5 Mistakes to Avoid on Your Next Term Paper

Writing a lengthy essay can be one of the most stressful tasks any college student faces. And often, a midterm or final paper may be worth up to fifty percent of your grade. So it’s vital that next time around, you make sure to avoid these common pitfalls that can trip up even the most diligent students:

Cramming

It’s just about the worst thing you can do. A good term paper –– especially if it’s a research-based assignment takes weeks to write properly. Papers like those need your time and attention to develop them. If you’re throwing things together at the last minute, you can almost guarantee you’ll be making plenty of mistakes.

Guessing What the Teacher Wants to Read

Spoiler alert: no teacher cares what side you take on a given paper. If you think Charles Dickens is an overrated, verbose hack then it shouldn’t matter that you’re teacher likes him. In fact, taking the “contrary” opinion on a given subject can be a great way to brainstorm and catch your teacher’s attention. Just make sure you’ve got the facts and sound arguments to  back up your claims.

Thinking Inside the Box

Say you’ve got a term paper due about a company that makes scientific instruments. What do you do to research them? Google a few terms like micro collection tube, magnetograph, and theodolite and leave it at that?  If you do the bare minimum of digging, you’ll end up with a mediocre paper. Next time, go the extra mile. Contact an actual professional and pick their brain on the subject. Or try snooping around in your local library; it’s likely you’ll find valuable information there that your fellow classmates will ignore.

Refusing to Proofread

Every good writer is also a good editor. And learning to proofread is essential if you want to elevate your prose like a professional. There’s no shame in catching the mistakes you made on your first draft –– that’s why it’s a first draft after all. Which leads us to our last blunder . . .

Giving into Fear

Being worried about a class, a paper, or your grade are perfectly legitimate concerns. And you should take them all seriously. But letting a difficult assignment intimidate you into unhealthy procrastination, or worse undue stress isn’t going to serve you well. If you’re having trouble, ask for help. Your teacher would much rather consult with you before a paper is due, then pick over the bones after it’s too late to change anything. Don’t let a tough paper get you down; stay positive, be open, and do your best.

“Back-up is an alternative spelling of backup. Both spellings are used as either a noun or an adjective. The verb back up is always spelled as two words and never with a hyphen.”

“Back-up is an alternative spelling of backup. Both spellings are used as either a noun or an adjective. The verb back up is always spelled as two words and never with a hyphen.”