i'm so bad at writing essays

Affordable Assignment

50% off  on all orders

Why am I so Bad at Writing Essays: Expert Guide

In the journey of academic growth, essay writing often emerges as a challenge “Why am I so bad at writing essays?”. The struggle to convey thoughts effectively on paper can leave you questioning your abilities. However, fret not, for this expert guide is here to steer you towards conquering your essay writing hurdles and unleashing your true potential. Through a positive lens, we’ll delve into strategies and insights that will not only help you overcome these challenges but also foster excitement about enhancing your essay-writing skills. Let’s embark on this transformative journey together.

1. Understanding Essay Writing Challenges:

1.1. recognizing the importance of essay writing skills:.

In the intricate tapestry of education, proficient writing skills weave a thread of brilliance. Your ability to articulate thoughts cogently extends beyond the confines of essays, shaping your overall academic performance. Imagine a canvas where ideas flow seamlessly, supported by the brushstrokes of refined writing. These skills resonate in your communication, critical thinking, and future endeavors. So, embrace the endeavor to refine your writing prowess, for it’s a pathway to success.

Improving essay writing skills:

Improving essay writing skills is an essential endeavor that holds the key to unlocking your full potential as a writer. As you delve into the world of essay composition, you might notice certain areas where you struggle to convey your thoughts effectively. This is where the journey of improvement begins. By honing your skills, you’re not just addressing your challenges but also enhancing your ability to communicate ideas with clarity and precision. With each step you take to improve your writing, you’re setting the stage for a transformation that will elevate your essays and empower you as a confident and capable writer. Embrace this journey as an opportunity to nurture your talents and evolve from feeling inadequate to mastering the art of essay writing.

1.2. Exploring Different Essay Writing Challenges

The journey of crafting a compelling essay isn’t always smooth sailing. At times, you might find yourself grappling with the daunting task of starting, organizing, or expressing your thoughts coherently. The words seem elusive, and the structure perplexing. These challenges aren’t unique; they’re shared by many. It’s reassuring to know that you’re not alone in this voyage. Together, we’ll uncover strategies to overcome these obstacles and steer your essay toward excellence.

Overcoming essay writing challenges:

Overcoming the essay writing challenge is a significant milestone on your path to becoming a proficient writer. It’s natural to face obstacles such as starting an essay, organizing thoughts coherently, or finding the right words to express your ideas. However, these challenges should not define your capabilities. Instead, consider them as stepping stones toward growth. By addressing each challenge with determination and seeking strategies to conquer them, you’re not just conquering essays but also fostering resilience, patience, and creativity. Every challenge you overcome strengthens your writing arsenal and propels you towards a brighter future where writing essays will no longer be a daunting task but a platform for showcasing your skills.

2. Unveiling Root Causes of Essay Writing Struggles:

2.1. inadequate understanding of the essay prompt:.

Picture this: You’re handed an intricate puzzle, but the picture it forms remains elusive. Similarly, understanding the essay prompt is key to unraveling the enigma of essay writing. Deconstructing the prompt, discerning its nuances, and crafting a response aligned with its essence form the bedrock of your essay’s success. Let’s decode the art of interpreting prompts, guiding you toward clarity and focus.

Navigating essay writing difficulties:

Navigating essay writing difficulties is akin to embarking on a voyage of self-discovery and improvement. It’s common to encounter difficulties in various stages of essay composition, whether it’s understanding the prompt, organizing thoughts, or maintaining a consistent flow. These difficulties, while initially overwhelming, can be conquered with the right guidance and strategies. By addressing these difficulties head-on, you’re not just improving your writing but also cultivating valuable problem-solving skills. Remember, the journey may have its twists and turns, but the destination is a place where you wield the power to create essays that truly reflect your thoughts and ideas.

2.2. Converting Notes into a Coherent Essay:

The process of turn my notes into an essay might seem akin to assembling a mosaic. Fear not, for this transformation can be both logical and creative. By employing strategies that streamline your notes into a structured narrative, we’ll guide you in transforming your fragments into a harmonious composition that resonates with clarity and insight.

Effective essay composition tips:

Effective essay composition tips serve as your compass in the vast terrain of writing. These tips are your allies in tackling the intricacies of essay writing , from structuring your introduction to crafting compelling conclusions. They encompass everything from creating an outline that guides your narrative to selecting the perfect words that resonate with your readers. By embracing these tips, you’re arming yourself with a toolkit that streamlines your writing process and transforms your ideas into a coherent and impactful essay. Embrace them not as rules to constrain your creativity, but as guiding lights that illuminate your path to mastery.

2.3. Addressing Slow Essay Writing:

Why am I so slow at writing essays? Imagine an athlete perfecting their sprint – over time, the strides become more efficient, and the pace swifter. Similarly, addressing the factors that contribute to slow essay writing can lead to enhanced speed without compromising quality. By unraveling the causes and implementing techniques that bolster your writing pace, you’ll stride confidently towards a productive writing journey.

Writing clearer, stronger essays:

Writing clearer, stronger essays is a transformative journey that propels you from uncertainty to confidence. The journey begins by refining your ability to articulate your thoughts with clarity and precision. As you develop this skill, your essays become a canvas where your ideas resonate powerfully with your readers. Clear writing transcends mere words; it’s a symphony of expression that captivates, informs, and inspires. Through this journey, you’ll gain the power to navigate complex topics with ease, present arguments persuasively, and leave a lasting impact on your audience. Your words will no longer be trapped within you; they’ll flow effortlessly onto the page, creating essays that exude strength and clarity.

3. Overcoming Writing Weaknesses:

3.1. embracing effective essay composition tips.

The symphony of essay composition requires harmonious orchestration. From outlining to drafting, each note contributes to the composition’s brilliance. Embrace techniques that nurture effective essay crafting. The roadmap we provide will lead you through the landscape of structure, coherency, and persuasiveness, ensuring your essay resonates with eloquence.

Mastering essay writing struggles:

Struggling with essays is a transformative process that evolves you from a hesitant writer to a proficient wordsmith. Why am I so bad at writing essays? Every challenge you encounter in the essay writing process becomes an opportunity for growth. As you tackle issues like lack of focus or difficulty writing essays, you’re not just addressing problems but also cultivating resilience and determination. Through dedicated effort and the application of strategies tailored to your needs, you’ll find yourself overcoming hurdles that once seemed insurmountable. This journey is about mastering not just the art of writing essays but also mastering your own potential, transforming struggles into stepping stones towards excellence.

3.2. Enhancing Essay Writing Skills

Imagine an artist refining their masterpiece with every brushstroke. Likewise, your journey towards enhancing essay writing skills is an ongoing masterpiece. As you embark on exercises and strategies designed to polish your writing acumen, remember that growth comes from consistent effort. Embrace the journey; watch as your skills flourish, nurturing your writing proficiency over time.

Enhancing essay composition abilities:

Enhancing essay composition abilities is an empowering journey that allows you to sculpt your thoughts into eloquent essays. As you embrace strategies to refine your composition skills, you’re refining your ability to convey complex ideas with finesse. This journey extends beyond mere grammar and structure; it’s about molding your ideas into a narrative that resonates with your readers. By enhancing your abilities, you’re engaging in a process of self-discovery where you uncover your unique voice and style. Through practice, dedication, and the incorporation of expert techniques, you’ll witness your essay composition abilities soar to new heights.

4. Navigating Common Writing Obstacles:

4.1. unveiling common writing obstacles:.

Consider these obstacles as stepping stones, each contributing to your growth as a writer. Distractions, challenges in references, and other hurdles might seem daunting, but they’re milestones on your journey to essay mastery. By identifying these obstacles, you’re already primed to navigate them with resilience and strategic finesse.

Unveiling common writing obstacles:

Unveiling common writing obstacles is a crucial step toward understanding your journey as a writer. Distractions, doubts, and references that fall short—these are hurdles faced by many. Acknowledging and addressing these obstacles is an act of empowerment. By unveiling them, you’re recognizing that you’re not alone in facing these challenges. With the right strategies, you can transform these obstacles into opportunities for growth. As you navigate these writing roadblocks, you’re setting the stage for personal development and paving the way toward essay excellence.

4.2. Integrating Technology for Essay Excellence:

Embrace technology as a modern-day quill, empowering your essay writing with efficiency and precision. Tools designed to aid research, organization, and editing can elevate your composition process. By embracing these resources, you weave innovation into your writing fabric, ensuring that your essays resonate with modernity and excellence.

Embrace Technology for Essay Excellence: Proven Strategies :

Embrace technology for essay excellence: proven strategies that bridge the gap between traditional writing and modern innovation. In a world driven by technology, integrating its power into your essay-writing  process can elevate your compositions. Tools for research, organization, and editing offer a realm of possibilities. By leveraging technology, you’re not just embracing convenience but also enhancing the quality of your essays. These proven strategies enable you to navigate the digital landscape with finesse, creating essays that seamlessly merge traditional wisdom with contemporary tools.

5. Building Confidence and Overcoming Fear:

5.1. addressing essay writing anxiety:.

Acknowledge fear as a temporary visitor, and anxiety as a challenge that can be conquered. By confronting the fear of essay writing head-on and employing strategies to alleviate anxiety, you’re poised to transform apprehension into enthusiasm. The page becomes a canvas of possibility, where your thoughts can dance freely.

Empowering Your Essay Journey: Fear and Beyond:

Empowering your essay journey goes beyond conquering fear; it’s about embracing the unknown with courage. Fear often lurks in the shadows of creativity, hindering expression and inhibiting growth. By acknowledging your fears and pushing beyond their boundaries, you’re embarking on a transformative expedition. This journey empowers you to explore your potential, where fear becomes a catalyst for change rather than a barrier. As you venture beyond fear, you’ll discover a realm of possibilities that extends far beyond your initial apprehensions.

5.2. Cultivating Positive Writing Skills

Imagine you’re writing journey as a garden, where seeds of positivity yield a harvest of growth. As you cultivate a positive mindset towards writing and dedicate yourself to consistent practice, you’ll witness the blossoming of writing skills. Confidence and resilience flourish, enriching your experience and infusing joy into the art of expression.

Mastering Essay Essentials: Your Path to Proficiency:

Mastering essay essentials isn’t just a skill; it’s a journey towards proficiency. This journey encompasses more than just grammar and structure; it’s about refining your ability to convey ideas effectively. By mastering essentials such as clarity, coherence, and persuasive rhetoric, you’re crafting essays that captivate and persuade. This path requires dedication and practice, but the destination is worth the effort. Proficiency in essay essentials transforms your writing from average to exceptional, making your essays a testament to your growth and commitment to excellence.

6. Expert Insights and Solutions:

6.1. expert advice for improving essay writing:.

Let the wisdom of educators and seasoned writers guide your expedition toward essay excellence. Their insights offer a compass, directing you towards methods that have been tested and proven. By absorbing their guidance, you empower your writing journey with the tools of experience and knowledge.

Essay crafting insights and advice:

Essay crafting insights and advice are the keys to unlocking the art of essay composition. Expert guidance offers you a roadmap that leads to impactful essays. Through insights from experienced writers and educators, you’re privy to techniques that enhance your writing journey. Their advice serves as a beacon, guiding you through the intricate nuances of essay crafting. By embracing these insights, you’re not just enhancing your skills but also imbibing the wisdom of those who have mastered the craft.

6.2. Guiding Weak Writers to Essay Excellence

Consider yourself a mentor on your own journey, assisting your inner student to flourish. By applying techniques tailored for guiding struggling writers, you extend your nurturing hand to yourself. As you implement methods designed to elevate weaker points, you’re crafting a narrative of growth and transformation.

Guiding Weak Students to Essay Excellence: Effective Methods:

Guiding weak students to essay excellence requires a blend of patience, empathy, and effective methods. If you find yourself really struggling to write an essay, remember that you’re not alone on this journey. By employing methods tailored for those facing difficulties, you’re paving a path towards improvement. These methods, rooted in understanding and encouragement, offer a personalized approach to essay writing. As you guide yourself through these methods, you’re nurturing growth, resilience, and the transformation of weakness into strength.

How to write a six page essay?

Writing a six-page essay might seem like a daunting task, conjuring images of a blank canvas waiting to be filled. However, fear not, for within the expanse of those six pages lies an opportunity to articulate your thoughts, showcase your understanding, and engage your readers. The key is to break down the process into manageable steps that lead to a coherent and impactful essay. By employing effective strategies, you can transform this seemingly extensive task into a structured journey of exploration and expression. In the following sections, we’ll delve into the intricacies of essay writing, addressing challenges and providing insights that will not only help you overcome your uncertainties but also empower you to confidently craft a six-page masterpiece that resonates with clarity and conviction.

I can’t write an essay:

It’s a sentiment that many have experienced – the feeling of being unable to put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard when faced with the task of writing an essay. The blinking cursor becomes an adversary, and words seem elusive, trapped in a labyrinth of uncertainty. If you’ve ever muttered the words “I can’t write an essay,” rest assured that you’re not alone. This journey to mastering essay writing is one of growth, and the obstacles you encounter along the way are stepping stones toward improvement. Through insights, strategies, and a positive mindset, you’ll find that the ability to write an essay is not an innate talent but a skill that can be cultivated. So, let go of doubt and embrace the process – you’re on the path to unlocking your potential and transforming “can’t” into “can.”

Conclusion :

The journey to mastering essay writing isn’t an abrupt transformation but a gradual evolution. Remember that each challenge is a stepping stone, each obstacle a chance to refine your skills. Armed with strategies, insights, and a renewed perspective, you’re ready to embark on this ongoing voyage of growth. Embrace the process, for in your dedication lies the path to becoming a proficient essay writer. Your narrative is one of progress, from doubt to skill, and it’s a narrative that celebrates the art of expressing ideas with eloquence and conviction.

Q1. Why am I so scared to write essays?

In the realm of academic pursuits, the fear of writing essays is a sentiment many encounter. This fear often stems from the uncertainty of conveying thoughts effectively, of not meeting expectations, or of stumbling upon writer’s block. However, it’s essential to recognize that this fear is a common part of the writing process. By acknowledging this apprehension and understanding its source, you can begin to address it. Strategies such as breaking down the task, practicing mindfulness techniques, and setting realistic goals can help alleviate essay-writing anxiety. As you venture into the world of essay composition, remember that courage lies in embracing the challenge, and every step you take is a step towards conquering your fears and emerging as a more confident and capable writer.

Q2. Why are my writing skills so poor?

If you’ve ever questioned your writing skills, you’re not alone. The perception of poor writing skills often emerges from self-doubt and the comparison to others. However, it’s important to understand that writing skills are not fixed; they can be nurtured and refined over time. The journey from feeling inadequate to becoming a proficient writer involves consistent practice, seeking feedback, and a willingness to learn. By identifying areas where you struggle, such as organization, coherence, or grammar, and addressing them with patience and determination, you’re taking crucial steps toward improvement. Embrace your journey as a unique opportunity to evolve from a novice to a skilled wordsmith, and remember that growth is a continuous process.

Q3. How can I improve my essay writing?

Improving essay writing is a journey that involves a combination of self-awareness, practice, and strategic learning. Begin by identifying specific areas where you struggle, whether it’s generating ideas, structuring your essay, or refining your language. Seeking feedback from peers, instructors, or writing resources can provide valuable insights for improvement. Additionally, adopt effective writing techniques such as creating outlines, revising drafts, and expanding your vocabulary. Consistency is key – make writing a regular practice to build confidence and refine your skills. Remember that every effort you put into improvement is a step closer to crafting essays that reflect your true potential.

Q4. What is the hardest thing about writing an essay?

One of the most challenging aspects of writing an essay is often the initial step: starting. The blank page can be intimidating, and finding the right words to express your ideas can feel overwhelming. However, once you overcome the hurdle of beginning, the process tends to flow more smoothly. Another challenge is maintaining a coherent and organized structure throughout the essay. Ensuring that your ideas transition seamlessly and that each paragraph contributes to your overall argument requires careful planning and revising. By breaking down the writing process into smaller, manageable tasks and seeking guidance from proven techniques, you can navigate these challenges with greater ease.

Q5. Why do students struggle with essays?

Students often struggle with essays due to a combination of factors. Time management, lack of confidence, unclear understanding of the topic, and difficulties in organizing thoughts are common reasons for these struggles. Additionally, perfectionism and the fear of failure can hinder the writing process. Overcoming these challenges requires patience, self-awareness, and effective strategies. By setting realistic goals, seeking assistance when needed, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and practicing consistently, students can gradually alleviate their struggles and transform essay writing into a more manageable and even enjoyable endeavor.

Q6. How do you teach a weak student to write an essay?

Teaching a weak student to write an essay involves a tailored approach that addresses their specific challenges. Begin by identifying the student’s strengths and weaknesses, then focus on building a strong foundation. Provide clear explanations of essay structure, organization, and key writing principles. Break down the process into smaller steps and offer ample practice opportunities. Encourage the students to express their ideas without fear of judgment, emphasizing growth over perfection. Providing constructive feedback and positive reinforcement will foster confidence. Gradually introduce more complex concepts and exercises as the student progresses, ensuring that each step is manageable and aligned with their abilities.

Q7. What to do with students who hate writing?

For students who harbor a dislike for writing, it’s essential to approach the subject with empathy and understanding. Encourage open communication to identify the root cause of their aversion. Some students might find writing challenging due to specific learning styles, previous negative experiences, or low self-esteem. Tailor assignments to their interests whenever possible, allowing them to write about topics that resonate with them. Introduce creative writing exercises, collaborative projects, and visual aids to make writing more engaging. Gradually build their confidence by celebrating small achievements, and provide opportunities for them to see improvement. By fostering a supportive environment and offering alternatives to traditional writing, you can help students rediscover their potential and develop a more positive relationship with writing.

Q8. What are the 5 basic steps to writing a good essay?

Writing a good essay involves a structured approach that encompasses several essential steps:

• Understanding the Prompt: Thoroughly comprehend the essay prompt, identifying the main topic, question, and any specific requirements.
• Research and Planning: Conduct research to gather relevant information and ideas. Create an outline that organizes your thoughts and arguments logically.
• Introduction: Begin with a strong introduction that grabs the reader’s attention, introduces the topic, and presents your thesis statement.
• Body Paragraphs: Develop your argument in the body paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on a single point, supported by evidence and analysis.
• Conclusion: Summarize the main points, restate the thesis, and provide a concluding thought that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Q9. How do I know if I’m a bad writer?

Determining whether you’re a “bad” writer is subjective and often influenced by self-perception. It’s important to remember that writing is a skill that can be developed and improved over time. If you find it challenging to convey your thoughts coherently, struggle with grammar and punctuation, or lack confidence in your writing, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad writer. Instead of labeling yourself, focus on identifying areas where you can improve. Seek feedback from peers or educators, read widely, and practice consistently. By dedicating effort to enhancing your skills, you’ll likely witness significant growth and transformation in your writing abilities.

Previous Posts

Online Assignment Writing Services: Elevate Your Academic Success

Essay Writing Tips: Crafting Compelling and Cohesive Essays

Cheap Assignment Writing Services for Academic Success

Places on our 2024 summer school are filling fast. Don’t miss out. Enrol now to avoid disappointment

• How to Improve Your Essay Writing Quickly: A Step-by-Step Guide

About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.

Whatever your brand of brilliance – whether you’re a physics genius, a sporting hero or (like me) a blinky, bookish type – there comes a point in most students’ academic careers when being good at life means being good at essays.

You should also read…

• Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays That Answer the Question
• How to Conquer Your Nightmare Subjects

As the subjects you study get more advanced and complex, you’re increasingly asked to think, evaluate, and have opinions where you once might have simply made calculations or learned definitions. In general, the further you progress through your education, the more rote learning will be replaced by the kind of analysis usually best demonstrated by essays. If by some miraculous feat you manage to avoid writing anything substantial at high school, it’s something you’ll almost certainly have to face at university – yes, even if you’re studying a science subject (although the essays won’t usually be quite as long). One way or another, essay writing comes to us all.

The likelihood is that at some point in the not-too-distant future (unless you are both incredibly reluctant and startlingly resourceful) you will have to write an essay, either in exam conditions or in your own time, that will count towards a final grade in some way. If this is a scary prospect for you, there’s good news and bad news. The bad thing about essay writing is that it’s not something – like French verbs, or the ability to run long distances – that miraculously gets better on its own if you just keep having a go. To improve at essay writing, students often need a paradigm shift: to figure out exactly what isn’t working, and why, and to learn and apply a new way of doing things. The good news, on the other hand, is that the individual skills required to write a strong essay are things you can learn, practise and improve in. This article is all about pinpointing what those skills might be, and giving you some suggestions as to how you might develop them. Not all these tips will work for all of you, but being good at essay writing, like being good at any other school-related discipline, is all about trying different things, and devising your own way of doing things.

Getting organised

Before you even start planning an essay, I’d recommend you sit down and have a quick think about how you want to do it. First, what resources will you need? The internet, or library books? This might affect where and how you decide to work: I have wasted a huge amount of time trying to find versions of articles on the internet that I knew were in books at the library, or procrastinating because I wanted to work at home rather than leaving the house. I would recommend taking yourself to a library ninety-nine times out of a hundred. Secondly, if you’re working from books or downloadable articles, can you afford to work somewhere without the internet? The absence of Facebook and Instagram will guarantee your concentration will be about a hundred times better, which will show in the quality of your work. Next, make a little timeline for your essay. Make a list of everything you want to read and try to get hold of all your material before you start. Think about how long you’re going to spend reading and researching, planning, and writing – leaving a day or two before the deadline to make any significant changes, or just in case things don’t go to plan. I’d recommend allotting 3 hours to read a 20-page article, and about a day to write 2000 words. This might sound like a silly amount of planning, but the point of it is this: hundreds of all-nighters have taught me that essay-writing becomes incredibly stressful and painful when you’re up against the clock, and a reader can tell immediately if something is rushed or dashed off at 2am on the day of the deadline. What’s more, you simply won’t have your best creative ideas under pressure. If you’ve got time, have a look at this – comically eighties and slightly cringey – video about creativity . A lot of what the speaker says about thinking and playfulness is, in my opinion, directly applicable to essay-writing.

Gathering information

Some teachers set reading lists for essays, or make suggestions about where students should look for information; others ask you to find sources yourself. Even if your teacher does prescribe reading, it’s always worth seeing whether you can find something extra that will add breadth, depth or a fresh perspective to your argument. However, it’s important to think carefully about whether a source is reliable and valuable.

What sort of sources should I use?

The most appropriate sources will vary from subject to subject. Here are some common ones: – Academic articles: These are essays by scholars at universities, and usually published in journals or as books. They are always useful, and can be found by looking in the library (ask your teacher for recommendations!), having a poke around Google Scholar, or, if your school has a subscription, on the website JSTOR.org. Search for key words and phrases and see what comes up. – Newspaper articles: might be useful evidence for an essay in History, but may not be detailed or scholarly enough for Biology. If you use a newspaper article or opinion piece, think about the factors that might bias it and include your thinking in your essay! – Wikipedia: a very useful starting-point, and an increasingly reliable resource. However, avoid referencing it: a teacher or examiner might not like it and may take against your essay. Instead, look at the reference section at the bottom of the article and see where the writer has gathered their information from. – Online blogs: in general, stay away from these, as you don’t know who’s written them and how valuable their opinion is, or how reliable their facts. The exceptions are blogs by well-known experts.

How should I take notes?

It might feel like the world’s greatest faff, but taking good notes from your sources will save you a huge amount of time when you come to plan and write your essay: – Type out notes as you read, rather than simply underlining or highlighting – thus you’ll have a summary of the most important chunks of essays ready to use when you plan, rather than having to trawl through whole documents again looking for quotations. – For this reason, if you think you might want to quote something, copy it out in the exact wording of the writer. – Type notes in a different colour for each new source you read. In order to engage intelligently with what you’ve read, you’ve got to remember who said what, what they meant by it, who they were fighting against and whether you agreed with them or not. Colours are a really helpful visual aid to doing this. – At the end of each new essay or article, write a few lines summarising the author’s main points, and whether or not you agree with them. N.B. Your critical engagement with the scholars and authors whose work you’ve read will count for a huge chunk of marks. This does not mean listing a load of names and rehearsing their arguments; nor does it mean disagreeing with everyone for the sake of it. Instead, think about whether or not what they’re arguing holds true in your experience – or compare them to each other.

Planning is the single most important step in writing a good essay, and, frustratingly, also the step that’s most often rushed or neglected by students. If your essays often get criticised for having poor structure or unclear lines of argument, chances are you need to practise your planning. I use the following step-by-step process to turn my notes into a good plan; you can try it too, and see if it works for you. 1) Re-read your notes a couple of times, and underline anything you think is particularly important, interesting, or relevant to the area of the topic you want to discuss. As far as possible, try and organise your thoughts into sections, and see if you can link ideas together. Tip: It might be that you’ve got two or three different ideas for a topic, and you’re not sure which to go with: in this case, you can use a couple of different spider diagrams to see which works best. Where do the ideas link together most easily, or fall together into neat sections? Which question would you be able to answer most fully? 2) Sit back and look at your diagram(s), perhaps alongside your notes, and work out the main ‘point’ or conclusion you want to make in your essay. The best essays are characterised by a clear line of argument throughout – I don’t really buy the idea that essays should present both sides of a question. I always decide what I’m trying to say ; the point I want to conclude with, before I start. Now, the job you’ve got in writing the essay is to set this conclusion up. 3) Work backwards, using the links you’ve made on your spider diagram: what do you need to argue or show to make your point? Jot these ‘points’ down in a couple of words each. This forms the beginnings of a skeleton for your essay. 4) Start to fill out your skeleton with information from your notes, and any extra ideas you might have. If you’re writing a literature essay, it’s CRUCIAL that you include some close analysis of passages to support your argument. Jot down the sentences that link these in to the greater structure. 5) Fill out your skeleton more and more, until it’s essentially a rough draft in bullet points. Every twist or nuance of your argument should be in there; every introductory and concluding sentence for every paragraph, making it explicit how this paragraph answers your question.

6) At this point, it’s very helpful if you can get someone (a friend or a parent will do) to read over your plan and see if it makes sense. Does everything follow? Is it all relevant? Your plan should be so complete that the person who reads it will immediately be able to spot any flaws. Move things around, add or delete to incorporate their criticism: it’s much easier to change something in bullet-point format than when it’s all written out properly. Don’t expect this process to be quick or easy. For a 1500-word essay, I usually write a plan of about three sides, and spend at least three hours making sure that before I put pen to paper, every kink in my argument is ironed out. The pay-off of doing it this way is that the writing process is short and easy – a case of joining up the dots, polishing bullet-points into sentences – much better than coming up with ideas and organising thoughts at the same time as finding the words to express them. Get better and better: If you struggle with structure or clarity, practise your planning! Give yourself a limited amount of time (say, two hours), pick three previous essay questions from an exam or coursework paper, and plan your answers as thoroughly as possible. Get your teacher to look over your plans when you’re done.

The ‘actual writing’-bit can be the most daunting and stressful part of the essay process, and is where most students get stuck. Here are some tried-and-tested solutions to common writing problems:

I can’t get started

It’s quite common to want your first sentence to be arresting, paradigm-shifting, to propel your reader headlong into your essay. However, this desire can be paralysing: one of the most stressful feelings in the world is that of staring at a blank page, thinking about the number of words you’ll need to fill it all up. The key to getting started is to just write something . Don’t worry about how good it is – get it down, and move on, and come back and change it when you’re well into your flow.

Writers’ block

Go back to your plan and make sure you know what you’re arguing. If you still can’t get the words out, try and write down what you want to say as simply as possible. Then move on to an easier section of the essay. Alternatively, you can try going for a walk, making a cup of tea or having a break.

It all feels a bit wrong…

Sometimes, in the process of writing, you’ll realise that you entirely disagree with two-days-ago you, and you don’t really believe in the argument you’re trying to make. If it is the case, go back to the drawing board. Don’t plough on regardless – a lack of conviction will show in your essay. Return to your plan, and see if you can use similar material but change the emphasis, and perhaps the odd bit of evidence, to produce a different argument.

Everyone has their own individual writing style: your might be as purple and flowery, or scientific and direct as you like (within reason). However you write, to get top marks, it’s crucial that you learn to be precise .

Style-wise, there are two poles of wrongness: vagueness, and over-complication. Of course, every subject has its particular vocabulary, and learning this will be crucial, and sharpen your analysis; but remember that little words are your friends too! Make sure that you know the exact meaning of each word you use. Crucially, make sure you know exactly what each word you’re using means, and think carefully about whether you’re applying it in the right context – remember that whoever is reading your essay will know better than you the meanings of zeugma, stagflation or symbiosis. Finally, don’t hide behind subject-specific vocabulary: make sure that you’re using terms to contribute to and develop your essay, and nothing of the flow is lost.

The boring stuff

– Get good at conventions like footnoting, and writing bibliographies. Examiners really do check these! – When you’ve finished, leave the essay for a day or two, and then re-read it. If possible, get someone to proofread for you. This way, you’ll avoid making lots of silly mistakes that threaten the clarity and flow of your essay.

Image credits: banner ; runner ; old library ; new library ; pens ; map ; parent ; tapping pencil ; egg . 

Get 25% OFF new yearly plans in our Spring Sale

• Features for Creative Writers
• Features for Work
• Features for Higher Education
• Features for Teachers
• Features for Non-Native Speakers
• Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
• Grammar Guide

Write Better Essays: 7 Mistakes to Avoid

Cari Bennette

Academic essays are an unavoidable part of the educational journey. Learning to write well may be one of the greatest skills you gain during your college years. Most students, however, will commit many errors before learning the art of academic essay writing.

While you can't avoid writing essays, you can avoid making some of these common mistakes:

Writing a Synopsis, Not An Analytical Essay

Not having a strong thesis statement, using too many quotes in an essay, making grammar, spelling and pronoun mistakes, not having a good bibliography, using resources that aren't credible, want to improve your essay writing skills.

The point of an essay is to create an argument and defend a thesis. If you're writing about a work of literature, some background to clarify the topic can be helpful. But the majority of your essay should involve your analysis based on credible research. Don't simply restate what happened in the book.

Coming up with a strong thesis statement is essential to writing a good essay. The thesis statement is the hook on which the rest of your essay hangs. It should state an opinion and be as specific as possible. Example weak thesis statement: The Great Gatsby is a great example of American Literature. Example strong thesis statement: The Great Gatsby captures the essence of America's Jazz Age in its decadence, materialism and ultimately, its tragic emptiness.

The essay is supposed to reflect your understanding of the topic and the research you've done to back up your argument. Overuse of quotes either from the work you're analyzing or from the research you've done undermines your authority on the topic. Quotes should be used sparingly and only when they drive home a point with an eloquence you can't match with your own words.

Defined as “the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own,” plagiarism is a serious offense. Colleges and universities have strict policies against plagiarism and use various tools to check your work for plagiarised content. You won't get away with it, and sometimes it can even get you suspended. Professors can recognize if something sounds like a student wrote it or if it came from another source, so don't try to fool them.

There are two kinds of plagiarism:

• The first kind is directly taking the words from a source and using them in your paper without quoting or giving credit.
• The second kind is trickier and you should take special care to make sure you're not committing this kind of plagiarism. It consists of rewording an entire article or section of an article. In this case, instead of coming up with your own original ideas and analysis, you're just rewording someone else's ideas including the order in which they present those ideas.

Your essay should contain your own original thesis, analysis and ideas backed up by credible research from academic authorities.

Worried about plagiarism? ProWritingAid's plagiarism checker checks your work against over a billion web-pages, published works, and academic papers so you can be sure of its originality. Did you know that many of the free plagiarism checkers online sell your writing to other sources? With ProWritingAid, you can be certain that your original work is secure. Paying for this kind of service might feel like a lot, but trust me, it's worth it.

Okay, let's break these down:

• Get your contractions right. You're = you are. Your = second person possessive. It's = it is. Its = third person possessive. They're = they are. Their =third person plural possessive.
• Make sure your subjects and verbs agree.
• Beware of incomplete sentences (there must be both a subject and a verb to be complete).
• Use your spell check.
• Essays should be written in the third person (he/she/it/they). Don't use the first or second person (I, you or we) in an essay.
• Follow proper formatting ( MLA formatting is a common example.

You can check for all of these errors using ProWritingAid. The Homonym report will highlight all of the words in your essay that sound the same as others but are spelled differently. This will help you avoid any 'its/it's or 'their/they're/there' mistakes.

The bibliography format for academic essays is usually the MLA style unless your professor specifically requests a different format. For a complete list of how to cite resources in MLA style, check out this site . Don't lose points over your bibliography. The hard part of your essay should be coming up with an original analysis of your topic. The bibliography is formulaic and easy to get right if you give it a little effort.

In the age of the Internet, it's easy to type in a keyword and find dozens of articles on it. But that doesn't mean all of those articles are credible. Make sure that the resources you use come from academic experts. For tips on how to find credible academic resources online, check out this site .

Avoiding these mistakes will improve your essay writing, so you can achieve higher quality and confidence in your academic writing. And it will make your professors happy, too.

Use ProWritingAid!

Are your teachers always pulling you up on the same errors? Maybe your sentences are too long and your meaning is getting lost or you're using the same sentence starter over and over again.

ProWritingAid helps you catch these issues in your essay before you submit it.

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Cari Bennette is an avid blogger and writer. She covers different aspects of writing and blogging in her articles and plans to try her hand in fiction writing.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via :

Anxiety about academic writing: I'm a bad writer

• Am I the only person who feels like this?
• I never have enough time
• I'm a bad writer
• I don't know enough
• Writing is too hard

You might be feeling:

• I'm bad at writing; I always have been, and I always will be.
• I'm a bad writer because my work isn't perfect.
• My writing will never be as good as my colleagues' work.
• I have writer's block, which just shows that I'm a bad writer. If I was a good writer, I would be able to write.
• I'm not comfortable with using computers, so the process of creating my documents is really hard for me. Even typing is hard for me, so how can I be a good writer if I can't type well?
• I work really hard at my writing, but my grades on my assignments are never as good as I expect them to be.

What can you do right now?

Emotional strategies

Persistent negative inner self talk can create quite a block to your ability to flourish at university.  It's not easy, but there are definitely some strategies you can try to help calm the little voices and help you create a more realistic story of you as a writer:

• If there is evidence that you really are a "bad" writer, what steps can you take to solve the problem? See the writing strategies below for some great tips to get you started.
• If there's not much evidence, can you think of a more accurate way to describe yourself as a writer? Could you describe yourself as a novice writer, an adequate writer, or a developing writer?
• How would you know that you were a good writer? What is one small change you could make to move you in that direction?
• If your self talk is still getting in the way, please book an appointment with Counselling Services so we can help quiet the unhelpful inner chatter and build up your confidence.

Writing strategies

Writing involves many complex thinking and communication skills, and as with all skills, all writers are constantly in the process of learning and improving. People are never "done" as writers; rather, we're all writers-in-development. Try to think of yourself as someone who is learning new skills, versus that you're a bad writer, and be patient as you learn those skills. Skills take time, information, practice, and feedback to develop, and it's inevitable that mistakes will be made along the way. While no one enjoys making mistakes, they're a normal part of learning a new skill. Consider someone who is learning how to play a musical instrument; they wouldn't be expected to play a complex piece of music the first time they pick up the instrument. Similarly, as a developing author, focus on learning the individual skills, rather than expecting you'll be perfect every time you write.

• Try the exercises in " Assess yourself as a writer " to learn more about your strengths and areas for development as a writer.
• Writer's block happens to everyone and is seldom an indication of ability. Rather, it tends to happen when people don't have enough information or haven't planned their works. See " Overcoming writer's block" for suggestions.
• If typing is a struggle, try speech-to-text software to capture your ideas. See " Speech-to-text tools".
• Contact your instructor to request a conversation to learn more about why your grades aren't as high as you expect. While receiving the feedback might not be easy, the conversation will identify specific skills for you to develop. Once you have that information, book an appointment with the Writing Centre so that we can assist you.

Where can you learn more?

Counselling Services

• "Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck)" (Alison Ledgerwood TED Talk) 

Writing Centre

• " Gradschoolitis " pep talk ( transcrip t)
• " Bad feelings about writing don’t mean you’re a bad writer " (Amy Benson Brown)

Ask for help

[email protected] (250) 391-2600 ext. 4515   Book an appointment

[email protected] (250) 391-2600, ext. 4353 or 1-800-788-8028 Book an appointment

Creative Commons

• << Previous: I never have enough time
• Next: I don't know enough >>
• Last Updated: Sep 9, 2023 2:11 PM
• URL: https://libguides.royalroads.ca/anxiety

Search form

What to do if you dislike writing research or academic papers.

BY DAVID GUTIERREZ

Unfortunately, even if you hate writing academic papers more than anything else in the world, you still have to do it if you want to graduate successfully. However, it is possible to alter one’s attitude towards something – often to a greater degree than you may believe. Here are some techniques that can make writing your next academic assignment bearable, if not outright pleasant.

1.    Take breaks

Taking regular breaks is important in any kind of work, and writing is no exception. Divide your assignment into a number of reasonably small parts and promise yourself to take a break after you successfully complete each of them. Both the parts and the breaks may be as large or small as it is useful for your situation. For example, if you write an essay, you can take 5-minute breaks every 200 words. If you write something more substantial, both the parts and the breaks can be larger. Do something pleasant in the course of your breaks – this will motivate you to complete each part faster.

2.    Eliminate distractions

When you do something you hate, every potential distraction is twice as enticing as it usually is. This means that if you are surrounded by distractions while you write your academic paper, you are likely to get distracted all the time. To prevent this, single out the things that are likely to attract your attention as you work and remove them from you. If it is structure and general layout of the paper that give you trouble, consider custom term papers for sale. Block distracting websites using Leechblock or RescueTime, turn off notifications, switch off your smartphone, block out the external noises by some music in your earphones.

3.    Find a writing place that works for you

If you do something you hate, you should at least do it somewhere you feel comfortable. Where it exactly depends on your preferences: some like to work at home, others prefer a nice café; still others find it inspiring to work in the park. Take your pick.

4.    Don’t try to write like somebody else

One of the reasons why you may hate writing is because you believe that you shouldn’t write in your own voice. You think you need to imitate either someone else or to write in an affected manner that has little in common with your own way of thinking and writing. Most likely, you are wrong, and your writing will only be improved if you choose to follow your heart and write the way you like.

5.    Practice

Another reason why students hate writing academic assignments is that they are not very good at writing. The reverse is true as well – once you learn how to write more or less well, you start feeling pleasure doing it. Do a bit of practice writing assignments of the type you have to write most often. Who knows? Perhaps, it will grow on you.

6.    Don’t be perfectionistic

Perfectionism is equally deadly both for enjoyment received from writing and the results achieved. Don’t try to make every sentence perfect – it is impossible. Write reasonably well, don’t go crazy correcting what you’ve already written because you will never finish doing it.

Learning to love writing is hard and long work, and we don’t claim that everybody is capable of doing it at first attempt. But making writing pleasant is achievable – and you can do it.

David Gutierrez has worked in the field of web design since 2005. Right now he started learning Java in order to get second occupation. His professional interests defined major topics of his articles. David writes about new web design software, recently discovered professional tricks and also monitors the latest updates of the web development.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Stanford Home
• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Emergency Info
• Terms of Use
• Non-Discrimination
• Accessibility

© Stanford University , Stanford , California 94305 .

8 Bold Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Writing

by Sarah Gribble | 0 comments

Today I want to talk about fear. Fear of writing, fear of sharing your work, fear of publishing—and how you can overcome it.

Writers face fear on a day-to-day basis.

The self-doubt . The fear of failure. And, oh, the vulnerability.

Writing is hard enough with all the self-evaluation and doubt about your abilities. But then sharing your work with other people so they can critique or review it? CRINGE.

When you sink into that fear it debilitates you. If you let fear hold you back, you’re ensuring you never achieve your goals. You’ll never write that book and you’ll never get published. All because you were too scared.

8 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Writing

It’s time to stop letting fear control you and get writing. Here’s how:

1. Do what scares you.

When you’re up against something that makes you cringe, ask yourself what the worst-case scenario is. Is it actually  harmful? Unless it’s something like jumping from a bridge into a rocky river or stepping in front of a speeding vehicle, it’s probably not.

Fear is trying to keep you safe. It needs to learn that just because something is scary doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s detrimental to your health. Do what scares you, and keep doing it, and the fear will subside.

This includes fear of our own writing. I'm not saying you have to go write a 90,000 word novel. Start with a short story, or try out some writing prompts.

Aspiring writers might feel intiimdated because they don't think that they are a great writer. The reality is, you can never become a great writer unless you practice—and to practice, you have to write.

Embrace and overcome your fear by putting words down. Start writing, have patience with yourself, and worry about the rest later.

The blank page becomes way less scary as soon as you put words on it.

2. Stop procrastinating.

Your house is already clean enough. That TV show can wait. No, you don’t need to run to the store to pick up a bag of chips.

Figure out when the best time for you to write is and then write.

If you really, truly need a break to clear your mind, set a time limit. Ten minutes of scrubbing the grout with a toothbrush and then get back to your writing.

Ultimately, those who procrastinate will be more prone to writing off procrastination as writer's block—and the more time you spend away from writing, the scary it will become.

3. Learn from criticism.

Criticism is what everyone fears. Not just in writing, but in life. We all want to be liked, to be perfect, to be praised.

Your writing will not please everyone and that’s something you should realize and accept now. Criticism is much easier to take when you go into it knowing that fact.

Don’t just ignore criticism, though. Writing is like everything else in that it requires practice. You don't have to rank #1 on Amazon or make a bestseller list your first go (even though I won't argue that would be fantastic).

The first meal you cooked wasn’t a gourmet meal. The first time you dribbled a basketball wasn’t Lebron-level. Someone was there to point out what you were doing wrong and set you on the right path. They taught you how to get better.

That’s what criticism is: teaching.

It's not  rejecting your work, which might be why some writers fail to share their work: because their fear of rejection is mistakenly associated with getting critiques.

Yes, sometimes it’s mean-spirited, especially in this age of internet trolls. But even in those nasty reviews, there’s normally something to learn from.

Find it. Use it. And do better next time.

4. Stop revising.

You want every sentence in your work to be perfect . I have a secret for you: you’ll never get there.

Your writing will never be perfect. 

Not to you, not to your editors, and not to your readers. It’s impossible, so stop revising ad nauseam. At some point, you have to let it go and put the work out there.

Perfectionism can stunt your creative writing instead of empower it.

To avoid this, set a limit. I prefer three drafts. That’s it. Three and then I let it fly on its own.

What are you writing for? We'll never know unless you decide to share your work.

5. Set goals and move toward them.

Focus on milestones like daily word counts and deadlines (self-imposed or otherwise).

Writing a book is like summiting a mountain: you do it  one step at a time . When you reach the top you might be a little exhausted and out of breath, but you’ll look back at all you’ve accomplished and feel proud.

Without these smaller milestones, it might be hard to finish your piece of writing, or even find the motivation to keep writing each day.

Stories are finished one day at a time, with hard work and a desire to grow your writing process.

Don't sweat the small stuff in your first drafts, like word choice. Instead, set a long term goal of continually learning how to write better and smaller milestones that will help you finish stories you start.

All of this is accomplished word by word, and by turning real and irrational fears into manageable tasks.

6. Embrace the fear of writing.

You’re going to be scared frequently in this business. My stomach still flips every time I submit a short story , even though I’ve submitted hundreds of times. It’s going to happen.

The trick is to acknowledge it and move forward. It didn’t kill you.

In fact, that little tingle of fear should be your signal to celebrate. You did what scared you and that’s amazing.

One book that a lot of writers really love on this subject is The War of Art  by Steven Pressfield. If you're feeling discouraged or swallowed by your fear, check out this book for some motivation.

Even better, find and join a writing group like we have here at The Write Practice. Nothing helps you overcome your fears like a supportive community with a kindred creative spirit.

7. If your character can do it, so can you.

You don’t let your characters sit back on their heels because they’re scared, do you? I hope not, because if you do, you don’t have a story .

Your characters don’t have the luxury of sitting on the bench. They must make decisions and do something about the problem. And so should you.

Don’t let fear of writing take over your writing life. Decide to move forward, to write that book, to send out that manuscript. Decide and then do it.

8. Ask for help if you need it.

Don’t be afraid to ask for time to yourself so that you can write. Your family and friends will understand you need that time because writing is important to you.

Find a group of writers and readers that can go through your story and give constructive feedback. You can't improve in a vacuum.

Need to know what a day in the life of a flight attendant looks like, or the lingo of a truck driver? Ask them. Trust me, you’re not bothering them. People love talking about themselves.

In the same vein, if you need help with research, that’s literally what librarians are for. They’ll be glad to help.

Don’t let fear of asking for help stagnate your writing.

Embrace the Fear

I want to leave you with these words from Carrie Fisher:

Your fears are natural and normal. They're also not the end of the story.

Your task, the challenge for every writer, is to face that fear of writing, acknowledge it, and write, share, publish anyway .

Need extra motivation? Have you checked out The Write Practice’s 100 Day Book program ? It’s the best way to stop letting fear of writing control you and get that book done. Click here to find more information on the course.

What scares you most about writing and/or the business side of writing? What are some steps you can take to overcome that fear?  Let me know in the comments !

Today I want you to spend fifteen minutes writing about a time you were scared to do something but did it anyway. Describe the exact feelings of fear you had. How did you feel after you'd done what scared you?

When you’re finished, share your work in the Pro Practice Workshop here (and if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ).

Sarah Gribble

Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.

Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

Work with Sarah Gribble?

Bestselling author with over five years of coaching experience. Sarah Gribble specializes in working with Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

• 8 Bold Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Writing | rogerpseudonym - […] “ Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be…
• A New Writer’s Fear – My Writing Experience - […] 8 Bold Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Writing The Write Practice […]
• Team Names - Cool, Awesome, Funny and Tough Names for Teams - […] below names are for those that are tough, strong, badass team. Any team that specializes in being bold with…

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

Why Am I So Bad At Writing Essays?

• July 10, 2020
• Essay Guides and Topics

Here's What We'll Cover

Why am I so bad at writing Essays? let me give you a secret. When it comes to essay writing, the majority of the students focus on just writing and miss out on things that help in writing the best essays. There are things that you need to avoid where you have been bad at writing essays. You will agree with me that writing a good essay is challenging and quite hard.

You don’t have to struggle writing your essay alone. Our professional tutors can help you with all your essay assignments of any topic, level, and complexity. 

Why am I so bad at writing essays? The question is very familiar to many students today.

The majority of the students find themselves struggling with essays , and even when they craft their best, their grades do not portray much of the excellence.

Writing a good essay takes more than writing skills. Also, though you have had a tiresome essay writing journey, all hope is not lost.

Below are some of the reasons why you fail in essay writing. 

• Failure to follow instructions 
• Focus on the obvious
• Feeling as if essay writing is a punishment
• Choosing a broad topic
• Lack of a thesis statement 
• The absence of an outline
• Answering the “what” question and not the “why” and “how” questions

Failure To Follow Instructions 

The reason why you are bad at writing essays is primarily caused by failure to understand and follow instructions.

Every tutor or professor avails instructions and guidelines to be followed when crafting the essay.

Not unless you know and follow the instructions keenly, you will always miswrite your essays.

Therefore, ensure to examine all the guidelines, and after understanding them, proceed to craft your essay. 

Focusing On The Obvious

While writing your essay, you need to avoid stressing out the obvious and surprise the reader.

A professor can not award you an A for an essay full of apparent facts. Therefore, You need to tell a story that synchronizes both the conflict and change.

Your article must be argumentative on several ideas that portray the different aspects of the story. Change is described as you avail your perception of those ideas. 

Feeling As If Essay writing Is A Punishment

There is no doubt that essay writing can be daunting and hassling at times.

Nevertheless, mark your motivations right. Dullness, while writing essays, is a major reason why you are bad at it.

It would be best if you had fun while writing the essay. 

Writing from a space full of distractions is no fun. Therefore, identify a welcoming environment that allows you to concentrate. Acquire the right motivation and always write while within the peripherals of your motivator. 

Choosing A Broad Topic

If your professor doesn’t avail of a specific topic of discussion, you should consider narrowing it.

Majority of students fail to conclude their area of focus and end up confusing the reader.

There are other instances when you over-narrow the topic hence limiting yourself.

You require moderation when it comes to choosing an ideal theme for your essay. 

Lack Of A Thesis Statement 

What is your essay’s main idea? Answering the question helps you stick within the perimeters of a credible but provocative argument.

Many are the times when one fails to define a thesis statement for their essay.

A thesis statement helps define your attitude towards the topic under discussion.

The body of your essay depends on your thesis statement. Therefore, you need to have a thesis statement and it must appear in your introduction part. 

Absence Of An Outline

Lack of an outline contributes to a lack of consistency. Your essay lacks flow and credibility, where you fail to understand the point that precedes what idea.

It would help if you had a sequential organization for all your ideas. Therefore, an outline enables you to define the three parts of an essay and identify the information contained in each section.

You are required to establish an overview that will allow you to pinpoint your main points and parts of the essay. 

Answering The “What” Question And Not The “Why” And “How” Questions

Essays have a word count requirement. The majority of students experience hardships in meeting the word count.

Where your essay focuses on answering the “what” question, you will always struggle to meet the word count.

Nonetheless, trying to explain the “Why” and “how” questions make it possible for you to have more information than you need.

Therefore, eliminate the limitations in meeting your word count requirements through abhorring answering “what” question. 

Waiting until the last minute for you to start writing the essay is disastrous. Hastiness is the enemy of writing the best essay.

Therefore, ensure to commence your essay writing as early as possible. Taking your time to craft the essay allows you to get all the facts, citations , references, and grammar right. 

It is very easy to get and remain bad at writing essays. However, it is also very easy to master the right way of essay writing and ace in the exercise.

Therefore, you need to understand your failures and pave a different path of approach in your essay writing journey. 

Let Us Help You Get Better Grades

Achieve academic success with Bright Writers

Unlocking A+ Essays

Insider Tips Your Professor Won't Share

Don't leave before you grab this deal!!

Get 20% OFF your first order. Professional essays at $10 a page

Do you need better

Let us handle your essays today

Writer's Edit

A newsletter for novel writers looking for inspiration and advice on their creative journey.

Is It Normal To Think You Suck At Writing?

Self-doubt is something most people struggle with at some point, but it seems writers face it more frequently than others. We tend to feel like impostors.

Some writers are naturally confident, but even the most self-assured writers doubt themselves at some point in their careers. 

Ask any writer, and they’ll probably tell you that on more than one occasion, they felt like they sucked at writing. 

If you feel that way too, it’s normal! Y ou’re not alone. There are common reasons why so many writers feel like they’re bad at writing. 

And even better: there are things you can do to combat that self-doubt and defeat your impostor syndrome.

How do you know if you’re a bad writer?

It can be hard to know if your writing is actually bad or if you’re being too critical of your own work. But i t’s important to remember that most people are bad at something when they first start out.

If you’re new to writing and worried you might be bad at it , it’s perfectly fine if that’s true. It’s also fine if you’ve been writing for a long time and feel the same way.

The best way to learn your skill level as a writer is through feedback. Many writers (even successful, published authors) use writing groups, beta readers and critique partners for this exact reason.

Usually, the writer is too close to their own story, and needs someone else to point out the good bits and the bad bits.

Check social media for local or online writing groups that are open to new members . Reach out to writer friends or acquaintances to see if they’re interested in partnering up to swap feedback.

It might take a while for you to feel confident enough to share your writing, but any feedback is useful feedback.

Why is my writing so boring?

If your writing feels boring, it’s likely because you’ve been immersed in the same book for months, or even years .

Imagine if, as a reader, you read and re-read the same book (or even the same chapter of a book) over and over again.

It would get old very quickly and you would start to be bored by it, no matter how much you loved it the first time you read it.

That’s what you’re doing with your own writing. You’re writing, re-writing, reading and re-reading the same story, chapter, book – over and over again.

Of course you might start to get bored with it! That’s only natural. The best way to determine if your story actually is boring? Again, it’s through feedback.

Find someone you can trust to give quality, honest, and constructive feedback, who will be able to help you determine if any parts of your story are slow or unnecessary . 

Some writers will also work on several projects at once to avoid feeling bored by any of them. This isn’t a tactic that works for every writer, and for some, constantly switching between projects is counter-productive.

If you’re the type to thrive in that environment, though, and you’re feeling uninspired by your current project , trying something different could be a good idea.

If you have another project in mind that’s more appealing, switch for a little while.  Just don’t forget your original project. Switching between projects only works if you come back to each of them.

Otherwise it could just be another form of procrastination to avoid writing the tricky parts of a story.

Can a bad writer become good?

Yes! Writing is a skill like any other. Anyone can improve their writing ability with practice.

It might take a long time to get your writing skills to the level you want. But remember that you don’t need to compare your writing journey to someone else’s. Every writer is on their own journey.

If you feel like you need more help, then taking a course or two in the craft of writing might be a good idea.

Sometimes advice from the experts, or simply the course activities themselves, can lead to a ‘Eureka!’ moment for your writing. 

How do you fix bad writing?

Sometimes you look at a piece of writing and know instinctively that it’s not living up to its potential. It could be better.

Most pieces of writing are fixable. The first step is to thoroughly edit. Editing is much more simple when you break it down into manageable steps .

First start with the broad, over-arching notes. Maybe the themes aren’t coming through strongly enough . It could be that the characters aren’t clearly defined. Perhaps the setting isn’t immersive .

Make notes for yourself and fix these problems before considering any nitty-gritty errors like grammar or spelling.

Once you’ve addressed any larger issues, you can start the wordsmithing step. Does the flow of a sentence feel off? What are the grammatical flaws?

Drill down to the core elements of the words on the page and mark them to be fixed when you come back to edit the piece line by line. 

Editing can usually save your writing – however, sometimes you just can’t fix a piece that isn’t working. Sometimes you need to totally scrap it and rewrite it entirely.

Rewriting something can be massively disheartening, especially if you spent hours, days, weeks, months on the first draft . But sometimes starting over is the only solution.

The good part is that you’ve already had one go at writing the piece, and you’ll be a lot better prepared this time around.

Why do writers think they suck at writing?

Writing isn’t a normal job.

The thing about being a writer is that there’s no ladder to climb like in a lot of other careers. Where you start is where you’ll end: writing.

The entry-level job as a writer is writing, and the top-of-the-career-level job as a writer is writing. 

Other career paths may see you grow and change in faster, more obvious ways. The path of the writer isn’t as straightforward as that.

However, this means that from the beginning, we’re often expecting ourselves to be top-level writers – because they do the exact same thing as entry-level writers, right?

The first book you ever write probably won’t be the best book you ever write. And comparing yourself to peers who have been doing the job for longer and have more experience (though technically the same job title) can be disheartening.

You might also compare yourself now to the future version of yourself, which is just as unfair a comparison.

Writing isn’t a normal job. There are no fancy job titles or promotions that tell us how far along we are in our career and how much we can expect of ourselves.

All a writer has is their experience, their dedication to the craft, and their unique voice .

Writing is very introspective

There aren’t many careers where half the job is looking at the work you’ve done and judging it.

Being a writer, you’ll spend a lot of your time looking over what you’ve written, critiquing it and working out if you can edit it or make it better in any way .

It’s easy for the editing eye to get a little too critical. Every writer wants to write their perfect story and every writer is their own worst critic. We always push ourselves to be the best we can be.

The problem is that all this criticism, however necessary, can make us doubt ourselves and our skills .

Writing is personal

Whatever you write, it’s a reflection on you in some way. We all put a little bit of ourselves into our stories.

There may not be any character that’s directly representative of the writer , but in analysing a story, you can often get an understanding of the writer as a person.

We know that Jane Austen was an early feminist who believed in equality. We can see that in the stories she wrote.

The same goes for any writer; who they are and what they believe in will be reflected in their work.

That can make criticism of our writing hit a little harder. Because a writer puts so much of themselves into their work, criticism of the words on the page can feel like criticism of the writer themselves .

It can be a slippery slope to the writer thinking that they are bad at writing. 

Writing is translation

Writing is a translation of sorts, but not from one language to another. Writing is translating that perfect idea you have in your brain into imperfect words on the page .

Yep: imperfect words. The words will never be perfect.

You’ll often hear about how, in certain languages, there’s a word that means a specific concept, for which we have no corresponding word in English.

Writing is like that sometimes. 

You have this pure concept, held together with this one thought. And when you try to write it down, it comes out as a bunch of words that don’t fully grasp the depth of the original idea .

The process of writing is inherently flawed. What comes out on the page will never be as good as the idea in the writer’s head.

That’s because what’s in the writer’s head isn’t real or concrete. But that doesn’t stop the writer from feeling disappointed. So what’s the solution?

Let’s take a look at some ways to deal with these feelings… 

How to deal with feeling like you’re a bad writer

Forgive yourself.

Being forgiving might sound basic, but it’s really the best way to deal with feeling imperfect. Because no one is perfect. 

You might feel like your work isn’t as good as someone else’s. But has that other person been writing for a lot longer? Comparing yourself to more accomplished or experienced peers is a great way to feel bad.

Does going back over your work remind you that it is imperfect? Congratulations: you’re being a good editor !

One of the most important skills any writer has is their ability to edit. The fact that you can see that your work isn’t what it could be is proof of your skills.

Not everyone can tell when a piece of writing isn’t working and how to go about fixing it . If you can, that means you’re a talented writer.

What if your idea didn’t translate perfectly from your brain to the page? That’s normal. Every writer deals with that, and no writer is the perfect idea-to-text translator. 

Separate art and artist

When someone – especially a critique partner or a friend – offers constructive criticism on your work, it’s not the same thing as saying that your writing is bad. Critique of the writing is not critique of the writer.

That sentiment might seem obvious when it’s laid out so clearly, but it’s hard to keep in mind sometimes. Every writer is guilty of taking critique to heart when their critic didn’t mean it personally .

Criticism of a piece of writing doesn’t mean that the writer is bad. If anything, it’s an indication of faith in your writing abilities.

It often means your critique partner or beta reader sees the potential of a piece and trusts you as a writer to be able to do better.

It’s also worth noting that sometimes critique isn’t useful. Writing is subjective; a change in mood can change someone’s perspective on a piece, and sometimes people’s visions or preferences don’t align.

Always try to seek feedback from more than one source so you’re not basing your revisions entirely on one person’s opinion.

Refine your process

If your inner editor is constantly popping up to give criticism while you’re writing, that isn’t a sign that your writing is bad. It is a sign that you may need to better refine your process as a writer .

You might need to separate your writing and editing selves. Putting up these barriers can really help your writing self stay in a creative mindset and write better.

Without your editing self butting in to tell you that, actually, that sentence isn’t very good, you’re free to just write. 

You can let go and get the words out onto the page without worrying about perfection . You can start turning the abstract idea in your head into something concrete.

It might not be something good, yet. But your editing self will deal with that later.

To separate your writing and editing mindsets, create different habits around the two actions.

This could mean writing in the morning and editing in the evening. Or writing in one room and editing in another. It could even mean literally wearing a different hat or outfit to match the different role.

These little changes might seem silly or too basic to work, but giving yourself the signs to recognise when it’s time to write and when it’s time to edit can help you build better habits .

You may need to experiment to discover what tools and techniques work for you . Try a few and see which writerly habits help you get into the right frame of mind.

If you feel like you need to improve your writing, there are two main ways to go about it.

The first is simple: writing, writing, and more writing. Practice is vitally important and will help you develop and refine your skills.

The second thing you can do to improve your writing is reading . Read works from authors you admire. Read in the genre you write in. Read outside your genre. Read bestsellers. Read widely and often.

Read for pleasure, but read as a writer too. As you’re reading a great book, consider what makes it so good. What did the author do on the page to make you feel engaged?

If you can use your editing skills to see what’s wrong with your own work, you can use those same skills to see what’s right with someone else’s.

Then, when you switch to writing mode, you can apply the lessons you’ve learned from reading .

Do all writers feel like they suck at writing?

It’s impossible to be sure if every single writer feels this way. But we do know that a lot of writers feel some kind of self-doubt, or at least reckon with the flaws they perceive in their own writing.

Fantasy author Maggie Stiefvater spoke on this. She expanded on the idea that writing is merely a transcription of the idea in the head, and therefore, it’s a compromise.

Author Victoria/V. E. Schwab said a similar thing in her pep talk for participants of 2019’s NaNoWriMo . She described drafting as taking a perfect ball of potential and throwing it somewhere.

You have to accept that as it lands, it might get a bit squished:

“Once you have something, you can make it better. The only thing you can’t fix is a blank page.”

Stephen King famously threw out his first draft of Carrie . It was only saved when his wife found the crumpled papers and smoothed them out, telling him to keep working on it.

Mental Floss reports on the event , quoting King as saying:

“I couldn’t see wasting two weeks, maybe even a month, creating a novella I didn’t like and wouldn’t be able to sell.”

Eventually, Carrie became a massive hit and launched King’s stellar career.

Ira Glass, host of popular podcast This American Life , spoke on feeling like you’re a bad writer as well. Here are some key parts of his speech (but watching the whole five-minute video is worth it):

“All of us who do creative work… we get into it because we have good taste… [but] for the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good… [But] your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you’re making is kind of a disappointment to you.  Everybody goes through that… It’s totally normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. It takes a while. It’s gonna take you a while. It’s normal to take a while. You just have to fight your way through that.”

Even Ernest Hemingway reportedly felt like his writing sucked , or at least the first draft of it:

“Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing… I rewrote the first part of A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit . When you first start to write you get all the kick and the reader gets none, but after you learn to work it’s your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but something that happened to himself.”

It’s normal to feel like you suck at writing

Writing is a process of perpetual growth, and the writer’s journey is never complete . 

Each story you write could be better than the last. You’re likely to become a better writer as you get some more experience under your belt.

No one is perfect at anything when they first start out. And even people who have been doing something for a long time have room for improvement. The only thing you can do is keep at it.

Join or start a writing group so you have a community of like-minded peers to help you and so you can help them too. Consider a professional course or class to level up your skillset.

Above all: practice, practice, practice. You can never practice enough. The more you write, the better you’ll become – and the less you’ll feel like your writing sucks!

Writer’s Edit is a newsletter for novel writers looking for inspiration and advice on their creative journey.

Can I survive college if I am bad at writing essays?

You just got that acceptance letter to your dream college. Your friends and family are happy that you finally get a chance to attend the college of your dreams.

This is your chance to pursue your dream, and in just 3 or 4 more years, you are done.

Yes, the end is now near after close to 15 years of learning and going to school every day.

However, your joy is short-lived as you remember how bad you are at writing essays and how much you struggle writing essays. And you ask the question: can I survive college if I am bad at writing essays?

Your college application essay was hard enough to write.

Now you have to survive 3 years in college writing essays before you graduate.

You struggled writing essays in high school, and now in college, you know essays are an integral part of learning.

Essays are important in college as they assist instructors in measuring critical thinking, how well you understand the course material, how well you can structure and organize your arguments, and learn how to incorporate real-life situations in your studies.

Writing essays in college is important, and at this point in your life, you will have to write and submit essays, discussion posts, research papers, and term papers every week.

Sometimes you will have to submit several papers in a week.

You can survive college if you are bad at writing essays, as most colleges have writing tutors to help you improve your writing. In addition, institutions of higher learning have writing centers to help struggling students learn how to write. As a last result, you can also hire a professional essay writer to be writing essays for you.

Also see: Is it wrong to hire a professional essay writer? 

While surviving college when you are bad at writing essays is hard, it’s by all means possible.

Most institutions understand that there might be among their students who have a hard time writing essays. Knowing the importance of writing in college, colleges and universities have writing tutors.

Writing tutors are there to help students who struggle writing essays.

In addition, some have writing centers, where students can be offered guidance on how to improve their writing before submitting the essays for marking.

Hiring someone to write your essays may also solve this problem.

A professional essay writer will have the right knowledge on how to compose A-grade papers.

You will only part with a few coins, and this allows you the freedom to focus on the things you like while in college.

Your hired essay writer will work around the clock to ensure they submit high-quality, plagiarism-free work that will earn you good grades.

You only need to furnish them with the instructions and the course materials, and you can sit and relax as they complete your essay.

Should I give up in college because I hate writing?

You should not give up in college because you hate writing. You should instead seek help from the writing center and writing tutors from your institution. In addition, you can hire someone to write your essays for you.

At this point, giving up should never be an option.

Why? Because the end is near, you are almost at the finishing line. After close to 15 years of studying, you now need just to endure 3 more years, and you are done with your college education.

You should seek help first from your institution. This means that you can talk to your professor, and they will match you with a writing coach who will work with you to improve your writing.

You should ask if them “if I can survive in college if I am bad at writing essays.” In addition, most institutions have college writing centers whose main aim is to work with students to improve their essays before submitting them for marking.

You can also seek to pay someone to write your essay. Paying an expert to write your essays will lift the burden from you, and you can concentrate on the things you love.

An expert will ensure that they submit a high-quality essay that is plagiarism-free and the best of it all is that your instructor will never find out.

They will handle all your personal information with strict confidentiality and will never share your information with anyone. So why wait? Order your plagiarism-free paper today.

Why am I not good at writing essays? How can I improve?

You are not good at writing essays because you have not taken time and effort to perfect the art of writing. While essay writing is not a walk in the park, with the right knowledge and expertise, you can improve your writing with time.

Most college freshmen struggle with academic writing in their first days in college.

While others might be lucky and learned a few tricks while still in high school, a majority are new at academic writing.

However, you need to quickly get your hands dirty and learn how to write essays, as this will be your lifeblood in college.

Also see: Will My Instructor Tell If I Hired An Online Essay Writer?

How to improve if I am not good at writing essays

First, you need to acknowledge that you are struggling with writing essays.

This is usually the first step of getting help, accepting that you are not good at writing, and approaching people who are willing and able to help.

Second: you need to talk to your instructor about the problem you are facing.

They will offer help by either personally coaching you or referring you to a mentor or coach who will work closely with you to improve your writing.

Third, you need to find a support group of students or peers who can help you improve your writing.

Students are more likely to understand you since they have most likely been in the same position as you and, would be better placed to offer guidance.

Some of them might have been in your shoes at some point when starting college, so they are likely to understand you better.

Fourth: you can hire an essay writer . A professional essay writer will write your essays from scratch while avoiding any instances of plagiarism.

Professional essay writers have learned and mastered the art of writing essays.

They are your perfect bet if you are struggling to write essays.

In the blog post, we answer the question: will I survive in college If I am bad at writing essays? We look at how you survive in college if you are bad at writing.

As a student, you can contact your instructor for them to assign a mentor or coach that will work with you closely to improve your writing.

You can also make use of the writing center, where they work with you to improve your writing before submitting your work for marking.

Finally, you can decide to hire a competent essay writer online who will write all your essays, research papers, term papers, and discussion posts.

This will allow you to focus on other things like preparing for exams and spending quality time with your friends and family and other extracurricular activities.

Remember, college life does not have to be boring.

Watch the video below and learn how to improve your essay writing skills

Why Is My Writing So Bad? 4 Causes and Solutions

You may have written your first draft of a story or novel and have to face the fact that you feel your writing is, in fact, bad. You had such great ideas, but your draft was far from what you imagined when you tried to put them in writing . You might ask yourself why your writing is so bad when you have so many great ideas.

Your writing may be bad because you may have neglected to learn the ins and outs of the writing craft. You tried so hard to be writerly that you bogged your story down in superfluous details, and you indulged in cliches. Most lousy writing also shows a lack of proper editing. 

Don’t be discouraged if you feel your writing is terrible. You can learn to improve your craft. Below are some of the leading causes of poor writing and some solutions to this dilemma. 

1. You Haven’t Done Your Homework

It’s a popular misconception in the non-writing world that anyone who can speak a fluent language and type can easily be an author. You could look at writing like taking up the violin; just because you can hold a bow and move your arm doesn’t make a maestro. If you’re serious about improving your writing and writing well, you need to put in the time and dedication.

It would be best if you had some understanding of the inner workings of the writing craft before you expect your prose to shine. You don’t need to join expensive writing courses or have a college degree (although this may help.) Much of the craft of wiring can be self-taught by reading extensively and learning from the masters who came before you. 

• Read books on the craft of writing voraciously and learn from some of the greats.
• Read extensively from the classic and modern masterpieces, first for pleasure and then with a pencil and a critical eye in how the novels achieved their fame. 
• Short story writing and poetry are a great warm-up to your potential novel and teach you much of the art of expression and characterization in an intensive form. 
• Learn the art of editing your work and rewriting, as even great authors aren’t always brilliant in their first drafts of writing. 

2. You’re Trying Too Hard

Often newbie writers fall into the trap of trying to be ‘writerly’ and bog down their prose with adjectives and archaisms. When you’re overly conscious of your writing , the result is often stilted.

For instance, if Larry walked up the hill, let Larry walk up the hill, for Pete’s sake! Don’t let Harry ‘perambulate peripatetically; his bony shoulders slumped o’er the graveled turf.’

There’s a place for more flowery prose in the parts of your story that are pivotal, and you need to draw the reader in for a closer look. But if you let your writing become a showpiece for your extensive descriptive vocabulary, you might just end up losing your readers. Ultimately, your focus should arguably be on the story, not on your masterful writing skills.

Solution 

• When you find yourself in love with your erudite turn of phrase, kill your darlings. Your reader wants to experience the story, not a showcase of your writing ability. 
• Don’t bog your writing down with superfluous descriptions and asides, and allow your story to move. 
• Watch out for adjectives and adverbs in your writing , as they can be hallmarks of lazy and cluttered writing.

3. You’re Indulging in Cliches

Cliches can bog down prose like a ton of bricks (see what I mean?). When writers indulge in often said prosaic cliches, they lose the readers’ interest. After all, readers seek new and fresh experiences hungrily and are soon put off by reading tired and often used sayings. 

You should be constantly aware of cliches in your writing, and instead of using tired old adages, you should use the opportunity to make your writing fresh and original. So instead of ‘he punched him so hard he saw stars, why not ‘he punched him so hard his brain flared up like the fourth of July’? Okay, that’s awful, but you get my gist. 

Cliches don’t just exist on the sentence level. Your storyline and characters can also be cliche. The dark and brooding ex-policeman carrying a torch for his ex-wife and the blonde vixen with breasts straining against her shirt is done to death. The bad boy who changes his ways for the pretty and intelligent girl next door STOP!

To make engaging stories with characters that a reader falls in love (or hate) with, you need to find original ways of expression. You can’t out-Anne Rice Anne Rice, no matter if you call your vampire Rudolf instead of Lestat. Use your life experiences to create something new and engaging.

• Try and avoid cliches in your writing as they make your text unengaging and bore your readers.
• Don’t follow too closely on often repeated plotlines, especially in genre fiction.
• Make well-rounded and conflicted characters and stay away from two-dimensional archetypes. Each villain should be a bit of a saint and vice versa.
• Try and create your own engaging and original analogies whenever you come across ‘like…” in your writing.

4. You’re Not Taking the Time To Edit Your Work Properly

Stephen King uses a 10 percent rule when he edits his work. After each spell at writing, he lets his writing sit for a day or two and then takes out at least 10 percent of his written draft. You’d be surprised at how many famous writers’ first drafts are actually fairly awful until they edit and rewrite their prose into a fine sheen. 

It would be best if you were quite ruthless with your writing when you turn to it with an editor’s eye. If it’s not paying rent, it’s got to go. Any writing, no matter how well written, has no place in your story unless it drives the action and serves a purpose. 

Many experts agree that Gordon Lish created Raymond Carver’s success by his ruthless editing of Craver’s work. There’s no doubt that Carver was a great talent , but Lish put Carver’s writing on the map and secured his place as a literary giant. If you haven’t discovered the wonders of Carver, I highly suggest you read his masterful art of fiction . ( https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3059/the-art-of-fiction-no-76-raymond-carver )  

• The editing process can turn your prose from a frog to a prince. By eliminating all the prose that weighs your story down, you can breathe life into your work. 
• Don’t be afraid of a mediocre to bad first draft. The first draft is where you let your imagination run wild, and you leave your inner critic picking his nose somewhere. 

There are some great books on the editing process to learn to refine and rewrite your own work. Here are a few I found really helpful on Amazon:

• Renni Brown & Dave King: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
• Brandon Royal: The Little Red Writing Book
• Stephen King: On Writing
• James Scott Bell: Revision and Self-Editing for Publication

Don’t be too hard on yourself if your writing seems terrible. Recognizing that you need to improve your writing is the first step on your journey to becoming the writer that you want to be. Remember that a writer who doesn’t write a word is far worse off than a bad writer on the road towards improvement . 

And try to have fun! 🙂 Ask some friends for feedback on your work. Maybe your writing is brilliant and you just don’t realise it. A helpful and positive writer’s community can make the lonely times and the doubt much more fun!

• Writing cooperative: Use Stephen King’s 10% Rule to Have a Sharply Edited Piece .

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar
• Skip to footer

Bar Exam Toolbox®

Get the tools you need for bar exam success

Common Bar Essay Problems and How to Avoid Them

June 2, 2015 By Alison Monahan 2 Comments

When you review a lot of bar essays, you begin to see what sets the good ones apart. The answers that score the highest have some telltale traits that really start standing out the more of them you read. We here at the Bar Exam Toolbox have seen a lot of bar essays: top scores, failing scores, and everything in between. We’ve also come up with some common pitfalls that tend to make an essay score lower. What makes a bar essay bad, though? Or, more importantly, what can you do to make yours good ? Here are some of the most common problem areas we see year to year, and how you can improve them.

Misconceptions About What the Graders Want

The kind of analysis the bar graders are looking for vary from one jurisdiction to another, and can differ vastly from what you might have been writing on final exams in law school (even if you did well in your classes). One thing is for sure, though, bar graders are looking for something very specific. A lot of first-time bar takers think that so long as their essays are coherent, relatively correct, and hit the correct issues they have it made. It takes more than that, though. It’s important to find out exactly what the graders in your jurisdiction value. How do you do this? Review the posted sample answers. Review as many of them as you can and look for commonalities.

Lack of structure

You may have some memories from your law school exams of writing whatever came to your head as fast as you could. You may have even done relatively well. This is probably because a lot of law school professors are more willing to hunt and peck through stream-of-consciousness babble to find the correct points of law buried within. These days are over. Bar exam graders simply will not do this. They will read your essay critically and very quickly (usually in just a couple of minutes!). What does this mean for you? It means you need to make it as easy as possible for them to give you points. How do you do this? By being organized.

Find a format that allows you to call out the issues you’re discussing in each paragraph. Make them salient. Employ easy-to-follow approaches, such as IRAC . Organize your answer based on the call of the question. Use attack plans. A more structured answer is easier to read quickly, and it’s easier to see at a glance whether the writer is hitting all of the necessary benchmarks. Your bar exam grader is not going to give you the benefit of the doubt and search for the gems in your answer. It’s your job to put those gems on display.

Not Using the Facts Precisely or Completely Enough

You may have heard that using the facts on the bar exam is important . This is actually a big understatement. If you’ve talked to any of us at the Bar Exam Toolbox, you’ve probably heard many, many times how crucial the facts are! What does it mean to use the facts, though? A lot of bar takers think that using the facts is the same as just throwing them into your answer in some way—just making them show up somewhere. It’s not.

As we’ve said before, the fact patterns on the bar are incredibly precise and well-crafted. The talented people who write these hypos are painstaking about what they put in and what they leave out. How do you use the facts you’re given then? In a nutshell, you need to pinpoint which specific rule element(s) each fact “matches up” with. Then, you need to use the facts to “check off” each element (or say why it is not satisfied based on the facts you have). Regurgitating facts just for the sake of throwing them into your answer is a waste of time. This likely won’t get you any extra points. Matching the facts with precise issues (better yet, with rule elements or requirements)—this is what to aim for.

Lack of Planning

Did you plan the essays you wrote on your final exams in law school? A lot of students did not. Writing bar essays is different, though ( see above). Your audience is different, and you’re being tested on different skills. In order to get the precise, formulaic structure we discussed above, you need to have a plan (and you probably need attack plans and lots of practice too!). If you’re going to figure out how to use all of the facts you get, this definitely takes planning before you begin writing. Coming up with a plan for your essay before you start typing furiously is the best way to make sure you’re getting as many points as possible, and it’s also one of the only ways to avoid the dreaded stream-of-consciousness writing we talked about above.

Missing Issues

Most bar takers know they need to spot as many issues as possible to do well on the exam. A lot of students, though, think that so long as they memorize a lot of law, these issues will just start popping out at them when they read through the fact patterns on exam day. Not quite true. There are a lot of intermediate steps in between. It’s true, you can’t do too well spotting issues if you don’t know the law. You have to know the law. You also need to practice issue spotting , and you must practice your ability to determine which kinds of facts trigger which types of issues. How do you do this? Come up with your essay writing plan and do as many closed-book practice essays as you can. Don’t just practice identifying issues, practice writing out full, timed exams so you are getting good at writing analysis and allocating your time too ( see below).

Misallocating or Wasting Time

Timing is huge on the bar exam. I’ve seen quite a few failing essay answers that probably would have passed if they were actually completed. Running out of time is a very real concern, as is misallocating time between planning and writing, or giving more time to one question instead of apportioning time equally. So, how do you get good at managing your time ? Not surprisingly, the answer here is practice. Use a clock. Cut yourself off when your predetermined planning time is over and it’s time to move on to writing. Cut yourself off when the allotted time for the essay ends. Practice some essays back-to-back so you can get a feel for what you can accomplish in an hour. Discipline yourself to move onto the next essay so none of them are lacking. Be strict with your time you’re allowed, the bar exam will be.

Failure to Critique and Review

Writing practice is only half the battle when it comes to getting good at bar essays. More often than not, I see students improve the most dramatically when they start critically reviewing their own work—and when they actually re-write essays that they miss the mark on. Why is this? Well, first of all, it’s almost impossible to learn from our own mistakes if we don’t know what those mistakes are ( if you’re a repeat bar taker , this is especially true—go get those essays you had returned to you and critique them ruthlessly!). Second, it’s difficult to apply what you’re learning on one essay to a new, completely different essay since the new essay might test very different areas of law (even within the same subject). If you write the same essay a second time, you can instill knowledge about those legal issues and cement your attack plan and process so next time you see that issue, you feel more comfortable with it.

Getting critical reviews of your essays from a trusted source like a bar program, a professor, or a tutor is also a great way to ensure that you’re seeing your missteps and fixing them. Often, bar students are over confident in their abilities. Even when they make mistakes, even when they miss issues, they may somehow convince themselves they were closer to getting it right than they actually were. Sometimes getting a tough critique early on from someone who knows what the graders are looking for is the very best thing you can do for your writing.

Do you need help with the essay portion of the bar exam? BarEssays.com is a great study tool for the essay portion of the California Bar Exam. And Bar Exam Toolbox readers get a special on membership ! Email us to get the coupon code.

Want more useful bar exam advice? Sign up for our  free mailing list  now!

Did you find this post helpful? Check out some other great articles:

• The Ins and Outs of Studying for the Bar Exam 
• Bar Exam Essays – You Must Become an Expert at Reading the Facts
• 10 Tips for Working and Studying for the Bar Exam
• Warning Signs You May Need Extra Help as a First Time Bar Exam Taker

Photo credit: Hururg/Shutterstock

Ready to pass the bar exam? Get the support and accountability you need with personalized one-on-one bar exam tutoring or one of our economical courses and workshops . We’re here to help!

About Alison Monahan

Alison Monahan is the founder of The Girl's Guide to Law School and the co-founder of the Law School Toolbox . Alison is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where she was a member of the Columbia Law Review and served as a Civ Pro teaching assistant. You can find her on Twitter at @GirlsGuideToLS or @LawSchoolTools .

Reader Interactions

These are some great tips for passing the bar’s essay questions. I think you are right about having misconceptions as to what the graders want to hear. Reviewing study questions and finding commonalities in the sample answers is a great way to study.

We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your site provided us with valuable info to work on. You have done a formidable job and our entire community will be thankful to you.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Need to Pass the Bar Exam?

Sign up for our free weekly email with useful tips!

• Terms & Conditions

Copyright 2024 Bar Exam Toolbox®™

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, bad college essays: 10 mistakes you must avoid.

College Essays

Just as there are noteworthy examples of excellent college essays that admissions offices like to publish, so are there cringe-worthy examples of terrible college essays that end up being described by anonymous admissions officers on Reddit discussion boards.

While I won't guarantee that your essay will end up in the first category, I will say that you follow my advice in this article, your essay most assuredly won't end up in the second. How do you avoid writing a bad admissions essay? Read on to find out what makes an essay bad and to learn which college essay topics to avoid. I'll also explain how to recognize bad college essays—and what to do to if you end up creating one by accident.

What Makes Bad College Essays Bad

What exactly happens to turn a college essay terrible? Just as great personal statements combine an unexpected topic with superb execution, flawed personal statements compound problematic subject matter with poor execution.

Problems With the Topic

The primary way to screw up a college essay is to flub what the essay is about or how you've decided to discuss a particular experience. Badly chosen essay content can easily create an essay that is off-putting in one of a number of ways I'll discuss in the next section.

The essay is the place to let the admissions office of your target college get to know your personality, character, and the talents and skills that aren't on your transcript. So if you start with a terrible topic, not only will you end up with a bad essay, but you risk ruining the good impression that the rest of your application makes.

Some bad topics show admissions officers that you don't have a good sense of judgment or maturity , which is a problem since they are building a class of college students who have to be able to handle independent life on campus.

Other bad topics suggest that you are a boring person , or someone who doesn't process your experience in a colorful or lively way, which is a problem since colleges want to create a dynamic and engaged cohort of students.

Still other bad topics indicate that you're unaware of or disconnected from the outside world and focused only on yourself , which is a problem since part of the point of college is to engage with new people and new ideas, and admissions officers are looking for people who can do that.

Problems With the Execution

Sometimes, even if the experiences you discuss could be the foundation of a great personal statement, the way you've structured and put together your essay sends up warning flags. This is because the admissions essay is also a place to show the admissions team the maturity and clarity of your writing style.

One way to get this part wrong is to exhibit very faulty writing mechanics , like unclear syntax or incorrectly used punctuation. This is a problem since college-ready writing is one of the things that's expected from a high school graduate.

Another way to mess this up is to ignore prompt instructions either for creative or careless reasons. This can show admissions officers that you're either someone who simply blows off directions and instructions or someone who can't understand how to follow them . Neither is a good thing, since they are looking for people who are open to receiving new information from professors and not just deciding they know everything already.

College Essay Topics To Avoid

Want to know why you're often advised to write about something mundane and everyday for your college essay? That's because the more out-there your topic, the more likely it is to stumble into one of these trouble categories.

Too Personal

The problem with the overly personal essay topic is that revealing something very private can show that you don't really understand boundaries . And knowing where appropriate boundaries are will be key for living on your own with a bunch of people not related to you.

Unfortunately, stumbling into the TMI zone of essay topics is more common than you think. One quick test for checking your privacy-breaking level: if it's not something you'd tell a friendly stranger sitting next to you on the plane, maybe don't tell it to the admissions office.

• Describing losing your virginity, or anything about your sex life really. This doesn't mean you can't write about your sexual orientation—just leave out the actual physical act.
• Writing in too much detail about your illness, disability, any other bodily functions. Detailed meaningful discussion of what this physical condition has meant to you and your life is a great thing to write about. But stay away from body horror and graphic descriptions that are simply there for gratuitous shock value.
• Waxing poetic about your love for your significant other. Your relationship is adorable to the people currently involved in it, but those who don't know you aren't invested in this aspect of your life.
• Confessing to odd and unusual desires of the sexual or illegal variety. Your obsession with cultivating cacti is wonderful topic, while your obsession with researching explosives is a terrible one.

Too Revealing of Bad Judgment

Generally speaking, leave past illegal or immoral actions out of your essay . It's simply a bad idea to give admissions officers ammunition to dislike you.

Some exceptions might be if you did something in a very, very different mindset from the one you're in now (in the midst of escaping from danger, under severe coercion, or when you were very young, for example). Or if your essay is about explaining how you've turned over a new leaf and you have the transcript to back you up.

• Writing about committing crime as something fun or exciting. Unless it's on your permanent record, and you'd like a chance to explain how you've learned your lesson and changed, don't put this in your essay.
• Describing drug use or the experience of being drunk or high. Even if you're in a state where some recreational drugs are legal, you're a high school student. Your only exposure to mind-altering substances should be caffeine.
• Making up fictional stories about yourself as though they are true. You're unlikely to be a good enough fantasist to pull this off, and there's no reason to roll the dice on being discovered to be a liar.
• Detailing your personality flaws. Unless you have a great story of coping with one of these, leave deal-breakers like pathological narcissism out of your personal statement.

Too Overconfident

While it's great to have faith in your abilities, no one likes a relentless show-off. No matter how magnificent your accomplishments, if you decide to focus your essay on them, it's better to describe a setback or a moment of doubt rather that simply praising yourself to the skies.

• Bragging and making yourself the flawless hero of your essay. This goes double if you're writing about not particularly exciting achievements like scoring the winning goal or getting the lead in the play.
• Having no awareness of the actual scope of your accomplishments. It's lovely that you take time to help others, but volunteer-tutoring a couple of hours a week doesn't make you a saintly figure.

Too Clichéd or Boring

Remember your reader. In this case, you're trying to make yourself memorable to an admissions officer who has been reading thousands of other essays . If your essay makes the mistake of being boring or trite, it just won't register in that person's mind as anything worth paying attention to.

• Transcribing your resume into sentence form or writing about the main activity on your transcript. The application already includes your resume, or a detailed list of your various activities. Unless the prompt specifically asks you to write about your main activity, the essay needs to be about a facet of your interests and personality that doesn't come through the other parts of the application.
• Writing about sports. Every athlete tries to write this essay. Unless you have a completely off-the-wall story or unusual achievement, leave this overdone topic be.
• Being moved by your community service trip to a third-world country. Were you were impressed at how happy the people seemed despite being poor? Did you learn a valuable lesson about how privileged you are? Unfortunately, so has every other teenager who traveled on one of these trips. Writing about this tends to simultaneously make you sound unempathetic, clueless about the world, way over-privileged, and condescending. Unless you have a highly specific, totally unusual story to tell, don't do it.
• Reacting with sadness to a sad, but very common experience. Unfortunately, many of the hard, formative events in your life are fairly universal. So, if you're going to write about death or divorce, make sure to focus on how you dealt with this event, so the essay is something only you could possibly have written. Only detailed, idiosyncratic description can save this topic.
• Going meta. Don't write about the fact that you're writing the essay as we speak, and now the reader is reading it, and look, the essay is right here in the reader's hand. It's a technique that seems clever, but has already been done many times in many different ways.
• Offering your ideas on how to fix the world. This is especially true if your solution is an easy fix, if only everyone would just listen to you. Trust me, there's just no way you are being realistically appreciative of the level of complexity inherent in the problem you're describing.
• Starting with a famous quotation. There usually is no need to shore up your own words by bringing in someone else's. Of course, if you are writing about a particular phrase that you've adopted as a life motto, feel free to include it. But even then, having it be the first line in your essay feels like you're handing the keys over to that author and asking them to drive.
• Using an everyday object as a metaphor for your life/personality. "Shoes. They are like this, and like that, and people love them for all of these reasons. And guess what? They are just like me."

Too Off-Topic

Unlike the essays you've been writing in school where the idea is to analyze something outside of yourself, the main subject of your college essay should be you, your background, your makeup, and your future . Writing about someone or something else might well make a great essay, but not for this context.

• Paying tribute to someone very important to you. Everyone would love to meet your grandma, but this isn't the time to focus on her amazing coming of age story. If you do want to talk about a person who is important to your life, dwell on the ways you've been impacted by them, and how you will incorporate this impact into your future.
• Documenting how well other people do things, say things, are active, while you remain passive and inactive in the essay. Being in the orbit of someone else's important lab work, or complex stage production, or meaningful political activism is a fantastic learning moment. But if you decide to write about, your essay should be about your learning and how you've been influenced, not about the other person's achievements.
• Concentrating on a work of art that deeply moved you. Watch out for the pitfall of writing an analytical essay about that work, and not at all about your reaction to it or how you've been affected since. Check out our explanation of how to answer Topic D of the ApplyTexas application to get some advice on writing about someone else's work while making sure your essay still points back at you.

(Image: Pieter Christoffel Wonder [Public domain] , via Wikimedia Commons)

Too Offensive

With this potential mistake, you run the risk of showing a lack of self-awareness or the ability to be open to new ideas . Remember, no reader wants to be lectured at. If that's what your essay does, you are demonstrating an inability to communicate successfully with others.

Also, remember that no college is eager to admit someone who is too close-minded to benefit from being taught by others. A long, one-sided essay about a hot-button issue will suggest that you are exactly that.

• Ranting at length about political, religious, or other contentious topics. You simply don't know where the admissions officer who reads your essay stands on any of these issues. It's better to avoid upsetting or angering that person.
• Writing a one-sided diatribe about guns, abortion, the death penalty, immigration, or anything else in the news. Even if you can marshal facts in your argument, this essay is simply the wrong place to take a narrow, unempathetic side in an ongoing debate.
• Mentioning anything negative about the school you're applying to. Again, your reader is someone who works there and presumably is proud of the place. This is not the time to question the admissions officer's opinions or life choices.

College Essay Execution Problems To Avoid

Bad college essays aren't only caused by bad topics. Sometimes, even if you're writing about an interesting, relevant topic, you can still seem immature or unready for college life because of the way you present that topic—the way you actually write your personal statement. Check to make sure you haven't made any of the common mistakes on this list.

Tone-Deafness

Admissions officers are looking for resourcefulness, the ability to be resilient, and an active and optimistic approach to life —these are all qualities that create a thriving college student. Essays that don't show these qualities are usually suffering from tone-deafness.

• Being whiny or complaining about problems in your life. Is the essay about everyone doing things to/against you? About things happening to you, rather than you doing anything about them? That perspective is a definite turn-off.
• Trying and failing to use humor. You may be very funny in real life, but it's hard to be successfully funny in this context, especially when writing for a reader who doesn't know you. If you do want to use humor, I'd recommend the simplest and most straightforward version: being self-deprecating and low-key.
• Talking down to the reader, or alternately being self-aggrandizing. No one enjoys being condescended to. In this case, much of the function of your essay is to charm and make yourself likable, which is unlikely to happen if you adopt this tone.
• Being pessimistic, cynical, and generally depressive. You are applying to college because you are looking forward to a future of learning, achievement, and self-actualization. This is not the time to bust out your existential ennui and your jaded, been-there-done-that attitude toward life.

(Image: Eduard Munch [Public Domain] , via Wikimedia Commons)

Lack of Personality

One good question to ask yourself is: could anyone else have written this essay ? If the answer is yes, then you aren't doing a good job of representing your unique perspective on the world. It's very important to demonstrate your ability to be a detailed observer of the world, since that will be one of your main jobs as a college student.

• Avoiding any emotions, and appearing robot-like and cold in the essay. Unlike essays that you've been writing for class, this essay is meant to be a showcase of your authorial voice and personality. It may seem strange to shift gears after learning how to take yourself out of your writing, but this is the place where you have to put as much as yourself in as possible.
• Skipping over description and specific details in favor of writing only in vague generalities. Does your narrative feel like a newspaper horoscope, which could apply to every other person who was there that day? Then you're doing it wrong and need to refocus on your reaction, feelings, understanding, and transformation.

Off-Kilter Style

There's some room for creativity here, yes, but a college essay isn't a free-for-all postmodern art class . True, there are prompts that specifically call for your most out-of-left-field submission, or allow you to submit a portfolio or some other work sample instead of a traditional essay. But on a standard application, it's better to stick to traditional prose, split into paragraphs, further split into sentences.

• Submitting anything other than just the materials asked for on your application. Don't send food to the admissions office, don't write your essay on clothing or shoes, don't create a YouTube channel about your undying commitment to the school. I know there are a lot of urban legends about "that one time this crazy thing worked," but they are either not true or about something that will not work a second time.
• Writing your essay in verse, in the form of a play, in bullet points, as an acrostic, or any other non-prose form. Unless you really have a way with poetry or playwriting, and you are very confident that you can meet the demands of the prompt and explain yourself well in this form, don't discard prose simply for the sake of being different.
• Using as many "fancy" words as possible and getting very far away from sounding like yourself. Admissions officers are unanimous in wanting to hear your not fully formed teenage voice in your essay. This means that you should write at the top of your vocabulary range and syntax complexity, but don't trade every word up for a thesaurus synonym. Your essay will suffer for it.

Failure to Proofread

Most people have a hard time checking over their own work. This is why you have to make sure that someone else proofreads your writing . This is the one place where you can, should—and really must—get someone who knows all about grammar, punctuation and has a good eye for detail to take a red pencil to your final draft.

Otherwise, you look like you either don't know the basic rules or writing (in which case, are you really ready for college work?) or don't care enough to present yourself well (in which case, why would the admissions people care about admitting you?).

• Typos, grammatical mistakes, punctuation flubs, weird font/paragraph spacing issues. It's true that these are often unintentional mistakes. But caring about getting it right is a way to demonstrate your work ethic and dedication to the task at hand.
• Going over the word limit. Part of showing your brilliance is being able to work within arbitrary rules and limitations. Going over the word count points to a lack of self-control, which is not a very attractive feature in a college applicant.
• Repeating the same word(s) or sentence structure over and over again. This makes your prose monotonous and hard to read.

Bad College Essay Examples—And How to Fix Them

The beauty of writing is that you get to rewrite. So if you think of your essay as a draft waiting to be revised into a better version rather than as a precious jewel that can't bear being touched, you'll be in far better shape to correct the issues that always crop up!

Now let's take a look at some actual college essay drafts to see where the writer is going wrong and how the issue could be fixed.

Essay #1: The "I Am Writing This Essay as We Speak" Meta-Narrative

Was your childhood home destroyed by a landspout tornado? Yeah, neither was mine. I know that intro might have given the impression that this college essay will be about withstanding disasters, but the truth is that it isn't about that at all.

In my junior year, I always had in mind an image of myself finishing the college essay months before the deadline. But as the weeks dragged on and the deadline drew near, it soon became clear that at the rate things are going I would probably have to make new plans for my October, November and December.

Falling into my personal wormhole, I sat down with my mom to talk about colleges. "Maybe you should write about Star Trek ," she suggested, "you know how you've always been obsessed with Captain Picard, calling him your dream mentor. Unique hobbies make good topics, right? You'll sound creative!" I played with the thought in my mind, tapping my imaginary communicator pin and whispering "Computer. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. And then an Essay." Nothing happened. Instead, I sat quietly in my room wrote the old-fashioned way. Days later I emerged from my room disheveled, but to my dismay, this college essay made me sound like just a guy who can't get over the fact that he'll never take the Starfleet Academy entrance exam. So, I tossed my essay away without even getting to disintegrate it with a phaser set on stun.

I fell into a state of panic. My college essay. My image of myself in senior year. Almost out of nowhere, Robert Jameson Smith offered his words of advice. Perfect! He suggested students begin their college essay by listing their achievements and letting their essay materialize from there. My heart lifted, I took his advice and listed three of my greatest achievements - mastering my backgammon strategy, being a part of TREE in my sophomore year, and performing "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" from The Pirates of Penzance in public. And sure enough, I felt inspiration hit me and began to type away furiously into the keyboard about my experience in TREE, or Trees Require Engaged Environmentalists. I reflected on the current state of deforestation, and described the dichotomy of it being both understandable why farmers cut down forests for farmland, and how dangerous this is to our planet. Finally, I added my personal epiphany to the end of my college essay as the cherry on the vanilla sundae, as the overused saying goes.

After 3 weeks of figuring myself out, I have converted myself into a piece of writing. As far as achievements go, this was definitely an amazing one. The ability to transform a human being into 603 words surely deserves a gold medal. Yet in this essay, I was still being nagged by a voice that couldn't be ignored. Eventually, I submitted to that yelling inner voice and decided that this was not the right essay either.

In the middle of a hike through Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, I realized that the college essay was nothing more than an embodiment of my character. The two essays I have written were not right because they have failed to become more than just words on recycled paper. The subject failed to come alive. Certainly my keen interest in Star Trek and my enthusiasm for TREE are a great part of who I am, but there were other qualities essential in my character that did not come across in the essays.

With this realization, I turned around as quickly as I could without crashing into a tree.

What Essay #1 Does Well

Here are all things that are working on all cylinders for this personal statement as is.

Killer First Sentence

Was your childhood home destroyed by a landspout tornado? Yeah, neither was mine.

• A strange fact. There are different kinds of tornadoes? What is a "landspout tornado" anyway?
• A late-night-deep-thoughts hypothetical. What would it be like to be a kid whose house was destroyed in this unusual way?
• Direct engagement with the reader. Instead of asking "what would it be like to have a tornado destroy a house" it asks "was your house ever destroyed."

Gentle, Self-Deprecating Humor That Lands Well

I played with the thought in my mind, tapping my imaginary communicator pin and whispering "Computer. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. And then an Essay." Nothing happened. Instead, I sat quietly in my room wrote the old-fashioned way. Days later I emerged from my room disheveled, but to my dismay, this college essay made me sound like just a guy who can't get over the fact that he'll never take the Starfleet Academy entrance exam. So, I tossed my essay away without even getting to disintegrate it with a phaser set on stun.

The author has his cake and eats it too here: both making fun of himself for being super into the Star Trek mythos, but also showing himself being committed enough to try whispering a command to the Enterprise computer alone in his room. You know, just in case.

A Solid Point That Is Made Paragraph by Paragraph

The meat of the essay is that the two versions of himself that the author thought about portraying each fails in some way to describe the real him. Neither an essay focusing on his off-beat interests, nor an essay devoted to his serious activism could capture everything about a well-rounded person in 600 words.

(Image: fir0002 via Wikimedia Commons .)

Where Essay #1 Needs Revision

Rewriting these flawed parts will make the essay shine.

Spending Way Too Long on the Metanarrative

I know that intro might have given the impression that this college essay will be about withstanding disasters, but the truth is that it isn't about that at all.

After 3 weeks of figuring myself out, I have converted myself into a piece of writing. As far as achievements go, this was definitely an amazing one. The ability to transform a human being into 603 words surely deserves a gold medal.

Look at how long and draggy these paragraphs are, especially after that zippy opening. Is it at all interesting to read about how someone else found the process of writing hard? Not really, because this is a very common experience.

In the rewrite, I'd advise condensing all of this to maybe a sentence to get to the meat of the actual essay .

Letting Other People Do All the Doing

I sat down with my mom to talk about colleges. "Maybe you should write about Star Trek ," she suggested, "you know how you've always been obsessed with Captain Picard, calling him your dream mentor. Unique hobbies make good topics, right? You'll sound creative!"

Almost out of nowhere, Robert Jameson Smith offered his words of advice. Perfect! He suggested students begin their college essay by listing their achievements and letting their essay materialize from there.

Twice in the essay, the author lets someone else tell him what to do. Not only that, but it sounds like both of the "incomplete" essays were dictated by the thoughts of other people and had little to do with his own ideas, experiences, or initiative.

In the rewrite, it would be better to recast both the Star Trek and the TREE versions of the essay as the author's own thoughts rather than someone else's suggestions . This way, the point of the essay—taking apart the idea that a college essay could summarize life experience—is earned by the author's two failed attempts to write that other kind of essay.

Leaving the Insight and Meaning Out of His Experiences

Both the Star Trek fandom and the TREE activism were obviously important life experiences for this author—important enough to be potential college essay topic candidates. But there is no description of what the author did with either one, nor any explanation of why these were so meaningful to his life.

It's fine to say that none of your achievements individually define you, but in order for that to work, you have to really sell the achievements themselves.

In the rewrite, it would be good to explore what he learned about himself and the world by pursuing these interests . How did they change him or seen him into the person he is today?

Not Adding New Shades and Facets of Himself Into the Mix

So, I tossed my essay away without even getting to disintegrate it with a phaser set on stun.

Yet in this essay, I was still being nagged by a voice that couldn't be ignored. Eventually, I submitted to that yelling inner voice and decided that this was not the right essay either.

In both of these passages, there is the perfect opportunity to point out what exactly these failed versions of the essay didn't capture about the author . In the next essay draft, I would suggest subtly making a point about his other qualities.

For example, after the Star Trek paragraph, he could talk about other culture he likes to consume, especially if he can discuss art forms he is interested in that would not be expected from someone who loves Star Trek .

Or, after the TREE paragraph, the author could explain why this second essay was no better at capturing him than the first. What was missing? Why is the self in the essay shouting—is it because this version paints him as an overly aggressive activist?

Essay #2: The "I Once Saw Poor People" Service Trip Essay

Unlike other teenagers, I'm not concerned about money, or partying, or what others think of me. Unlike other eighteen year-olds, I think about my future, and haven't become totally materialistic and acquisitive. My whole outlook on life changed after I realized that my life was just being handed to me on a silver spoon, and yet there were those in the world who didn't have enough food to eat or place to live. I realized that the one thing that this world needed more than anything was compassion; compassion for those less fortunate than us.

During the summer of 2006, I went on a community service trip to rural Peru to help build an elementary school for kids there. I expected harsh conditions, but what I encountered was far worse. It was one thing to watch commercials asking for donations to help the unfortunate people in less developed countries, yet it was a whole different story to actually live it. Even after all this time, I can still hear babies crying from hunger; I can still see the filthy rags that they wore; I can still smell the stench of misery and hopelessness. But my most vivid memory was the moment I first got to the farming town. The conditions of it hit me by surprise; it looked much worse in real life than compared to the what our group leader had told us. Poverty to me and everyone else I knew was a foreign concept that people hear about on the news or see in documentaries. But this abject poverty was their life, their reality. And for the brief ten days I was there, it would be mine too. As all of this realization came at once, I felt overwhelmed by the weight of what was to come. Would I be able to live in the same conditions as these people? Would I catch a disease that no longer existed in the first world, or maybe die from drinking contaminated water? As these questions rolled around my already dazed mind, I heard a soft voice asking me in Spanish, "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" I looked down to see a small boy, around nine years of age, who looked starved, and cold, wearing tattered clothing, comforting me. These people who have so little were able to forget their own needs, and put those much more fortunate ahead of themselves. It was at that moment that I saw how selfish I had been. How many people suffered like this in the world, while I went about life concerned about nothing at all?

Thinking back on the trip, maybe I made a difference, maybe not. But I gained something much more important. I gained the desire to make the world a better place for others. It was in a small, poverty-stricken village in Peru that I finally realized that there was more to life than just being alive.

What Essay #2 Does Well

Let's first point out what this draft has going for it.

Clear Chronology

This is an essay that tries to explain a shift in perspective. There are different ways to structure this overarching idea, but a chronological approach that starts with an earlier opinion, describes a mind changing event, and ends with the transformed point of view is an easy and clear way to lay this potentially complex subject out.

(Image: User:Lite via Wikimedia Commons)

Where Essay #2 Needs Revision

Now let's see what needs to be changed in order for this essay to pass muster.

Condescending, Obnoxious Tone

Unlike other teenagers, I'm not concerned about money, or partying, or what others think of me. Unlike other eighteen year-olds, I think about my future, and haven't become totally materialistic and acquisitive.

This is a very broad generalization, which doesn't tend to be the best way to formulate an argument—or to start an essay. It just makes this author sound dismissive of a huge swath of the population.

In the rewrite, this author would be way better off just concentrate on what she want to say about herself, not pass judgment on "other teenagers," most of whom she doesn't know and will never meet.

I realized that the one thing that this world needed more than anything was compassion; compassion for those less fortunate than us.

Coming from someone who hasn't earned her place in the world through anything but the luck of being born, the word "compassion" sounds really condescending. Calling others "less fortunate" when you're a senior in high school has a dehumanizing quality to it.

These people who have so little were able to forget their own needs, and put those much more fortunate in front of themselves.

Again, this comes across as very patronizing. Not only that, but to this little boy the author was clearly not looking all that "fortunate"—instead, she looked pathetic enough to need comforting.

In the next draft, a better hook could be making the essay about the many different kinds of shifting perspectives the author encountered on that trip . A more meaningful essay would compare and contrast the points of view of the TV commercials, to what the group leader said, to the author's own expectations, and finally to this child's point of view.

Vague, Unobservant Description

During the summer of 2006, I went on a community service trip to rural Peru to help build an elementary school for kids there. I expected harsh conditions, but what I encountered was far worse. It was one thing to watch commercials asking for donations to help the unfortunate people in less developed countries, yet it was a whole different story to actually live it. Even after all this time, I can still hear babies crying from hunger; I can still see the filthy rags that they wore; I can still smell the stench of misery and hopelessness.

Phrases like "cries of the small children from not having enough to eat" and "dirt stained rags" seem like descriptions, but they're really closer to incurious and completely hackneyed generalizations. Why were the kids were crying? How many kids? All the kids? One specific really loud kid?

The same goes for "filthy rags," which is both an incredibly insensitive way to talk about the clothing of these villagers, and again shows a total lack of interest in their life. Why were their clothes dirty? Were they workers or farmers so their clothes showing marks of labor? Did they have Sunday clothes? Traditional clothes they would put on for special occasions? Did they make their own clothes? That would be a good reason to keep wearing clothing even if it had "stains" on it.

The rewrite should either make this section more specific and less reliant on cliches, or should discard it altogether .

The conditions of it hit me by surprise; it looked much worse in real life than compared to the what our group leader had told us. Poverty to me and everyone else I knew was a foreign concept that people hear about on the news or see in documentaries. But this abject poverty was their life, their reality.

If this is the "most vivid memory," then I would expect to read all the details that have been seared into the author's brain. What did their leader tell them? What was different in real life? What was the light like? What did the houses/roads/grass/fields/trees/animals/cars look like? What time of day was it? Did they get there by bus, train, or plane? Was there an airport/train station/bus terminal? A city center? Shops? A marketplace?

There are any number of details to include here when doing another drafting pass.

Lack of Insight or Maturity

But this abject poverty was their life, their reality. And for the brief ten days I was there, it would be mine too. As all of this realization came at once, I felt overwhelmed by the weight of what was to come. Would I be able to live in the same conditions as these people? Would I catch a disease that no longer existed in the first world, or maybe die from drinking contaminated water?

Without a framing device explaining that this initial panic was an overreaction, this section just makes the author sound whiny, entitled, melodramatic, and immature . After all, this isn't a a solo wilderness trek—the author is there with a paid guided program. Just how much mortality is typically associated with these very standard college-application-boosting service trips?

In a rewrite, I would suggest including more perspective on the author's outsized and overprivileged response here. This would fit well with a new focus on the different points of view on this village the author encountered.

Unearned, Clichéd "Deep Thoughts"

But I gained something much more important. I gained the desire to make the world a better place for others. It was in a small, poverty-stricken village in Peru that I finally realized that there was more to life than just being alive.

Is it really believable that this is what the author learned? There is maybe some evidence to suggest that the author was shaken somewhat out of a comfortable, materialistic existence. But what does "there is more to life than just being alive" even really mean? This conclusion is rather vague, and seems mostly a non sequitur.

In a rewrite, the essay should be completely reoriented to discuss how differently others see us than we see ourselves, pivoting on the experience of being pitied by someone who you thought was pitiable. Then, the new version can end by on a note of being better able to understand different points of view and other people's perspectives .

The Bottom Line

• Bad college essays have problems either with their topics or their execution.
• The essay is how admissions officers learn about your personality, point of view, and maturity level, so getting the topic right is a key factor in letting them see you as an aware, self-directed, open-minded applicant who is going to thrive in an environment of independence.
• The essay is also how admissions officers learn that you are writing at a ready-for-college level, so screwing up the execution shows that you either don't know how to write, or don't care enough to do it well.
• The main ways college essay topics go wrong is bad taste, bad judgment, and lack of self-awareness.
• The main ways college essays fail in their execution have to do with ignoring format, syntax, and genre expectations.

What's Next?

Want to read some excellent college essays now that you've seen some examples of flawed one? Take a look through our roundup of college essay examples published by colleges and then get help with brainstorming your perfect college essay topic .

Need some guidance on other parts of the application process? Check out our detailed, step-by-step guide to college applications for advice.

Are you considering taking the SAT or ACT again before you submit your application? Read about our famous test prep guides for hints and strategies for a better score.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

Our Students Can’t Write Very Well—It’s No Mystery Why

• Share article

My organization decided a few weeks back that we needed to hire a new professional staff person. We had close to 500 applicants. Inasmuch as the task was to help us communicate information related to the work we do, we gave each of the candidates one of the reports we published last year and asked them to produce a one-page summary. All were college graduates. Only one could produce a satisfactory summary. That person got the job.

We were lucky this time. We are more often than not disappointed at the subpar writing ability of the applicants for openings at our organization. Many applicants are from very good colleges. Many have graduate degrees. Many are very poor writers.

Their lack of writing ability does not augur well. When we look at what they have written, the logic of the narrative is often very hard to find. It would appear that their lack of writing ability stands as mute testimony to their lack of thinking ability.

How, we ask, could this have happened? The answers are not hard to find. My friend Will Fitzhugh points out that high school students are rarely required to read entire works of fiction and are almost never asked to read entire works of non-fiction. I know of no good writers who are not also good readers.

More directly to the point, high school students are hardly ever asked to write anything of significant length. Why not? Because in this age of accountability, they are not tested on their writing ability. By which I mean that they are not asked to submit to the testing authorities 10- or 15- or 20-page papers in which they are expected to present a thesis and defend it, analyze something complicated from multiple points of view and draw a reasoned conclusion, or put together a short story in which characters are developed in some depth and insights are revealed.

This point is critically important. There is only one way that we can find out whether a student can write a substantial research paper—by asking them to write a substantial research paper and looking carefully at the result. If we do not ask them to produce this product—over and over again, as they get better and better at it—then they will not be able to do it well. If they have not done the work, then neither their teacher nor the engines of the accountability system can assess it. If this sort of serious writing is not done and—in our accountability-oriented environment—is not assessed, then it will not be learned. End of argument.

Oh, sure, we have tests of writing ability for college-bound students, but they do not ask the student to produce anything like what we asked our candidates to produce. They ask a student to choose one word or phrase from a list to fill in the blank in a passage. That is not writing. It is something else. PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments have made progress in more effectively evaluating the writing skills of our students, but many states are actively taking steps away from these types of assessment tasks. And it is of course true that asking a student to write a one-page summary of a longer piece is no test of their ability to write a well-argued, fact-based, 10- or 20-page research paper.

We are fond of producing long lists of things we want 21 st century students to be able to do. But the ability to write well and think critically always tops the list, both because so much work requires these skills and because they are so fundamental to so many other kinds of cognitive activity we value. What could be more central to a good education?

So it is simply unbelievable that we do not build our curriculum around the assumption that we will be asking students to read demanding books—not just parts of books, but whole books—and then asking them to write, at length and in detail, about what they have read, explicating, analyzing, synthesizing and summarizing it, with insight and narrative skill that demonstrates their ability to think clearly. Isn’t that the heart of the matter?

Writing is a craft. Like any other craft, it is learned only by doing it, over and over and over, at increasing levels of challenge, under the watchful eye of an expert. How on earth are our students to learn to write if we do not ask them to write, and write a lot, and write well? The reason, of course, that they are not asked to write much is because their ability to write a substantial paper is not tested. And why, in this age of accountability, when we judge teachers by how well their students do on the test, would we expect their students to write well when we do not test their ability to write a good paper, 10 to 20 pages in length?

Our own research tells us that a large fraction of community college professors do not assign writing to their students because their students cannot write and the professors do not consider themselves to be writing teachers. It is no wonder that employers like us find it so hard to find candidates with serviceable writing skills.

What do you suppose would happen if a state announced one day that it was redesigning its accountability system and half of a teachers’ rating would henceforth depend on their students’ grades on long research papers in the subject taught by that teacher—papers, say, at least 15 pages long at the high school level? They might be told that that grade would depend on the way evidence was presented and marshaled, the range of the evidence presented, the depth of the analytical ability displayed in the essay, the logic and persuasiveness of the argument made, and so on.

I am not arguing that we should do this, but simply making the point that if we really cared about the ability of our students to think and write well, we would assign substantial papers frequently, critique those papers effectively, and expect students to write well long before they left high school. It is hard to reach any conclusion on this point other than that we simply don’t care whether or not our students can write effectively, if we judge by what is assigned to students, what is expected of students, the instruction we offer students, the way we evaluate their work, the design of our accountability systems or our criteria for graduating students from high school.

But assume for the moment that all these issues were addressed. Can we then assume that our students would be graduating high schools able to think clearly and write well? I don’t think so.

I said in passing above that writing is a craft and crafts are best learned by apprenticing oneself to an expert, in this case an expert writer. This suggests that if our students are to become good writers, they will have to get their work critiqued in detail by teachers who are themselves good writers.

But I also said at the beginning of this blog that we and many other employers are having a very hard time hiring anyone who is a good writer, even graduates of leading universities and graduate schools. We know that most of our teachers come not from our leading universities but from institutions that get their students from the lower half of the distribution of high school graduates going to college. If there is no reason to assume that the graduates of the leading institutions are themselves good writers, what would make us assume that the graduates of less demanding institutions are better writers?

It is true that many universities require applicants to submit a short essay as part of their application. But I am willing to bet that few, if any, require their applicants to do something as straightforward as our request to our job applicants to summarize a complex research paper in one page, on demand, in a short time, capturing all the key points and creating a narrative that makes sense of it all for the reader.

If we do not demand that those who want to become teachers are themselves very good writers, why would we expect our teachers to be good teachers of writing? We should, in fact, be requiring our candidates for teaching positions to write 20-page papers of their own which analyze and summarize a topic from the literature in their field. We should be asking them to produce, on demand, a one-page summary of something they are given to read that is complicated and difficult.

But we don’t do any of these things. So, once again, I conclude that we are not serious. We are not serious about teaching students to reason and write well and we are not serious about hiring teachers who have the skills needed to teach our students how to reason and write well. We are no doubt lucky to have many teachers who know how to read and write critically and care enough to pass those skills on to their students. But if these core skills were really important to us, we would be making very large changes in curriculum, demanding much more reading of complete novels and non-fiction, asking our students to write much longer papers much more frequently, providing expert and copious commentary on what they had written, changing our accountability systems to reflect these priorities and, not least, we would be making sure that our teachers are themselves very good writers.

I very much doubt that our high school graduates write less well than high school graduates used to write. But jobs for truck drivers, hamburger flippers and grocery store check out clerks are disappearing fast. This is just one more—but crucially important—arena in which our education system is failing to adapt to a fast-changing environment.

The opinions expressed in Top Performers are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update