MyCollegeSuccessStory.com logo

Key Study Skills Tools to
Achieve Academic Success


 
  • About MyCollegeSuccessStory
  • Student Success Stories
  • Study Skills Book
  • Academic Success Tools
  • Academic Bookstore

MyCollegeSuccessStory.com:
Empowering Academic, College, and Career Success

 


 

The Top 15 Student Writing Flaws That Can Lead to Lower Grades

 

A review of the top 15 college student writing flaws that can lead to lower grades, along with suggestions on how to fix them and improve your writing.

 

Want to Reprint?
We encourage the reprinting of our articles for educational purposes. If you are interested in reprinting this article, we require that you follow our detailed guidelines. Please go to our Article Reprint Guidelines.

 

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., and Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.

 

Writing is a major component of academic success. College students, regardless of major, write a lot over the course of their studies. You'll write first-year English papers, lab reports, history papers, term reports, case studies, and more. Writing is a major component of many college classes, and the better you can write, the better your grades.

 

How can you write better? By reviewing the most common writing mistakes made by college students -- and learning how to avoid them in your writing.

 

To assist you in avoiding these flaws in your writing, here are the top 15 writing flaws that can lead to lower grades. Take note of these flaws and take the time to fix them on all your written projects that you complete in the future.
  1. Poor Organization
  2.  

  3. Failure to Support Thesis
  4.  

  5. Misspellings and Typos
  6.  

  7. Inadequate Citation of Your Sources
  8.  

  9. Confusing Sentence Structure
  10.  

  11. Using Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences
  12.  

  13. Incorrect Word Usage
  14.  

  15. Little Evidence of Research
  16.  

  17. Little Evidence of Understanding Topic
  18.  

  19. Poor Punctuation
  20.  

  21. Poor or Nonexistent Transitions
  22.  

  23. Vague Pronoun Reference
  24.  

  25. Overuse of Passive Voice
  26.  

  27. Weak Vocabulary or Overuse of Jargon/Buzzwords
  28.  

  29. Using Patterns of Speech in Writing

 

 


 

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key academic terms by going to our College Success Glossary.

 


 

EmpoweringSites.com CEO Dr. Randall Hansen Dr. Randall S. Hansen is an educator, author, and blogger, as well as founder and CEO of EmpoweringSites.com, a network of empowering and transformative Websites, including MyCollegeSuccessStory.com. Dr. Hansen has been helping empower people to achieving success his entire adult life. He is also founder of EmpoweringAdvice.com, EnhanceMyVocabulary.com, and EmpoweringRetreat.com. He is a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. Dr. Hansen is also an educator, teaching business and marketing at the college level for more than 25 years. Learn more by visiting his personal Website, RandallSHansen.com. You can also check out Dr. Hansen on Google+, as well as Dr. Randall Hansen on LinkedIn.

 

Katharine Hansen, PhD, EmpoweringSites.com Creative Director Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., is an educator, author, and blogger who provides content for EmpoweringSites.com, including MyCollegeSuccessStory.com. Katharine, who earned her PhD in organizational behavior from Union Institute & University, Cincinnati, OH, is author of Dynamic Cover Letters for New Graduates and A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way into the Hidden Job Market (both published by Ten Speed Press), as well as Top Notch Executive Resumes (Career Press); and with Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D., Dynamic Cover Letters, Write Your Way to a Higher GPA (Ten Speed), and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Study Skills (Alpha). She curates, crafts, and delivers compelling content online, in print, on stage, and in the classroom. Visit her personal Website KatharineHansenPhD.com or reach her by e-mail at kathy(at)astoriedcareer.com. Check out Dr. Hansen on GooglePlus.


 

MyCollegeSuccessStory.com logo
EmpoweringSites.com: Tools to Empower
Tools to Improve Your Life
 
    • Study Skills Home
    • Student Success Stories
    • Study Skills Book
    • Academic Success Tools
    • College Glossary
    • Site Search
    • Sitemap
    • Press Room
    • Contact MyCollegeSuccessStory
    • Student/Education Jobs
  •  

 

MyCollegeSuccessStory.com
a member of EmpoweringSites.com -- Spokane, WA
Home Page: http://www.empoweringsites.com/
Copyright © EmpoweringSites.com. All Rights Reserved

Adapted from design by FCT.