Successful essay is supposed to be well-structured both at the level of sentence and at the level of text. Thus, the most common structural mistakes can be subdivided into those which refer to the sentence structure and those which influence the structure of the whole essay.
Sentence Errors
The most typical mistakes of the first type are fragments and run-on sentences.
Fragment is an incomplete structure, which does not contain a subject-predicate unit, and, thus, does not express an idea properly, despite beginning with a capital letter and ending with a punctuation mark. Fragments cannot function in the text on their own and must be either added to a complete sentence or rewritten in the way there is a proper subject-predicate unit in them.
WRONG:
Difficult to develop an idea.
RIGHT:
Many students can find it difficult to develop an idea.
It is certainly difficult to develop an idea properly.
Run-on sentences are sentences which consist of two subject-predicate units, joined together without a conjunction or any proper punctuation and, thus, being confusing for the reader. In order to correct a run-on sentence, you can divide it into two separate sentences, add a coordinating conjunction or a subordinating one.
WRONG:
Good essay writing skills are important for achieving good academic results they are easy to develop.
RIGHT:
Good essay writing skills are important for achieving good academic results. They are easy to develop.
Good essay writing skills are important for achieving good academic results, yet they are easy to develop.
Text structure errors
The most common mistake in the text structure is poor paragraph division or its total absence. Although the issue of paragraphs seems to be relatively unimportant if compared to the issue of ideas, an essay, which does not have a clear text structure, will definitely fail to convey the meaning effectively.
Any essay must be organized in at least four paragraphs with the introduction, conclusion and two paragraphs of the main body.
So, if you want to create a powerful piece of writing, make sure both the text and the sentences have a clear structure, presenting a complete development of the ideas. This will ensure that your essay is impressive and easy to read.
