Essay writing is a challenging task; however, academic essays are inevitable assignments of the educational journey in the UAE. We all know the basic rules and format of essay writing that it has a strong thesis statement, an evidence-based authentic body and an unforgettable conclusion. But do you think it is that simple?
We have reviewed thousands of essays, short stories and term papers of UAE students of all ages. As a result, we have noticed that many students commit multiple errors as they need to learn the art of writing an academic essay. We have made a collection of common mistakes that UAE student writers frequently make. This blog will teach you the best writing skills and knowledge.
Being a UAE student, you cannot avoid essay writing, but you can avoid the following common mistakes to ace your academic journey:
· Plagiarism
Plagiarism is deadly in essay writing; it is unacceptable no matter what! It is a severe type of cheating in academics; thus, no instructor allows it. With today's advanced technology, it is possible to detect plagiarism easily. While writing an essay, many students make an abortive attempt to copy others' work. They consider it time-saving and an easy way to escape from the burden. Conversely, when detected, this mistake adds more burden and decreases students' academic excellence. To avoid plagiarism, make sure to rephrase the idea that you are using and cite the source appropriately.
· Spelling mistakes
While writing an essay, UAE student writers often make spelling mistakes. There are a few words with tricky spellings in English language that are difficult to remember. To beautify the essay, students usually try to include those words but forget to check their spelling. It is essential to avoid spelling mistakes because UAE instructors expect their students to submit a proper essay. You can easily avoid this mistake by checking spelling before writing. Furthermore, an application like Grammarly can also help identify spelling mistakes.
· Improper punctuation
Punctuation is an integral part of sentence structuring. It gives your sentence a sense and allows the reader to comprehend its meaning. Many a student are unaware of the correct use of punctuation. The most common punctuation mistake that UAE students make is the unnecessary use of "comma" and incorrect use of "question mark" in indirect speech. Student writers must understand the correct use of punctuation to produce an effective essay. Therefore, before writing an essay, you must read books on punctuation to understand the pre-defined rules and concepts.
· Wordiness
A compelling essay connects with the reader and narrates the basic idea of the writer. For this purpose, avoiding information overload by using unnecessary words is integral. Many students in the UAE make wordy sentences to complete the assigned word count. This mistake makes their essay unclear and fails to grab readers' attention. Students should identify long phrases and try eliminating words with similar meanings to avoid this mistake. Furthermore, a single word can replace a long sentence, such as "unable to sleep", which can be substituted with "insomniac." Students can perform these practices by improving their vocabulary.
· Too many quotes and facts
A compelling essay includes evidence, such as quotations and facts, to justify your stance. Pieces of evidence enhance the credibility of your research and convince readers to accept your notions. However, using too many quotes and facts makes your essay sound desperate. It exerts unnecessary pressure on readers to agree with your explanation. Therefore, avoid using too many quotes and facts. You can identify the significance of your evidence by analysing its relevance to your arguments.
· Passive structures
Active and passive voices are two ways of narrating the message in academic writing. An effective essay can be crafted using the active voice because we use this voice in daily life; thus, it is easy to understand. However, students tend to use passive voice to complete the word count. Passive structures are longer and sound objectives, making poor connections with the reader. Therefore, students are suggested to practice active sentence structures when writing an essay, as they are subjective and narrate a clear message.
· Overly formal or informal tone
An essay requires a layer of vocabulary that we do not use in our daily lives. It should have a balanced formal structure and, to some extent, flowery language. Therefore, it is difficult for UAE students to manage the formal tone when writing an essay. Students sometimes use obsolete words (highest-level of vocabulary) that readers cannot comprehend. This gives their essay an overly formal style. Other times, they use slang expressions such as "gotta", "wanna", or "gotcha", which gives an essay an overly informal tone. Remember, never use slang dictionaries when writing an academic paper. Additionally, to maintain the level of formality, make sure to understand the level of your readers. If the readers can realise complex vocabulary, use flowery language; otherwise, use simple words.
· Wrong use of coordinate conjunctions
Coordinate conjunctions connect words, phrases and clauses to craft one complete sentence. UAE students often get confused when using coordinate conjunctions in their writing. These can be used in the beginning; however, starting too many sentences with coordinate conjunctions increases the risk of dangling sentence structure. The dangling sentence gives an illogical and distorted sense to your essay. Students are suggested to use corresponding conjunctive adverbs such as moreover, however, nevertheless etc., to craft more formal context.
· Misuse of homonyms
Homonyms are those words that have almost similar spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins. Many students in the UAE are unaware of the correct meaning of homonyms; thus, they misuse them in their essays. This language error reduces the credibility of their writing and their opportunities to get good grades. The most common misuse of homonyms is whole vs. hole, its vs it's and affect vs effect, to mention only a few. Misuse of homonyms can be avoided by looking at the origin and meaning of similar words. Furthermore, applications like Grammarly can also be used to revise your final draft to correct this mistake.
· Word repetition
Academic essays are supposed to be formal, compelling and credible. They must include a set of vocabulary to sound captivating. However, because of a lack of vocabulary, UAE students often repeat certain words. Word repetition makes your essay look childish and dull because it includes the same lexical sets of words. Consequently, students get low grades, even if their essays meet all the set criteria. Students are recommended to avoid word repetition by using synonyms and word substitutes. For this purpose, the students are required to improve their vocabulary by learning new words. It is suggested to learn at least 5 new words daily to enhance your writing skills.
Remember to fix the following grammar mistakes before finals to unlock your academic excellence:
1. Plagiarism
2. Spelling mistakes
3. Improper punctuation
4. Wordiness
5. Too many quotes and facts
6. Passive structures
7. Overly formal or informal tone
8. Wrong use of coordinate conjunctions
9. Misuse of homonyms
10. Word repetition