Personal Essay Writing Guide: How to Avoid Mistakes

When preparing a personal essay, whether it be for admission to your favorite college or a simple homework assignment, making mistakes is a problem that everyone will face. But how can you avoid mistakes and better yourself as a writer? Here are a few tips to writing the most outstanding (and error free!) essays that you can.

First, be sure to read all the guidelines of your essay thoroughly. Misunderstanding or skimming over instructions can prove to be the number one mistake when it comes to writing. Slow down and take the time to fully understand what is expected of you.

Proofread your essay by yourself and see if you can locate any grammatical or spelling errors on your own. Make sure there are no repetitive sentences, confusing language or extraneous word usages. Too much clutter in an essay can not only take away from it's value but it can also hide obvious errors from your detection.

Try soliciting help from your current or previous school. If you ask the right people the right questions, someone is bound to help you proofread your paper. Locate the English department or head of the English department to find if anyone may be available to check for grammatical and spelling errors.

Once you have exhausted these outlets you may still wish to have your work verified. If this is the case, try any number of search engines and simply type in “Personal Essay Proofreading.” This will bring you to dozens of websites dedicated to helping you recheck your work. For a small fee, these companies will hire professional editors and writers to verify the accuracy of your paper. Often times these writers have worked an extended period of time for the chosen company and will be part of a list you can browse with portfolios, previous work samples and testimonials.

If you find yourself writing a personal essay, always remember that since the subject matter is so close to you, often errors are missed when quickly reading what you THOUGHT was written down. Always employ another set of eyes before you send your final product to its destination. The essay with best content won't always win over mediocre content if it is riddled with errors. Take time and pride in your work and you will avoid mistakes more often.