Most lost marks in English exams come from a small set of repeatable errors — not a lack of vocabulary or reading. Here are the most common mistakes across grammar, essay writing, comprehension, and literature, along with the specific fix for each.
1. Subject-Verb Agreement Errors
The mistake: Mismatching a singular subject with a plural verb (or vice versa), especially in sentences with a long phrase between the subject and verb — “The list of items are long” instead of “is long,” since “list” (singular) is the actual subject.
The fix: Identify the true subject of the sentence by mentally removing any descriptive phrases between it and the verb, then check agreement against that simplified version.
2. Inconsistent Tense Within a Paragraph
The mistake: Shifting between past and present tense within the same paragraph or even the same sentence without reason — “She walked to the store and buys milk” mixes past and present incorrectly.
The fix: Decide on a tense for each paragraph before writing (usually past for narrative, present for general statements or literary analysis) and proofread specifically for tense consistency as a separate pass.
3. Weak or Missing Topic Sentences
The mistake: Starting a body paragraph without a clear sentence stating its main point, causing the paragraph to feel unfocused or to drift between multiple ideas.
The fix: Write the topic sentence first, before drafting the rest of the paragraph, and check that you can summarize the paragraph’s point in that one sentence alone.
4. Answering a Different Question Than the One Asked
The mistake: Misreading the instruction word in a comprehension or essay question — writing a description when “explain” was asked for, or a summary when “analyze” was required.
The fix: Underline the instruction word in every question before answering, and briefly define what that specific word requires (explain = give reasons; analyze = break into parts and examine) before writing your response.
5. Summarizing Literature Instead of Analyzing It
The mistake: Retelling what happens in a text instead of explaining how the author achieves an effect and why it matters to the text’s larger themes.
The fix: For every literary point you make, ask “how does the author show this, and why does it matter?” — if your answer only describes what happens, it’s a summary, not an analysis.
6. Vague Literary Evidence
The mistake: Referring to a text’s content in general terms (“the character feels sad”) instead of citing a specific quotation or moment that demonstrates the point.
The fix: Support every literary claim with a specific, brief quotation or clearly referenced moment (with a line, act, or page number where possible) — precise evidence is what separates strong answers from average ones.
7. Comma Splices
The mistake: Joining two complete, independent sentences with only a comma — “I finished my homework, I went to sleep” — which is grammatically incorrect.
The fix: Fix a comma splice by replacing the comma with a period, a semicolon, or a conjunction (like “and” or “but”) — read each sentence you write to check whether it could stand alone as two complete sentences.
8. Its vs. It’s Confusion
The mistake: Using “it’s” (a contraction of “it is”) when the possessive “its” was intended, or vice versa — one of the most common and easily fixed errors in written English.
The fix: Mentally expand “it’s” to “it is” when proofreading — if “it is” doesn’t make sense in the sentence, the correct word is the possessive “its” (no apostrophe).
9. Overly Complex Vocabulary Used Incorrectly
The mistake: Reaching for an impressive-sounding word without being fully confident of its correct meaning or usage, which often makes writing less clear rather than more sophisticated.
The fix: Prioritize clear, accurate language over ambitious vocabulary — a well-used simple word consistently scores better than a sophisticated word used slightly incorrectly.
10. Rushed or Missing Conclusions
The mistake: Running out of time before writing a proper conclusion, or writing one that simply repeats the introduction word-for-word without adding a final, confident thought.
The fix: Allocate specific time for your conclusion when planning an essay (even just 2-3 minutes), and aim to end with a forward-looking statement or broader implication rather than a repeated summary.
A Quick Pre-Submission Checklist
- Did I check subject-verb agreement, especially in longer sentences?
- Is my tense consistent throughout each paragraph?
- Does every body paragraph have a clear topic sentence?
- Did I answer the specific instruction word in each question?
- Does every literary claim have specific supporting evidence?
Frequently Asked Questions
Which mistake costs the most marks overall? Answering a different question than the one asked tends to be the costliest, since even a well-written response scores poorly if it doesn’t address the actual instruction word in the question.
How can I quickly check my grammar before submitting an essay? Do one focused read specifically for tense consistency and subject-verb agreement, ignoring content entirely — a single-purpose proofread catches more of these errors than one general read trying to check everything at once.
Why do I keep summarizing instead of analyzing in literature answers? It usually helps to explicitly ask “how” and “why” for every point — a summary answers “what happens,” while analysis answers “how is this shown” and “why does it matter,” which is what most literature marking schemes specifically reward.
Is it worth memorizing a model essay for exams? It’s safer to memorize a flexible structure and a bank of strong topic sentences than a single full essay, since actual exam topics rarely match a memorized essay exactly, and examiners can often tell when a response doesn’t fit the specific question asked.
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