Common Writing Mistakes

Below you will find a brief list of writing mistakes that are commonly made even when the writer knows better. Sometimes students feel pressure to finish a paper to meet a deadline or are just tired of working on a paper for so long. Unfortunately, this is why we make sloppy mistakes.

Sometimes students don't realize the effort required in writing a paper and don't put enough thought into forming sentences in clear, concise and original language. Whatever the reasons, being aware of the more commonly made writing mistakes might help you avoid them. Some of these are listed below:

• Proofread: Just like 'location, location, location' is everything in real estate, 'proofread, proofread, proofread', is everything in writing a paper. Don't proofread just one time, proofread several times and, if possible, get someone else to proofread your paper too. Don't forget to use your word processor's grammar and spell check tool either. It's a good tool for catching easily over-looked errors.
• Write an Outline: Outlines may seem like just one more thing you have to do that you really don't want to do, but they will actually save you time and effort over the long haul. Writing an outline is a great way to help you organize your thoughts and structure your paper.
• Learn Proper Punctuation: Nothing turns a professor off more than papers that have grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Make sure you thoroughly understand the proper use of the punctuation that you will be using in your paper.
• Avoid Clichs: Relying too heavily on clichs to express your thoughts gets boring and does not demonstrate your original thinking. Better limit your use of clichs or stay away from them altogether.

Citation Styles

How to Write an Essay in MLA Format? There are many different citation styles, but the most common ones are Chicago, MLA, and APA. Within each citation style, there is also documentary-note style and parenthetical style. For more information on the MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles, we suggest the following links:



MLA:
http://www.library.mun.ca/researchtools/guides/citations/mla/
http://www.aresearchguide.com/12biblio.html


APA:
http://www.library.mun.ca/researchtools/guides/citations/apa/
http://library.concordia.ca/help/citing/apa.php


Chicago:
https://library.osu.edu/find/resources/citation-examples/chicago-notes-bibliography/
http://liu.cwp.libguides.com/chicagostyle