Ten Common Mistakes in Writing a Personal Essay
Essay writing is a daunting task and every student knows the basic rules in writing an academic essay, beginning from the thesis statement and ending with a definitive conclusion. Is it an effortless task?
Indeed, it is not as easy as most people think. People still hand over their works to others because they do not have proper writing skills. There is not a single template from where you can learn to fix your common mistake when writing a personal essay definition and mistakes to avoid.
What is a personal essay?
A personal essay is a piece of writing that deals with the significant lessons gathered from an author’s life experiences. It is usually written in the first-person narration and describes the important events from a first-person’s perspective. It can be written in different writing styles like a formal essay, nonfiction, etc.
Ten Common Mistakes in Writing a Personal Essay and How to Avoid Them
Here is a carefully crafted list of ten common personal essay writing mistakes, including guidelines on avoiding them. You can become the editor of your essay by knowing these common essay mistakes.
- Ignoring a thesis statement
A thesis statement is a compulsory part of an essay. Most students forget to add a specific thesis statement in the introductory part of an essay. It causes a massive problem because a thesis statement allows your reader to know what you are writing about.
How to avoid it?
- You need to write a clear, precise and engaging thesis statement in the introduction of your essay.
- It would be best if you write the thesis statement at the end of the introduction to blend it with your essay’s body.
2. Repeating the introduction
Most students repeat the beginning of their essay in the conclusion section which is a common mistake when writing a reflective essay. The conclusion is not the place where you repeat the introduction of your essay by using different words.
How to avoid it?
- You need to include all the demonstrations of your essay in the conclusion.
- It should start with an engaging statement and leave the reader with some new ideas.
- Do not start this section with the phrase “in conclusion”. When the reader sees that this is the last paragraph of your essay, he will skip the entire essay and start reading your conclusion.
- You can end the conclusion with a pertinent question or intriguing quote.
3. Additional facts and information
Writing a detailed essay does not mean that you provide all of the world’s information in it. It can create ambiguity in the reader’s mind. You need to know something to avoid when writing an essay.
You should filter out the information you are going to write. To avoid ambiguity, write sufficient and concise information in your essay.
How to avoid it?
- Analyze the final draft of your essay before submitting it to your professor.
- Try to include only the necessary information your essay requires.
- Eliminate all the unnecessary and additional information.
4. Crafting a complicated essay
Many students create a complex structure of their essay. Using tricky vocabulary is not the quality of a top-notch paper. Hard wording can create complexity and confusion in the reader’s mind. You need to convey a simple message to the reader.
How to avoid it?
- Avoid using extra phrases.
- Focus on the central idea of your essay.
- Write precise sentences.
- Clearly construct your essay.
5. Poor formatting
Formatting holds a vital place in essay writing. The essay does not deal with the content only, but paper’s formatting is a mandatory part of it. If you skip the standard formatting, all of your essay will be considered null.
How to avoid it?
- Follow all the instructions of your mentor.
- Choose standard style and format.
- You need to focus on the paper size, number, margin and font size.
6. Too many typographical errors
The typos create a bad impact on the quality of your essay. You should not submit your essay before proofreading it properly.
How to avoid it?
- Revise your paper multiples times before printing it out.
- Look for grammatical mistakes and typos.
- Do not rely entirely on online spelling checkers.
7. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a curse and it is against professionalism. All the professors or mentors do not allow this. The rapid progress in the field of technology has made it possible to detect plagiarism easily within seconds.
How to avoid it?
- Only reference the source you are utilizing.
- Cite some examples from scientific works and literature.
- Paraphrase all the ideas you are using from other sources.
- Do not ever use a quotation in your sentence.
8. Coherence among the paragraphs
There should be a proper linkage among the sections because each paragraph contains a specific thought. The paragraphs should not look like two separate pieces of different essays.
How to avoid it?
- Use transitions between the paragraphs.
- Maintain a flow in your paper.
- Make a connection among the paragraphs.
- Use some useful phrases in your essay, such as: regarding this, despite, to put it briefly, etc.
9. Too many subjects in the essay
Your reader will deviate from the main statement when you include too many topics in your personal essay. The topic of your essay must target the main idea only.
How to avoid it?
- Stick to the question of your essay.
- Do not go away from the main idea.
10. Using irrelevant titles
The title reflects the content of the essay. It should captivate the attention of the reader. When the reader reads the title, he becomes familiar with what the essay is going to capture. If you use unrelated topics in your essay, it will leave a bad impression on the reader.
How to avoid it?
- Avoid using generic titles.
- Your title should be brief and eye-catchy.
- Do not copy the title of other authors.
- Proofread your title a couple of times.
