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When I was in college I knew very little about essay writing. I would just start writing about whatever the topic was, without much care for the structure or the flow of my essay. I did always check for spelling mistakes and such, but that was about it. Now that I am the teacher handing out and correcting the essay assignments, I realize the long way I have come from that first crappy essays I wrote to get into college. If I had known then what I know now I probably would have gotten into a better college.

The first mistake I often made was to not accurately address the questions that were asked, if I addressed them at all. I tended to only respond to those parts of the question that I thought I had a good answer to. Or even worse, I would just write about all the related stuff I did know lots about, even if this was not at all what was asked for in the assignment. For the person who is grading an essay, it is all about how well every part of a question or assignment is addressed, and they really do not care whether or not you are very knowledgeable about other topics.

I was always really good at coming up with reasons why, or list many pros and cons on a certain topic. However, I was never very systematic in backing up my claims with good arguments. I had not learned the difference yet between quantity and quality. Little did I know that listing two points backed up with good arguments is much better, than just mentioning ten relevant things without providing any reasons why.

Another thing I would do is to write the entire essay in one go, start to finish. It never occurred to me to write a draft first, or to change the introduction once I got to the conclusion. Writing a good essay is all about telling a convincing, easy to follow story. Paragraphs are helpful, but if you do not use transition, it is still really hard to read. In addition, it really does not matter in what order you thought of things, or what your original idea was.

A final thing I would always do wrong is write a summary of my essay instead of a proper conclusion. The end of your essay should be used as a final statement to get your point across. You should try to persuade the reader, by either linking your conclusion back to your introduction or by discussing your points within a larger context. It is always good to mention something like the practical implications of what you are suggesting. I also like it when students end with a nice saying to illustrate their point.

My biggest pet peeve when it comes to students' essays is when they neglect to revise. No matter how great a writer you think you are, it is impossible to write a perfect essay in one go. Even if you do not need to rewrite many things, it is still necessary to at least read through it properly once. You always need to look at the flow of your essay, as well as correct some spelling and grammatical mistakes. If only I had seen the grading criteria form I use now when I was an undergrad myself, my essays would have been so much better.

Learn more about this author, Bridget N. Watts.
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