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Top 10 Essay Writing Don'ts, a la Shmoop In this video, we're going to Shmoop you ten

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things to avoid when writing an essay... ... Make that eleven:

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Never refer to your essay inside your essay like we just did in this video...

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... Oops, we did it again. Don't veer off topic! Every point you make

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should flow logically from your thesis statement. Leave tangents to mathematicians.

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Avoid sources that aren't reputable.

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And make sure to run background checks on your informants.

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Don't ignore your audience! If your audience is a group of your Facebook peeps, feel free

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to LOL and OMG. But don't try that for an audience of stuffy

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academics. Academic essays are usually black tie events

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for the written word... ... so you should probably go for a formal

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rather than conversational tone. Don't use padding. Padding refers to anything

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extraneous, wordy, or redundant in an essay.

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For example, don't say, "at this point in time" when "now" gets the point across.

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Don't say, "in the event that" when you mean "if."

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Once you begin the process of de-padding...

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... you might be afraid that your sentences are "choppy" or unsophisticated.

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However, padding removal makes your writing clear and concise for your reader...

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... so make every word count! Avoid plagiarism...

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... Plagiarism is claiming another person's work as your own. It's always a bad idea.

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It's fine to include someone else's idea in your essay...

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... but always follow appropriate citation guidelines to credit them.

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Disorganization is a don't...

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... Essays should follow a sound structure.

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Paragraphs and sentences should flow logically from your main idea.

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Sometimes it helps to begin with an outline or a mind map and plug in the details as you

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write.

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Just don't plug in too many details at once or you might blow a fuse.

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Avoid clichés. Clichés are phrases and themes that are used so frequently that they've lost

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all meaning.

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So when it comes to getting your cliché's graded, know that... what goes around comes

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around. Don't submit your first draft. "P" is for

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proofreading!

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Always proofread your work.

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Check flow, grammar, spelling, punctuation, awkward wording, padding, and embarrassing

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typos. Finally, don't regurgitate...

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...Your essay needs your words and input. Your work should be more than a summary of

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your sources. Follow these simple rules and you'll turn

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in a stellar essay!

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ARRRGH, we did it again...

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