Top 10 Essay Writing Don'ts
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This video covers the top ten things to definitely not do in an essay and provides some tips for how to avoid them. Plagiarism and disorganization are no fun. What is fun is that if you don’t do these don’ts, what you will do is write an awesome paper.
Essay Writing | Writing Elements and Process |
Language | English Language |
Transcript
Avoid sources that aren't reputable.
00:41And make sure to run background checks on your informants.
00:47Don't ignore your audience! If your audience is a group of your Facebook peeps, feel free
00:51to LOL and OMG. But don't try that for an audience of stuffy
00:57academics. Academic essays are usually black tie events
01:00for the written word... ... so you should probably go for a formal
01:03rather than conversational tone. Don't use padding. Padding refers to anything
01:11extraneous, wordy, or redundant in an essay.
01:15For example, don't say, "at this point in time" when "now" gets the point across.
01:23Don't say, "in the event that" when you mean "if."
01:27Once you begin the process of de-padding...
01:29... you might be afraid that your sentences are "choppy" or unsophisticated.
01:33However, padding removal makes your writing clear and concise for your reader...
01:38... so make every word count! Avoid plagiarism...
01:46... Plagiarism is claiming another person's work as your own. It's always a bad idea.
01:52It's fine to include someone else's idea in your essay...
01:55... but always follow appropriate citation guidelines to credit them.
01:59Disorganization is a don't...
02:01... Essays should follow a sound structure.
02:05Paragraphs and sentences should flow logically from your main idea.
02:10Sometimes it helps to begin with an outline or a mind map and plug in the details as you
02:15write.
02:16Just don't plug in too many details at once or you might blow a fuse.
02:24Avoid clichés. Clichés are phrases and themes that are used so frequently that they've lost
02:29all meaning.
02:31So when it comes to getting your cliché's graded, know that... what goes around comes
02:35around. Don't submit your first draft. "P" is for
02:40proofreading!
02:42Always proofread your work.
02:43Check flow, grammar, spelling, punctuation, awkward wording, padding, and embarrassing
02:49typos. Finally, don't regurgitate...
02:57...Your essay needs your words and input. Your work should be more than a summary of
03:07your sources. Follow these simple rules and you'll turn
03:14in a stellar essay!
03:28ARRRGH, we did it again...