important because it shows that you can follow instructions.
The habit of reading through instructions, before anything else and implementing what the instructions command will help you score high marks for the essay.
6. Remember to Use Your Candidate Number, Tutors Name, and Page Numbers
Before submitting any of your essays for marking, ensure that you have included your candidate number as your file name.
Remember you are not the only student submitting his or her assignment, and that means if the assignment doesn’t have a candidate’s number you won’t get your results.
It is also important to include the name of your tutor and indicate the number of pages your work has.
7. Sufficient Spacing
As you write, leave some space for the tutor to leave comments as he or she marks your work. The space should be on both margins of the essay paper.
8. Do Discuss Literature in the Present Tense
Always use present tenses when writing essays.
Adhere to present tense especially when the essay an assignment based on literary works. Present tense on historic narratives makes your essay more engaging.
9. Choose the Correct Language
Your ability to investigate and explore topics is based on the language you choose to use write your essay in.
The language you use will also determine how well and how easy you will explain your points and prove your opinions.
The language you choose to use also determines the level of your language proficiency and grammar knowledge. It is therefore important that you ensure the language you choose favors you.
10. Make Good Use of Your Time
A semester is usually 75 days or 15 weeks long.
This is enough time to prepare the 20-page assignment. Make good of the period to write an essay worth awarding good grades.
Our time management tips can help you use your time well.
11. Don't Give the Reader too Many Ideas in a Single Sentence
Having all your essay ideas in a single sentence means the remaining part of the essay is a joint of words with no meaning and is only there to lengthen your essay.
Also, long and too complicated sentences will confuse essay readers.
So sprinkle the ideas you have all over your essay.
12. Do not Plagiarize Your Essay
Never should you ever use someone else’s research as your own. Markers always disqualify plagiarized essays.
Readers also distrust you once they learn a portion of your essay is a duplicate from an outside source. In case you find a piece of information so important, give credit to the author.
13. Do Not Address the Reader
While writing an essay, avoid addressing your readers. Instead, you should focus on your objectives. Stay detached and analytical.
Avoid appealing to your reader’s personality and emotions because if you do, they will rightly lose the reading morale.
Essays that touch on the reader’s emotions and personality are as tasteless as water.
14. Do Not Open an Essay With “In this essay or My essay”
Of course, we already know it is your essay, so you should never start up your essay with such phrases.
Consider staying formal to the very end. Also, be careful about the kind of expressions you use in essays because some expressions might hurt your reader’s emotions and feelings.
15. Don’t List the Topic of each Body Paragraph
Although this is a strategy taught to armature students to help them organize their work better, it has a few limitations.
First, it will work well on short essay projects on an essay. Second, listing the topic in each body of your paragraph may not lead to complex points.
Unless you are asked to do so by the instructions, avoid listing the topic of each body paragraph.