Common ESL Writing Mistakes And How To Correct Them

Common ESL Writing Mistakes And How To Correct Them

Solutions on fixing common ESL writing mistakes

If you’re struggling with common writing errors as an ESL student, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s face it, being an ESL learner is challenging. On top of studying new material in your chosen field, you have to master another language. This can make it hard to follow lectures and comprehend the material covered, which can impact your writing skills.

Additionally, writing essays and papers in a language that isn’t your first can be overwhelming. Kudos to all those who are persevering! In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common ESL writing errors and offer suggestions on how to fix them.

9 most frequently encountered errors in academic writing by ESL students, accompanied by examples and effective solutions:

1. Misuse of articles

If you’re an ESL writer, you might find it tricky to differentiate between indefinite and definite articles, which is a common mistake in academic writing. Indefinite articles like ‘a’ or ‘an’ are used when referring to a noun whose specific identity is unknown. When the noun starts with a consonant sound, ‘a’ is used, and when it starts with a vowel sound, ‘an’ is used (For example, “a dog”, or “an egg”). On the other hand, ‘the’ is the only definite article in the English language, so you don’t have to worry about listening for vowel sounds. It is used before singular or plural nouns and adjectives to refer to something known to both the writer and reader. For instance, ‘a duck’ refers to a single unspecified duck, while ‘the duck’ refers to a particular duck. Another example is, “I need to see a dentist!” = I need to see any dentist who is available and “I need to see the dentist!” = I need to see a specific dentist, not just anyone. I hope this information helps you avoid common article mistakes in your writing.

2. Overusing transitional phrases

The overreliance of transition phrases is another ESL writing error that we frequently see in academic writing. In many cases, a transitional word is not necessary in order to link two logically related sentences. For example, “The lumberjacks cut the tree. As a result, it fell down.” In this case, as a result is not necessary since readers can determine for themselves that the tree fell down as a result of the lumberjacks’ cutting.

Letʻs look at another example of Overusing transition words – “During the summer holidays, we went to see my uncle. Therefore, I wanted to bring a gift. However, I wasn’t sure what to buy. At the same time, we didn’t have time to go shopping, so I went without a gift.”

Corrected version – During the summer holidays, we went to see my uncle. I wanted to bring a gift. However, I wasn’t sure what to buy. We didn’t have time to go shopping, so I went without a gift.

 

See how the transition words “therefore” and “at the same time” aren’t really necessary in the article. By removing them, the article becomes clearer and easier to follow.

3. Watch your order of adjectives

If you’re struggling with using multiple adjectives to describe a noun, don’t worry! It can be a bit tricky, but there’s a specific order you can follow. The order goes like this:

  1. Quantity (e.g., two, five, some, many, few)
  2. Quality/opinion (e.g., good, bad, tasty, boring, funny)
  3. Size (e.g., small, big, long, tiny, narrow)
  4. Age (e.g., new, old, young, mature, ancient)
  5. Physical quality/shape (e.g., smooth, square, triangular)
  6. Color/shade (e.g., blue, green, red, yellow)
  7. Origin/nationality (e.g., French, American, Victorian)
  8. Material (e.g., cotton, plastic, metal, leather)
  9. Qualifier/purpose (e.g., sleeping – “sleeping bag”, running – “running shoes”, pickup – “pickup truck”)

For example, if you want to say “He wants a red new bike,” it might sound a little off. That’s because “new” (4. age) should actually come before “red” (6. color). So if you switch it to “He wants a new red bike,” it sounds much better! Hopefully, this tip can help you write more clear and concise sentences.

More examples of the order of adjectives in sentences:

  1. They discovered two-beautiful-tiny-yellow-Canadian birds at the Park in London.
  2. I love those five-big-old-black dogs that live across the street.
  3. I bought an expensive-large-blue-cotton-sleeping bag for my camping trip coming up.

4. Wordiness

Wordiness is a common mistake that ESL writers make. It is important to be precise and concise when constructing sentences, especially in essay writing. For instance, the sentence “Mary believed, but could not confirm, that James had feelings of affection for her” can be simplified to “Mary assumed James liked her”, which conveys the same meaning but in a more straightforward way.

Another example, “Because of his laziness, John received a written warning” would be clearer and shorter as “John received a written warning for laziness.”

To write a good essay, it is essential to avoid using too many words and to construct sentences that are precise. This will help you to convey your ideas more effectively.

5. Plural possessives

Plural possessives can be tricky, not only for ESL learners but also for native English speakers. To indicate ownership of a plural noun, all you need to do is add an apostrophe after the final “s” in a plural (for example, “the dogsʻ collars are all green”). On the other hand, if the noun is singular, the rule is to attach an apostrophe followed by the letter “s” at the end of the word (for example, “the dogʻs collar is green”). These simple rules can help you avoid making possessive errors in your writing

6. Using a thesaurus incorrectly

If you’re looking to add some variety to your writing, using a thesaurus can be a helpful tool. However, the issue lies in the fact that many ESL students who use a thesaurus often do not fully understand the original word’s meaning and end up selecting a homonym that implies something entirely different. Homonyms are words that are spelled and sound the same but have different meanings. Letʻs look at an example below:

“Dates, when consumed in excess, can lead to weight gain due to high caloric content.” 

Now letʻs use a Thesaurus to find a more “fancy” word for “Dates”:

“Appointments, when consumed in excess, can lead to weight gain due to high caloric content.”

Here we can see that “dates” have been mistakenly replaced with “appointments.  This replacement completely changes the meaning of the sentence. In this case, the correct word to use is “dates.”

 

Therefore, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the definition of the word you intend to replace to avoid any confusion.

Letʻs look at some more examples below:

“A tear rolled down her cheek as she said goodbye.” 

Incorrect replacement: “A rip rolled down her cheek as she said goodbye.”

“She gave me the wrong directions. When she said I had to turn left, I was actually supposed to turn right.”

Incorrect replacement: “She gave me the wrong directions. When she said I had to turn left, I was actually supposed to turn correctly.”

To avoid such mishaps, it is recommended to consult a dictionary when selecting new words from a thesaurus. This way, you can ensure that you’re using the new word correctly and conveying the intended meaning accurately.

7. Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are words like “and,” “but,” “if,” and “or” that we often use to join two ideas together into one sentence. However, when we encounter a sentence with a lot of these conjunctions, it’s often better to break it down into two, three, or four separate sentences for clarity. If you find yourself using many coordinating conjunctions, it’s a good idea to review your sentence and see where you can simplify it.

Here’s an example paragraph that overuses the coordinating conjunction “and”:

“I woke up early this morning and brushed my teeth and washed my face and got dressed and went to the kitchen and made some coffee and drank it and then checked my phone and saw that I had some emails and messages and calls to attend to and so I replied to them and then left for work but then realized that I had forgotten my keys and so I went back and searched for them and found them and finally I left for the office but then I got stuck in traffic and so I was late for the meeting.”

Here’s the corrected version:

“I woke up early this morning, brushed my teeth, washed my face, got dressed, went to the kitchen, made some coffee, drank it, and then checked my phone. I saw that I had some emails, messages, and calls to attend to, so I replied to them. Then, I left for work, but realized that I had forgotten my keys. I went back home, searched for them, and found them. Finally, I left for the office but got stuck in traffic, making me late for the meeting.”

8. Relative clauses - Which/that

If you’re an ESL writer, you may have encountered a common mistake of misusing the words “which”(non-restrictive relative clause) and “that” (restrictive relative clause). To clarify, ‘that’ is essential when the information added is necessary for the sentence’s comprehension. For instance, in the sentence “All the cars that we rented were stolen,” the phrase “that we rented” is restrictive as it narrows down the cars being referred to as those rented, not any other cars. This type of clause is called “restrictive” because it cannot be removed without altering the sentence’s meaning. On the other hand, ‘which’ is used when the information added is not essential. For example, in the sentence “All the houses, which we rented, were infested,” the “which” clause tells us that we rented all the houses, but it’s not essential to the fact that they were infested. You can remove the “which we rented” without changing the overall meaning of the sentence.

It’s also worth noting that we use commas to separate the “which” clause from the main clause to show that it is additional information. For example, “I spent months living in infested buildings, which wasn’t much fun.” 

To determine whether to use “that” or “which” in a sentence, you need to ask yourself if the clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. If removing it would change the sentence’s meaning, then you should use “that” as this is known as a restrictive relative clause. On the other hand, if removing the clause doesn’t change the overall meaning of the sentence, then you should use “which” and set the clause apart with commas. This is known as a non-restrictive relative clause.

 

 

9. Not making definitive statements

In ESL writing, it is common to avoid making definitive statements. This may be due to a desire to remain objective or a lack of confidence in English writing skills. However, don’t be afraid to make definitive statements. It’s important to understand that definitive statements can actually improve writing clarity and conciseness. When definitive statements are used, sentences tend to be shorter and more straightforward.

Let me elaborate more on this topic: Use positive and definitive statements that leave no room for doubt. Uncertain statements such as “might seem to be possibly” could suggest that the writer hasn’t fully thought through their argument. The key to making definitive statements lies in conducting thorough research and wrestling with the problem at hand. To create a strong argument, it’s important to study the facts and form well-informed opinions and express them confidently. To achieve this, it’s best to avoid using words like “may,” “might,” “could,” “would,” and “seem” as well as their adverbial counterparts “possibly” and “probably.”Instead, aim to present your opinion in clear and confident terms that are backed up by the facts. By following these guidelines, you can create a paper that is sure to be concise, convincing and having a strong impact.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

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