It's Time to Face the Test: How Exceptional Is Your Grammar

Pablo Picasso once said that one must "learn the rules like a pro, so he (or she) can break them like an artist.” Although creativity requires a unique perspective, an artist must learn some technical rules and incorporate it into his (or her) style. It also applies to writing, where the writer must be able to move the readers with his (or her) words. There's such a thing as playing with words, but it can confuse the readers if the writer is unaware of these writing techniques. If you happen to be a college student, then ignorance won't be an excuse. (Otherwise, you haven't been admitted to the university.)

If you know these techniques, then you'll be able to write with less difficulty. This will mean less effort, which will give you more time for other things. (You can spend more time on your social life, making friends along the way. Make sure that you won't neglect Reading Week.) The so-called writing techniques have something to do with preposition phrases, repeated use of words (due to limited vocabulary), tone of your writing, the length of the sentence, and proper use of punctuation marks. Once you master it, then you'll be confident about your chances in authorship. It doesn't give you the right to act as a Grammar Nazi, posting disparaging remarks about some Yahoo news articles. (It may be turned out to be an intentional move by the authors, which would generate replies.)

You don't need to be embarrassed about your ignorance in such an important matter, as it's similar to a young athlete learning the techniques to become a champion in the very immediate future. There's no other way but up.

The Sooner You Begin, the Sooner You Get Better

Don't overuse preposition. A prepositional phrase will convey your idea(s), but overusing preposition will confuse your professor. There's no exact figure on the number of prepositions (that you can use for your essay), but twenty seems to be too many. Moreover, you must allot some time for reading a novel that is not included in the reading list. If you're getting sleepy, then it's likely that the storyline didn't interest you. And it's really bad if you haven't made it halfway. It's safe to say that there would be too many prepositional phrases instead of action verbs and adjectives. Conciseness is a virtue in writing, so less is more.

There's no need to be a walking dictionary. You must not attempt to include a word (or phrase) that you hardly understand at all. If you're attempting to impress your professor, then it will backfire on you. The previous item would mention action verbs and adjectives, which won't be a challenging task. (It won't take a few minutes to do a Google search.) If you want to include a little narrative (in your essay), then action verbs should engage your readers. You must keep it short and simple, so all you need is one adjective to convey your thoughts. Almost.

Why must you stick to the active voice? Readers have a short-attention span while your professor must look at other papers. It doesn't imply some consideration on your part, but an active voice will give you some assurance that your essay will be read in its entirety. There's nothing wrong about using a passive voice every now and then, but you must have some knowledge in fiction. A good one, which might be too much for you (at the moment). Better play safe.

Varying the length of your sentences will engage your readers. You should know that a sentence doesn't need to have a subject and predicate all the time. It must be able to convey a thought, so one action verb will be good enough. Don't do it repeatedly, though. The same rule applies to standard sentence and long ones. You must make sure that a prepositional phrase will be used because you'll express an essential idea. Otherwise, think of an apt action verb (or adjective). Consider the participle, where a verb can be used as an adjective (e.g. interesting book) or noun (e.g. Fearing failure). Think about it.

You must use correct punctuation marks for correct reading. The commonly-used punctuation marks are the period, comma, question mark, exclamation point, and apostrophe. A period is used to stop a sentence, which makes it easier to read your paper. You don't have to do it often, as you must look at the other punctuation marks. A comma separates items in a list, also indicate a pause in a sentence. This should avoid any confusion, also hint your readers to take note of that particular sentence. Question mark is used for inquiries especially if you're uncertain of a certain thought. On the other hand, an exclamation mark is used to make a particular statement more forceful. Last but not the least, apostrophes are used to make statements simpler (or easier) to understand.

How to Write a Good College Essay

Time is not on your side, so look at the list of essay topics thoroughly. Make sure that you have reference materials at your disposal. If you have to visit the library for your supplement reading, then do it once. (The library may not be a suitable place for researching and writing.)

Don't choose the easy way. You must challenge your capabilities, as you'll have more load in your coursework the next year and the next. On the other hand, don't pick a topic that is too complex for you. If you can't write an essay that interests you, then you'll end up with dull writing. If you can't argue (or persuade) your ideas, then you have wasted your time (and your professor's).

There's no harm in asking your coursemates. You must be different from the rest, which can impress your professor. Discuss it before you start your research, as it can overwhelm you sooner or later.