Writing Tips, Guides & Insights

You spent hours researching. You met the deadline. You even checked the word count twice. So why did the grade come back lower than you expected?

In most cases, it isn’t the ideas that let students down — it’s a handful of small, repeated mistakes that markers notice instantly. The good news: every one of them is fixable, and most take only minutes once you know what to look for.

Here are the ten mistakes we see most often in the essays submitted to OakWrites for editing, and exactly how to correct them before your lecturer ever sees them.

1. A vague or missing thesis statement

Your thesis is the single sentence that tells the reader what your essay argues. If a marker finishes your introduction and still can’t say what position you’re taking, marks are already slipping away.

The fix: After writing your introduction, underline your thesis. If you can’t find a sentence to underline — or if it just describes the topic rather than making a claim — rewrite it. “This essay discusses social media and mental health” is a topic. “Social media use increases anxiety in teenagers primarily through disrupted sleep, not online comparison” is a thesis.

2. Paragraphs without a clear point

Each paragraph should make one point, state it early, support it with evidence, and connect it back to your thesis. Paragraphs that drift between two or three ideas force the marker to do your organizing for you — and they rarely reward you for it.

The fix: Read only the first sentence of every paragraph. Together, they should read like a summary of your whole argument. If they don’t, your topic sentences need work.

3. Dropping in quotes without explaining them

A quotation is evidence, not an argument. When a quote appears and the paragraph simply moves on, the marker sees unprocessed source material — and it reads as filler.

The fix: Follow every quotation with at least one sentence in your own words explaining what it shows and why it matters to your point. If you can’t explain it, cut it.

4. Formatting and referencing errors

APA, MLA, Harvard and Chicago each have precise rules for citations, reference lists, headings and even spacing — and referencing errors are among the easiest marks to lose, because they’re the easiest for a marker to spot.

The fix: Confirm which style your course requires before you start, and format citations as you write rather than “fixing them later.” Later has a habit of never arriving at 2 a.m. before the deadline. If referencing isn’t your strength, this is one of the highest-value things to have professionally checked — our editors correct APA, MLA and Harvard formatting on every order.

5. An introduction that says nothing

“Since the beginning of time, humans have communicated.” Openings like this tell the marker nothing and waste your most valuable real estate — the first impression.

The fix: Open with something specific: a statistic, a scholarly debate, a concrete example, or a direct statement of the problem. Then narrow to your thesis. Aim for an introduction that could only belong to your essay.

6. Repetition dressed up as length

When an essay restates the same point in different words to reach the word count, markers notice immediately. Padding doesn’t just fail to add marks — it dilutes your strongest material.

The fix: If you’re short of the word count, don’t repeat — deepen. Add a counterargument and respond to it, apply your point to a second example, or address a limitation of your evidence. All three earn marks; repetition earns none.

7. Informal language in academic writing

Contractions (“don’t,” “can’t”), casual phrasing (“a lot of,” “pretty much”), and conversational asides all signal to a marker that the register is wrong for academic work.

The fix: Do a dedicated pass just for tone. Expand contractions, replace vague quantifiers with precise ones, and remove anything you’d say to a friend but not in a presentation.

8. Sentences that try to do too much

Long sentences aren’t automatically bad — unclear ones are. When a sentence carries three ideas, two subordinate clauses and a quotation, the reader loses the thread, and your point loses its force.

The fix: Read your work aloud. Anywhere you run out of breath or stumble, split the sentence. One idea per sentence is a rule you can break — but only once you can follow it.

9. A conclusion that just repeats the introduction

Copy-pasting your introduction with the words rearranged is the most common conclusion mistake there is. Markers read hundreds of essays; they recognize it instantly.

The fix: A strong conclusion answers “so what?” Restate your thesis briefly, then show its wider significance: what it means for the field, what remains unresolved, or what should happen next. End on your idea, not on a summary.

10. Submitting the first draft

This is the mistake behind most of the others. Writing and editing are different skills, and no one — not students, not professional writers — produces polished work in a single pass. An essay that has never been revised almost always reads like it.

The fix: Finish your draft at least a day before the deadline, step away, then edit in separate passes: one for structure and argument, one for clarity and flow, one for grammar and formatting. Fresh eyes catch what tired eyes cannot.

When a second pair of eyes makes the difference

You can catch many of these mistakes yourself with the checks above. But there’s a reason even professional authors have editors: after hours on the same document, your brain reads what you meant to write, not what’s on the page.

That’s exactly what our Editing & Proofreading service is for. Starting at just $4 per page, an OakWrites editor will correct your grammar and punctuation, tighten clarity and flow, fix your APA, MLA or Harvard formatting, and flag structural issues — while preserving your voice and your ideas. You submit your draft through your secure Client Portal, receive a clear quotation before any payment, and get your polished document back with your deadline in mind.

Place your order today, or view our pricing to see starting rates for all our services. Your ideas deserve to be read at their best.