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Essay Writing Pitfalls to Avoid

Essay Writing is by no means an exact science.  Every student will bring to the process his or her own strengths, style, voice and perspective.  But there are some common mistakes which can weaken even the best essay.  By taking into account some of the following pointers before beginning any writing engagement, it should gradually become second nature for you to avoid the pitfalls of poor essay writing:

Avoid Composing a Poorly Defined Thesis:  Your entire essay will revolve around the thesis statement.  This should be the defining statement of your work.  If this is in any way unclear or ineffective, then the remainder of your essay will likewise be unclear and ineffective.  The intent of your thesis should be easy to pinpoint and explain.  If you find, upon review of your essay, that you are not entirely sure what you are trying to express with your thesis, you must reconsider it. 

Avoid Hazy Supporting Arguments:  One good way to ensure that your thesis is supported by the essay is to delineate three specific supports to the argument within the thesis statement.  These three supports should be considered as subject matter for the topic sentences beginning three supporting paragraphs.  This will allow you to distinguish each supporting paragraph with a topic sentence at the start and with a restatement of the thesis at the conclusion.  By setting such defining parameters around each support, you can avoid poor organization and loose connectivity.

Don’t regurgitate:  Though it is common for your essay to be based upon some literary or non-fictional text, you are not being asked simply to repeat the matter which can be found in said text.  Your task is to draw some interesting or unique concept from the text and explore it according to your own analysis and insight.  This should therefore be reflected in a thesis statement which orients your essay toward an actual construction of an argument rather than a regurgitation of the subjected text.

Eliminate flab:  Don’t crowd your argument out with irrelevant information.  Make sure that each statement you make has a purpose in the general construction of your argument.  Just because an assertion is correctly supported by the text does not mean it is pertinent to the essay at hand. 

Avoid informalities:  Essays are rarely written according to the way we speak.  Try to avoid slang, colloquialisms or addressing the reader as ‘you.’  Remember, you are writing a formal academic essay.  Attempt to present yourself as an expert on the topic which you are discussing.