How NOT to write an essay for Highschool/Middleschool

1. Do not begin anything with "Did you know...?"
- This causes you to look very stupid.
- Also, in middle school, a lot of kids do this. This annoys all teachers.

2. Do not end anything with, "In conclusion..." or "As you can see..."
- This also annoys the teachers, because all the students do this.

3. Do not expect your essay to be great the first time.
- Have teachers (specifically english teachers) read over your draft.
- Even have some of your friends read it over (though they might try and steal your ideas)
- Get the English teacher who grades the toughest (ex. marks up the essay like crazy, etc.) to read it over. This helps A LOT.

4. Do not expect the teacher to give you special treatment if your grandparent dies, or your printer wasn't working.
- My grandmother died and I was really upset about it, and just couldn't get into the mood to do my essay. The teacher didn't care and took off points anyway. LESSON LEARNED.

5. Do not think that just by clicking "spell check" in Word, it'll correct every grammar mistake.
- Then vs. Than sometimes trips up Word, as well as myself. Have someone read it over. It'll save you points.
- They're vs. Their vs. There - You might think it's right, Word might think it's wrong... just have someone read it over.

6. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.
- This is a big no-no. You can even get kicked out of school for plagiarizing! (It WILL go on your permanent record.)
- MAKE SURE you cite your sources. If you don't, you'll get a zero for plagiarizing... even if you didn't.

7. DO NOT ASSUME.
- If you assume something in your essay, this could cause your essay to become completely wrong.
- Remember: Assuming makes an 'ass' out of you and me. :)


Hope this helped... certainly helped me to get a refresher on what not to do with an essay! :D