The Real Reason you didn’t get an A on your Essay

The Real Reason you didn’t get an A on your Essay

By: Emily Larrabee

As a student majoring in communication, I have written my fair share of essays. In today’s workforce, it a huge skill set to be able to properly write emails, papers, press releases, etc. I recently turned in a paper that I thought I did an exceptional job on. When it was returned to me, I had received a B. I looked back through the directions and reread my paper and here are some of the things I noticed I did wrong that may help you in the future.

Your thesis statement is still not perfected yet. 

It seems like this is what I struggle with the most when it comes to writing a paper. It is hard to get all your ideas into a single sentence, but it can be done! If you struggle with it, go to Purdue’s writing lab and get some help! They are experts in writing and have written their fair share of thesis statements. You can always ask your professor if he or she thinks your thesis statement is on point with the assignment. 

2. Too much fluff

Each sentence in your paper should serve a purpose. There should not be a sentence in your paper that serves no purpose. For example, you know that your professor or TA is grading the paper, there is no need to write a page summary of the book or topic unless it is required in the instructions. Otherwise, cut that summary to about a paragraph and go along with the rest of your paper. You want to prove that you have a logical argument and not fill your paper with somewhat useless information. 

3. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS

Make sure that you are answering all the points required for the paper. Make sure that there is an introduction, body, and conclusion. You want to make sure that there is some organization to the paper. Also, some professors require a certain format for their papers. ALWAYS make sure you follow their directions. You don’t want to lose baby points over a simple formatting error.