Term Paper Writing Traps

by Steve Davids

This term paper writing article is designed to notify college students about the common mistakes that are made in the papers they write so that they can be avoided in the future. This will prepare them for writing high quality essays, book reviews and term papers that they will be assigned throughout their college life. By adhering to this advice, they will excel in their classes and reduce their stress levels that are associated with completing assignments at the last minute.

Once you get to college, essays and papers are seemingly unavoidable. You'll have to prepare for writing a lot of essays throughout your years of college. Learning term paper writing does take some time and practice, but the process is much slower if you keep falling into the same common mistakes.

There are some common term paper writing traps that every college student falls into in order to meet the word limit or to meet the deadline on time. However, these are easy to avoid if you know what they are ahead of time. Following this advice will also make your professors happy, as they will have quality essays to read and won't have to struggle with figuring out exactly what it is you're trying to say. Avoiding these common traps will also help you write a better term paper and get you the grades you need to succeed.

Here is a list of just a few of the common traps college students can't seem to avoid.

The use of quotes

Direct quotes are essential in a paper about history, current events or literature in order to introduce a point that's going to be discussed. However, there is never a need for quotes in a scientific or research paper. Doing so can convey that you don't know what you're talking about, and are using a quote to do the work for you. It's always best to go with your own thoughts than to fill your paper with quotes.

Not proofreading your paper

You would be surprised how many mistakes there might be in your paper if you don't read it over. You could end up missing a spelling mistake or a grammatical error that changes the meaning of what you're saying, or simply makes it more difficult for your paper to be understood. The more eyes you get on your paper, the more mistakes that will be caught. You can also get another person's opinion on whether what you've written sounds right, or if there's an alternative way of getting your thoughts down.

Including irrelevant information

Your first term paper may be your worst, because you're not sure what should and shouldn't be included in your paper. Information that you may believe to be important is not to the teacher who is reading it. Depending on the subject of your paper, be sure to only include information that will bring your point across. If it doesn't convey new information to the reader, then it is irrelevant.

Do not oversimplify

Be specific in the terms you use, but without being redundant. You don't want to reduce your thoughts or opinions to something that's too basic. Be wary that summarizing is not the same as oversimplifying. You still want to use the technical terminology in the field you're writing in, so don't write your paper in a quality that is below college-level.

Term paper writing in college may not seem like much, once you've learned how to write them, but that's where you're wrong. Avoiding the most common of mistakes will prepare you for writing your resumes, documents in the work place, or any other writing involved with getting employed. It will provide you with the key experience in preparing a professional writing style before you even have a job lined up, so it's important that you pay attention to these common traps so that they can be avoided.