Tips
Have someone read your paper aloud to you or read it aloud to a tape recorder and play it back. Your ears are sometimes better than your eyes at picking up mistakes in language—-after all, they've had more practice.
Avoid the following:
- making columns of point-form lists
- making a comma-spliced list inside a paragraph
- using et cetera (etc.); it's a cop-out. When teachers see "etc.", they may interpret it to mean, "and I can’t think of anything else".
Refer to all illustrations and diagrams as Figure 1, 2, 3, etc. You can refer to tables and charts as Table 1, 2, 3, etc. or as figures. Photos can be referred to as Photo 1, 2, 3, etc., or as figures. Make sure you do refer to all figures in the text of your essay. A figure should not be included if you do not specifically mention it in the body of the essay or research report.
Remember that writing is a skill and, like any other skill, requires practice to become a master of it. One easy way to practice is to read more essays in the style and subjects that you write yours.
In short, to your readers, your essay should tell them what you are going to tell them (introduction), tell them (body paragraphs), and tell them what you just told them (conclusion).
regards
faryal shah