Top 10 Student Writing Mistakes That You Should Avoid In Exam

Student Writing Mistakes - MyClassTracks

It is widely regarded that English is one of among difficult languages to master due to its Grammar and unpredictable spellings; even expert writers often make basic writing mistakes. 

Writing is an essential part of every student’s life as it helps them to organize their thoughts in written form. But many students face writing challenges and may commit writing mistakes.  

As per the National Assessment of Educational Progress, around 24% of 12th-grade students write proficiently, whereas only 3% write at advanced levels. 

There are numerous writing mistakes committed by students, but here in this article, I have listed the top 10 student writing mistakes.

Along with that, I have also compiled a few tips that may help you to brush up on your writing skills. So without further delay, let’s get started. 

Top 10+ Student Writing Mistakes

Below are the top 10 mistakes that Students often make while writing.

1. Spelling Errors

Spelling errors, also known as typographical errors, are more likely to occur because of the use of homophones in sentences. 

Use of wrong words and inappropriate spellings may convey a different meaning than you intended to deliver.

Often, the spelling checkers cannot detect or identify compound words, homonyms, proper nouns, etc., which may lead to a rise in spelling errors. 

Spelling Errors

For example, the use of homonyms such as road, which means street, and rode, which is the past tense of the ride, may sound similar and may not be detected by the spelling checker.

2. Sentence Fragments

Fragments are incomplete sentences or pieces of sentences that are disconnected from the main clause and may occur due to typographical errors or omission of words. 

The sentence fragments comprise missing subjects and verbs or have the wrong forms of verbs, and have an abandoned clause. 

Below is a glaring example of a sentence fragment.

My favorite Science teacher (But what exactly did the teacher do or say).

The above sentence has a missing verb.

3. Comma Splicing And Misuse Of Commas

Comma splicing is a common grammatical error that may occur when the comma is not appropriately used to connect or join two distinct words. 

You can fix the comma splices by adding conjunctions, making separate sentences, and using semicolons instead of commas.

An Example of a Comma splice error is as follows.

Incorrect: She bought a school bag, her mom bought a handbag.

Correct: She bought a school bag, and her mom bought a handbag. 

4. Missing Punctuations

Punctuation marks play a very important role as they impart clarity to sentences and make sentences more precise and readable. 

Missing Punctuations

Inappropriate use of punctuation often results in poor sentence structure, which in turn leads to inefficient grammatical structure.

5. Subject-Verb Agreement Error

This grammatical error often occurs when the students have confusion regarding the subject, i.e., whether it is singular or plural.

The verb and the subject need to agree in person and in number. Here is an example of a subject-verb agreement error. 

Incorrect: One of these Cats wear a Brown Collar.

Correct: One of these Cats wears a Brown Collar.

6. Inappropriate Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

The pronoun-antecedent error is most likely to occur when the pronoun does not agree with the antecedent and leads to confusion in your writing. 

Antecedents are nouns that are replaced by pronouns, and it is important to note that plural antecedents require plural pronouns, and singular antecedents require singular pronouns. 

7. Use Of Squinting Modifiers 

Squinting modifiers are misplaced modifiers that change the meaning of sentences, and they are usually adverbs. 

You can eliminate this error either by reconstructing the sentence or by shifting the position of the squinting modifiers. 

Use Of Squinting Modifiers

Below is an example of a sentence with a squinting modifier. 

Incorrect: The cake you baked recently went missing. 

Correct: The cake you recently baked went missing. 

8. Usage Of Run-On Sentences 

The Run-on sentences are generally difficult to understand as they make your writing look slipshod or sound rushed, making it more confusing. 

This error mainly occurs when two different sentences are squashed together without proper use of coordinating conjunctions or punctuation marks. 

You can check out the example of the run-on sentence given below. 

Example: I love to cook I would cook every day if I had time. 

There are two different sentences in the above example, i.e., I love to cook, and I would cook every day if I had time, which are fused together. 

9. Wordiness

Wordiness often makes the content unclear and time-consuming and mainly occurs through the addition of reductant words, phrases, weak verb forms, etc. 

By eliminating the non-essential information or weak words that do not contribute to the sentence, the error of wordiness can be avoided. 

10. Lack Of Proofreading

As per the statistics, the prime reason why the best research papers, essays, or other content gets low ranks or grades is due to a lack of proofreading. 

Most often, students do not consider it important to proofread their content and end up making basic grammatical or typing errors. 

Proofreading is the essential part, as it makes sure that your content is free of errors, inconsistencies, typos, or any grammatical errors. 

Ways Students Can Improve Writing

The best way to brush up on a skill is to practice it every day. Below are some of the ways that may help you to polish your writing skills. 

  • Inculcate daily writing habits.

In order to improve their writing, students must dedicate a few minutes each day to practicing writing. Start with a blog or a journal, and attend writing workshops. 

  • Read more.

As per the research, students who read extensively can become better writers. Reading every day will definitely help you to expand your writing skills and improve your vocabulary. 

  • Take up online writing courses. 

A diverse range of massively open online courses offered by various e-learning platforms is available for the students to brush up on their basic writing skills. 

  • Brush up on basic spelling and Grammar skills. 

Before getting started, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of spelling and grammar skills. There are several books and manuals available to help you out with your Grammar skills. 

  • Proofread your work.

The main aim of proofreading your content is to make sure it is free from errors or to determine whether there are any lingering mistakes or writing inconsistencies.

Proofreading is an essential part that students must take into consideration so as to add power and improve the quality of their writing. 

  • Get feedback on your work. 

Getting feedback on your work plays an important role as it provides you with the evaluation of your work. You can approach your instructor, mentor, family members, or friends for feedback.

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Conclusion

Writing incorporates diverse aspects, including vocabulary, comprehension, structures, etc., and encouraging these skills will assuredly help students to turn into good writers. 

Grammar and spelling are the foundation of good writing, so it is necessary to brush up on your basics.

The path to becoming a skilled writer is not an easy one, but taking appropriate steps will definitely help you to be one.  

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