College essays are often the bane of a student’s semester, but they don’t have to be. Take a few helpful hints from a college professor and clean up your essays, so that your professors will want to read your thoughts, be energetic about your writings, and give your papers better grades for the extra effort.
Writing papers for college is
drastically different than writing papers for high school, and accordingly you
should take note of this difference when constructing your essays for college
courses. These statements do not mean
that your essays have to be complex arguments discussing that fate of the free
world, manifestos on how to change the world, or filled with language that only
the Rhodes Scholar with four PhDs will understand. No, you should keep your papers short and
simple—meaning to the point and pertinent to the assignment—and fully address
what you are discussing. Leave nothing
in your argument for the reader to question, and tell him or her exactly what you want him/her to know. College writing is formal—meaning you are
writing for an educated audience. Using slang
language, curse words, and internet slang is inappropriate. Actually, it is not even inappropriate... It is just bad form.
With those pretenses in mind, use
these simple steps when writing your essay to avoid many of the common pitfalls of students. Your professors
will be elated, and your grades will reflect it!