Common writing mistakes
The errors we see again and again in student writing, why they happen and how to fix them for good.
- Everyone Are? People Is? Subject-Verb Agreement Mistakes Everyone, people, news, the number of: tricky subjects and the verb forms they need, with quick checks for your writing.
- Since, For and Ago: Getting Time Expressions Right When to use since, for and ago, which tense each one needs, and the mistakes that appear in almost every A2–B2 text.
- False Friends: Actually, Sympathetic, Sensible and More English words that look like Turkish or international words but mean something different, and what to use instead.
- Interested In, Good At, Depend On: Preposition Mistakes The adjective + preposition and verb + preposition pairs learners get wrong most often, grouped so they're easier to remember.
- Informations, Advices, Homeworks: Uncountable Noun Mistakes Why "informations" and "advices" are wrong, the uncountable nouns learners use most, and how to count them correctly.
- "I Am Agree" and Other Verb Mistakes Turkish Speakers Make Agree, discuss, explain, enter: verbs that Turkish speakers often use with the wrong structure, and the quick fixes.
- Sentence Fragments: When "Because" Starts a Problem Incomplete sentences that begin with because, which, or for example. How to recognise them and join them properly.
- Word Count Mistakes: Too Short, Too Long, or Just Padding Why writing far under or over the word limit costs marks, and how to reach the right length with real content instead of filler.
- Too Casual for the Task: Informal Language in Formal Writing Contractions, slang and chatty phrases in essays and formal letters. How to spot them and what to use instead.
- Its, It's, Their, There, They're: The Homophone Trap Words that sound the same but are written differently. Quick tests to choose the right one every time.
- "In This Modern World": Memorised Phrases That Hurt Your Score Some phrases appear in thousands of exam essays every year. Why examiners notice them, and what to write instead.
- Too Many "Very"s: Making Your Adjectives Work Harder Very good, very bad, very big. How to replace weak intensifiers with precise adjectives that make your writing more vivid.
- Tense Mixing in Stories: Pick a Past and Stay There Jumping between present and past tenses is one of the most common problems in student stories. Here's why it happens and how to keep your timeline clear.
- "Make" or "Do"? Collocation Mistakes That Sound Translated Some English words simply go together. Here are the collocation mistakes that make writing sound translated, and how to learn the right pairs.
- Articles: When to Use a, an, the, or Nothing at All The article mistakes we see most often in student writing, with simple rules that cover nine out of ten situations.
- The Comma Splice: The Mistake Almost Everyone Makes Why joining two sentences with a comma is wrong in English, why learners do it so often, and four easy ways to fix it.