10 Common Mistakes College Students Make in Essays and How to Avoid Them

Writing essays is an unavoidable part of college life. Whether you’re an engineering or art student, it’s a path you must follow to complete your studies. Yet composing effective essays tends to be difficult for numerous learners. Find below 10 common mistakes made by college students in their essays, along with strategies to avoid them.

• Unclear thesis statement

A thesis statement is the pillar of any essay. It shows your readers the position you’ll defend throughout your work and the kind of evidence you have. Traditionally, it appears in the last one or two sentences. Unfortunately, many learners get lost in writing and fail to provide clear and solid thesis statements, leading to vague and unfocused papers. As a result, they fail or earn low marks. But this shouldn’t happen to you. Take time and develop a winning, concise thesis statement that reflects your essay’s main point. It should be specific and arguable, guiding both your writing and your reader’s understanding.

• Poor organization

At this stage, you’d think that everyone knows the basic structure of essays. But you’ll be wrong. Even at college level, many students still get it wrong.  They present disorganized essays that not only confuse readers, but also dilute their arguments. Imagine a paper that lacks flow, jumping from one idea to another without clear transitions. This is more common than you’d think. However, one of the best solutions to this haphazard approach is creating an outline before you start writing. Organize your work into introduction, body – ensuring that each paragraph has one main point to explain and defend – and conclusion. If you’re exploring capstone project topics, ensure a smooth transition between sections.

• Ignoring the audience

Even though writing can be a very personal and intimate process, the audience must always be considered. Unfortunately, many students make the mistake of neglecting their readers, leading to overly complex language or overly simplistic explanations. It’s advisable that you think about your potential readers – their knowledge about the topic and command of language – and adjust your paper accordingly. Be sure to use an appropriate language level, tone, and content to ensure that you communicate your ideas clearly and effectively.

• Inadequate research

There’s a big difference between an essay and an opinion piece. The former requires thorough research. You must not only consult, but also rely on sufficient and reliable sources to back up your essay ideas. This will improve the credibility of your paper significantly. Unfortunately, many students fail at this basic task, passing off their opinions and beliefs as verifiable information. To avoid this mistake, always consult the latest and most credible sources before making any claim. Conduct thorough research using credible academic journals, books, and articles. Be weary of sources that can easily be manipulated to further specific inaccurate agenda, e.g.  websites, social media pages, podcasts, etc. Be critical in your evaluation to ensure absolute reliability and relevance of each material before including them in your work.

• Use of complex language

An essay isn’t an opportunity to flex your command of English or any other language for that matter. While it’s important to demonstrate your command of language, don’t make the mistake of using overly complex sentences like other learners do. Focus on clarifying your points and being understood instead. The objective is clarity, not complexity. This means using simple sentences instead of complex ones. Therefore, if you feel a sentence is too long or convoluted, break it down into simpler components.

• Ignoring instructions

Don’t ignore even the least important instructions. Lecturers sometimes set guidelines to trap learners who’re inattentive. In 2018, a lecturer went viral for asking his class to write a 100-words essay on a specific topic. However, all but one of his students assumed it was a typo and submitted a 1000-words essay. Only one student passed the test. While this is certainly an unconventional example, most lecturers over-emphasize the ability to follow instructions. Therefore, if your essay requires a specific formatting, say APA, you must abide by it. You can prevent such simple mess-ups by re-reading your essay’s instructions before submitting.

• Weak introductions

Your essay’s introduction sets the stage for the entire paper. It can make or break everything. Unfortunately, many students give it the least attention, thereby failing to capture their readers’ attention. There’s a reason most writing guides insist of a solid introduction with a powerful hook. It’s more than just an audition for a highly competitive role. Us it to draw your readers in and synthesize your key points while offering reflections.

• Being repetitive

Repetition can make an essay feel monotonous and unoriginal. Yet, many learners make this conspicuous mistake in their papers. Restating the same idea using different phrases and words doesn’t make it more important or unique. It only makes your work redundant. An even more annoying problem is using the same sentence structure throughout your essay. Mix things up! Vary your sentence structure while still ensuring that each point adds value to your argument. You can solve this problem by revising your work tentatively, reviewing it for repetitive phrases and concepts. Don’t hessite to seize opportunities to expand or rephrase monotonous sections.

• Disobeying timelines

The perfection of your essay doesn’t matter if you submit it past the deadline. While lecturers are different, missing a deadline often leads to a failed grade or a markdown. Unfortunately, most students wait until the last minute to write their essays, narrowing the submission window as much as possible. While the thrill of such a move is welcome, it leaves no room for unforeseen circumstances, e.g. system failure. You can avoid this mistake by working on your paper early and submitting it ahead of the deadline.

• Ignoring feedback

Your growth as a writer is primarily linked to your ability to learn from your mistakes. Unfortunately, many students often overlook valuable feedback from peers or instructors after submitting drafts or assignments. This not only limits their growth but also gives them a false sense of competence. You can do better, by actively seeking inputs on your drafts. Reach out to the tutoring department, classmates, or professors before submitting your final copies—then thoughtfully consider their suggestions for improvement in future essays.

Learn by making mistakes!

As discussed in this short article, students make many essay mistakes. However, most of these miss-ups can be avoided through active learning. Each error presents an opportunity for growth. Therefore, embrace feedback as part of the learning process rather than viewing it as criticism alone. Most importantly, always remember that effective writing is about following rules and clearly communicating your ideas.