Sample Writing Errors

Experience in marking first year students' essays.

I share here my experience in part time teaching first years at university. In particular, my experience in marking essays. One of the courses that i tutored in is LA 101: Study Skills and presented here are some of the writing errors and my corrections. The errors that are discussed and corrected are from the students major essay for the first semester of 2006. They differ very little from previous  errors that i had come across in students' essays since 2004. In general second and third year students' essays are less fraught with errors. The topic of the essays are not given. Only some writing errors were picked out and shared here. Not all the errors are recorded here , but only some to illustrate students' errors. I hope that current students may learn from these errors.

Sample Writing Errors and Corrections

Sample 1: Ommission of citation

A statement by the Yale Faculty stated learning for college students is based on two principles: the discipline of the mind and the 'finishing' of the mind. With the demands of technological advances and the increased occupational opportunities, it increased the need for educated people in a society. With this in mind, institutions have considered this importance as a potential contribution to students' persistence and success.

The student continued on without any reference to the author or date as citation. The paragraph is the view of the Yale Faculty on learning for college students. As it is,it amounts to plagiarism.

Sample 2: Generalisation

Alcohol is the cause of alcoholism

Alcohol is the cause of alcoholism  could be edited to be more specific, especially when discussing the causes of alcoholism. In the paper the student was discussing the causes of alcoholism

Improved: Prolonged consumption of alcohol may cause alcoholism.

Sample 3 : Repetition and lacking clarity

The theme " "My Instititution Is My Path To Success" is one or the other means that you are what you are. It means what you do now will determine your future.

Sample 3 contains unneeded repetition and lacking in clarity.

Improved:  The theme "My Institution Is My Pathe To Success" means what you do now will determine your future.

Sample 4: Repetition

It is a fact that you must abide by certain rules or number of rules or obey number of rules or guidelines.

Repetition is the problem with this sentence. Repetition is unnecessary and takes up valuable space and time that can be used to discuss more important issues in an essay. It is unwise to repeat any words and phrases just to fill up space in order to meet a paper's required number of words. Make every word count. Repetition may be used to stress a point and that is where it is useful.

Improved: It requires that one must abide by the rules.

Sample 5: Multiple writing problems

"It is better to be in the current and flow with it "(Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd,, Bungay, Sufford. Copyright @ Northcote PARKINSON. 1957, The Law of Delay, Printed and bound in the United States of America). This simly means to take into consideration a situation or happeningand with no delay find a solution or to find away out of the situation as delay can cause destruction, death, unsuccessfulness and regret.

The paragraph does not allow for smooth reading for a number of reasons. Firstly, the citation is not proper and distracts the smooth flow of reading and understanding. The proper in-text citation is (Clay 1957). The rest of the bibliographic details are not necessary because that is part of the bibliography at the end of the paper. Secondly, the sentence that explains the quotation needs to be improved firstly, to get rid of unnecessay repetition and secondly, to use proper choice of words. Edited into two sentences it now reads: This simply means to take into consideration a situation and with no delay find a solution. Deferring the task to another time may cause failure and regret.

Improved: "It is better to be in the current and flow with it"(Clay 1957). This simply means to take into consideration a situation and with no delay find a solution. Deferring the task to another time may cause failure and regret.

The source should appear in the bibilography or Reference List as:

Clay, Richard. 1957. The Law of Delay. Sufford.The Chaucer Press.

Sample 6: In-text citation error

"Most successful people have failed at one time or another - often more than once - before succeeding. But thye do not let themselves get discouraged. They perservered" (The Cpmplete Time Management System. Christian H. Godfrey & John Clark, 1989).

Sample 6 is similar to Sample 5. The citation is not proper and improved it should appear thus:

"Most successful people have failed at one time or another - often more than once - before succeeding. But they do not let themselves get discouraged. They perservered" (Godfrey & Clark, 1989).