That's why getting bad marks after you've worked so hard in one is just downright grating.
Here are a few things you can do to avoid such a negative experience again:
- Really know your essay assignment.
Don't just pick up the assignment and read through it.
Analyze it and get all the requirements in order.
Take them down and, later, approach the professor, verifying whether you interpreted the assignment's demands completely.
Refer back to the assignment brief after you've finished, checking whether your essay satisfies all requirements. - Pick a topic that's in line with the word count requirements.
This takes some experience, so you might get it wrong the first few tries.
Making an outline before starting your draft, however, should give you a clear idea of how well a piece can satisfy the necessary word count. - Stick with language you understand.
Don't bother getting fancy.
Misused words and figures of speech are worse than using simple conversational language.
Don't rest your grade on English constructions you have business using in the first place. - Remove clutter.
There are many ways to eliminate wordiness and unnecessary repetition in writing.
Employ every technique you can find, along with using a college writing software.
The less clutter stays on your essays, the better it will read. - Perform proper editing.
If you don't have enough time to do a more thorough edit, do at least two things: edit for content (the information you include) and edit for structure (how you present that information).
Those two make for high-level revisions that can seriously impact your work.