As a college composition instructor, I never run out of examples of terrible writing. Students still transitioning from high school writing habits have a tendency to write papers that all sound the same\u2014and use many of the same tropes and generalizations. I spend most of that first semester trying to un-teach many of the things you probably all had drilled into your heads through middle and high school, mostly for the sake of writing essays for standardized tests.<\/p>\n
My students always have a little bit of separation anxiety from the five paragraph essay when I yank it out from under them, though, so they cling tighter to those transitional phrases and cliches that they\u2019re so familiar with using. They\u2019re tried and true, right? They got them decent grades in high school so they must be legit, right?<\/p>\n
Well, unless you want your likely overworked graduate or adjunct instructor to start crying into their eighth cup of coffee while grading your paper, there are some things you\u2019ll want to nix from your go-to toolbox for essay writing. And, since I feel for those instructors, I\u2019ll throw in some suggestions for upgrades.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the dawn of time\u2026\u201d<\/strong> Unnecessary repetition<\/strong> \u201cI think\u2026\u201d<\/strong> Using slang or colloquial\/casual language<\/strong> Naturally, all instructors and professors will probably have different guidelines or requirements, so if they specifically ask you to do something listed here\u2014like write a casual, personal essay, for example\u2014then by all means, follow their cues. But, in general, avoiding these few little things will help you stay in line to write a better essay.<\/p>\n Some B-list suggestions here might include avoiding the five paragraph structure, not using the phrase \u201cas I stated before\u2026\u201d to reference a previous point, and trying to avoid writing a thesis statement that repeats the essay prompt.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s to stepping up your essay game. Happy writing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a college composition instructor, I never run out of examples of terrible writing. Students still transitioning from high school writing habits have a tendency to write papers that all sound the same\u2014and use many of the same tropes and generalizations. I spend most of that first semester trying to un-teach many of the things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14,10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-advice","8":"category-general-post","9":"category-tips"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/03\/hcessays1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":407,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405\/revisions\/407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIf you\u2019ve ever started an essay this way, go ahead and hang your head in shame, shame, shame. It probably preceded a lengthy discussion of something really general and nonspecific about \u201csociety\u201d at large, while using the word \u201csociety\u201d about fifteen times. Instead, stop worrying so much about having that wide, broad opening at the start of your paper. Don\u2019t hesitate to jump right into the point you\u2019re trying to make. So many of my students spent most of their introductions dancing around the point, and then shoving the whole point of the essay into their thesis statement. Let the intro do its job\u2014it should, you guessed it, introduce the subject of your essay, and act as a logical lead up to the thesis statement.
\n
\nWild assumptions and accusations<\/strong>
\nUnless you have proof that every human being on Earth believes a certain thing, don\u2019t use the word \u201ceveryone.\u201d You might as well go ahead and throw the word \u201csociety\u201d into the no-no bucket, too, since it\u2019s super broad to begin with, and therefore impossible to really nail down who, exactly, you\u2019re referring to. As a rule of thumb, if you don\u2019t have proof from a reputable source that you can cite in the essay, don\u2019t include it as a fact. I usually tell my kids to use speculative language if they absolutely have to, in these situations. For example, instead of saying \u201cEveryone loves elephants,\u201d you could say something like \u201cIt\u2019s possible that everyone might love elephants.\u201d See what I did there? I left some doubt rather than asserting it as fact.<\/p>\n
\nWhen my students are struggling to meet a word count, they tend to recycle material from earlier in the essay and repeat themselves. Then, when they come in for conferences, I have to spend a few minutes explaining why I don\u2019t need to be told the same thing twice in a 1,200 word essay. If your essay is on the shorter side (I\u2019d say 10 pages or under) you really don\u2019t need to repeat information. This includes your conclusion. Rather than using your conclusion as a place to tell your reader everything you\u2019ve just told them, use it as a place to leave them with a new or lasting thought. Consider your thesis statement, and the purpose of the essay, and think about what you would ideally like your reader to take away or keep thinking about when they finish reading.<\/p>\n
\nWhen I was in the seventh grade, I learned one of the best writing tools I\u2019ve ever learned\u2014if the sentence starts with something like \u201cI think\u201d or \u201cI believe,\u201d it\u2019s pretty likely that you can take off that phrase and the sentence will sound much better, clearer, and more straightforward. For example, in an argumentative essay, I could write \u201cI think there should be more consequences for animal abusers.\u201d But, if I drop the \u201cI think,\u201d the sentence becomes \u201cThere should be more consequences for animal abusers.\u201d It\u2019s assertive and straightforward. Then, I could move on with facts and points to support my argument. I\u2019m always telling my students to assert themselves in their writing. It also helps to take a step back and try your best to stick with third person point of view, in these cases. It comes off more objective and far more credible when you rely on outside sources and journal articles rather than your own personal beliefs or anecdotes.<\/p>\n
\nWith the exception of things like personal essays, it\u2019s a good rule of thumb to keep casual language out of your academic writing. If you\u2019re writing an essay about Middle Eastern politics, for example, you might not want to write it like an email to your best buddy. Your audience is going to be your instructor, who might be a graduate student, or a tenured professor\u2014either way, you need to elevate your language. I\u2019m not saying you should speak outside of your vernacular and use words you don\u2019t really know. I tell my kids that when they\u2019re writing for academia, they need to \u201cwear their ties,\u201d rather than their sweatpants. They need to dress up their language. This essay will be having brunch with the dean, not watching Netflix with your bro.<\/p>\n