5 Reasons Your Essays Might Be Losing Points

There’s nothing more nerve-wracking than receiving your paper and seeing a bad grade, especially if you put in a lot of effort toward producing something good. Unfortunately, there are ways you can fail your paper even after putting your best foot forward. 

It’s best to assess the situation and ask your professor what might have led to the unfavorable grade. More often than not, it’s small mistakes students tend to overlook that ultimately lead to huge repercussions. Once you understand what caused your essay to lose points, you can make the necessary adjustments to present a stronger paper in the future. 

Alternatively, you can seek professional writers to help you craft better papers. They can prove to be a valuable resource, particularly if you’re a law student. Paying for law essay writing services can also allow you to focus on the more practical side of studying law. Once the hard task of crafting papers is taken off your back, you’re able to achieve better grades and be an all-rounded student. 

However, if you’re willing to put in the effort to write better essays, you should be aware of these common mistakes.

Broad thesis statement 

Many students fail their papers because they tackle a subject that is too broad to explain sufficiently. It’s best to narrow your topic to a specific point of view. Ideally, you should pick a topic that interests you, which has obtainable information, and that can be expounded upon within the essay length required. 

Formulating a good thesis statement can take time and effort. Hence, getting help from a seasoned writer is a good idea. Read an analysis of the best writing services by essay reviews to settle on a good pick. You’ll find a reliable service in no time. 

Going off-topic

Your thesis statement signals to your reader what they should expect to read about in your paper. It is imperative that you deliver on your promise. What a lot of students tend to do is veer off-topic and touch on unrelated aspects. Not only is it harmful to your narrative, but it also lowers the quality of your paper. 

Sticking to the main point in the thesis statement ensures your reader can easily follow and understand your content. Doing so also ensures their expectations are met, thus giving you credibility.  

Citing non-credible sources

The internet is a precious source of valuable information. However, it’s also filled with unreliable and poor-quality information. 

Here are a few sources that can be unreliable:

• Wikipedia
• Blogs
• YouTube
• Quotes from the internet

As a student, you must demonstrate a high level of discernment. This means exhibiting a heightened research ability by finding authoritative and methodological sources. A good rule of thumb is to ensure the sources are up-to-date (written within the past ten years), peer-reviewed, and relevant to your topic of discussion. 

Here are a few sources that can be reliable: 

• Journal articles
• Government reports
• Textbooks
• Assigned readings

Poor grammar and referencing

It’s essential to proofread your work before submission. You’ll likely find grammatical mistakes that could lower your chance of a passing grade. A good way of catching mistakes early is by using an AI-powered typing assistant such as Grammarly. It’ll highlight any spelling or grammatical errors and help you formulate better sentences, thus improving your paper. You can also ask your friend, teacher, or tutor to review your work and provide feedback.

Another area where students lose points is in references and citations. It’s crucial to know how to insert in-text citations and references at the end of your paper. Follow your professors’ instructions regarding the format needed. 

For example, if it’s APA format, use the author’s last name and year of publication for intext citation, i.e., (Wallace, 2012). Arrange the source on the reference page beginning with the author’s surname, followed by initial, year of publication, book title, edition, and Publisher, i.e., Wallace, C. (2012). How to make money online (3rd ed.). Bullhorn.

A weak conclusion

You should have strong closing remarks to wrap up the paper to avoid a weak ending. Begin by summarizing and restating the thesis statement in different words. Take cues from the introduction and rework them in the conclusion. Finally, sum up your arguments and highlight the strongest point from your paper that you’d like readers to walk away with. 

Final thoughts

Writing an essay is no walk in the park, and it can be disheartening to get a low grade. It may seem like it’s due to big mistakes; however, it’s likely caused by small, avoidable errors. Following the points outlined above, you can be aware of areas that may lower your marks. Be sure to implement the tips mentioned to score higher grades on your essays!