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Strengths and Weaknesses in Writing

Sarah Oakley

5 writing strengths you need to have, 4 writing weaknesses to overcome, how prowritingaid can help you become a better writer, conclusion on writing strengths and weaknesses.

Even the best writers have strengths and weaknesses in writing. Being aware of your strengths and weaknesses is vital if you want to be a good writer.

If you develop your writing skills, you’ll be able to ensure all your writing is of high quality. This applies to creative writing, academic writing, and business writing.

In this article, we’ll explore five strengths you need and four weaknesses to work on. You’ll also learn how ProWritingAid can help you become a better writer.

A writing strength is a characteristic of great writing and it gives your reader the impression you know exactly what you’re doing. You can learn and develop writing skills so you don’t need to worry about being naturally gifted.

You can build your writing strengths before you write so your first draft has solid foundations, or you can gain them over time as you write. Don’t exhaust yourself trying to make the first draft perfect; it’ll need editing later on.

We’ve picked five strengths we think are the most important when writing any document. These skills are imperative for those who want a writing career.

Strength 1: A Rich Vocabulary

One of the best things you can do as a writer is to develop the number of words you know. Therefore, you’ll have a diverse word choice to pick from when you’re writing.

You can achieve this strength through reading. Read everything you can get your hands on. It’s not enough to read within your chosen genre, business area, or subject area.

By learning new things and opening your mind to other writing categories, you’ll develop a vivid imagination, and you’ll have an excellent vocabulary to work with.

Learning new words and concepts can also help you reduce writer’s block, which is a bonus strength that will help you achieve your goal of finishing writing projects more often.

It’s said that only 3% of novel writers actually finish writing their novel. Arming yourself with a rich vocabulary will help you become one of those 3%.

If you don’t have time for reading as widely, or you’re not sure you’ll be able to remember so many words, some writing apps have built-in thesaurus features you can use.

Strength 2: Use of Literary Devices

There are many literary devices writers can use to keep their readers engaged. You might be familiar with a few of them, but if you develop your knowledge of all of them, you’ll create variety in your writing by having more to choose from.

We can’t go over every single literary device you could use in this article. However, we have picked three important ones you can use to strengthen your writing straight away.

Foreshadowing is the technique of revealing details and clues for your reader to give them an idea of what is coming. You can use this in fiction writing to create suspense, excitement, or apprehension. In business and academic writing, you can mention something briefly that you will go into detail about later.

Metaphors and similes are ways to describe things as though they are something else or compared to something else. They are great devices to use in poetry and fiction writing. You can engage your reader with metaphors and similes by making their mind work harder to imagine the things you’re describing.

The opposite of using metaphors to describe something figuratively is using concrete imagery in your descriptions. This is where the “show, don’t tell” rule comes into play. You need to show your readers what you’re writing about through sensory details.

Strength 3: Varying Sentence Lengths

Sentence lengths are important as they help the flow of your writing and contribute to its pacing. Long sentences take longer to read but can include a lot of information. Shorter sentences can have more impact.

If you want to give the reader a sense of urgency in the pacing of your writing, use shorter, snappier sentences. They can be as short as one word.

Be careful when writing short sentences for pacing. You don’t want to write an entire scene in short sentences because your reader might rush through without picking up any details.

Longer sentences can comprise several clauses and even feature additional information in brackets or between em dashes. They take a while to read, so do your reader a favor and remember to add punctuation for pauses.

Strength 4: Target Reader Awareness

When you know who you are writing for and what they expect, you can focus on achieving and exceeding those expectations. This works for creative, business, and academic writing. The ability to tailor your content to the intended audience is a mark of a great writer.

If you’re working on a creative writing project, such as a novel, you need to be aware of the basic requirements of a novel and any specific elements of your chosen genre. This could include story length, number of characters, and the amount of exposition.

For business writing, such as sales emails and internal company documents, it’s important to use the correct professional tone and vocabulary for your intended reader. You need to ensure your writing is clear and doesn’t use too much business jargon that could make your reader lose interest.

When writing an academic essay or thesis, your reader is likely to be an examiner or a peer in your academic field, so they should understand the subject you’re writing about. This means you can use more technical language and statistics to back up your points. You’ll also need to use formal language.

Strength 5: A Strong Writing Voice

Your writing voice makes anything you write sound uniquely yours. So it’s important to work on achieving a strong, authoritative voice to make readers pay attention to what you’re writing about.

Developing your writing voice is something that takes time and a lot of practice. Most writers start off by emulating other writers to learn how to write things effectively. Once you know how to write well, you can start developing your own way of doing it.

You should adhere to the objective elements of good writing, such as grammar and spelling, to avoid making mistakes. You might even have to follow style guides for business or academic writing. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t break stylistic or optional writing rules, such as using the Oxford comma, to develop your personal writing style.

When you’re writing with confidence, the reader will hear it. You’ll use phrases and details only experts and enthusiasts would know. Your writing will sound natural, like you’re talking to your reader directly. A strong writing voice is one of the most engaging parts of writing.

Producing great writing is tough, and there are several weaknesses you’ll need to overcome if you want to create amazing pieces of writing. Luckily, most weaknesses only require practice and some studying to resolve them.

I’ve highlighted the four most common weaknesses writers should work on.

Weakness 1: Your Writing Lacks Substance

If you are trying to convince your readers you know what you’re talking about, you need to include details that will give them the right impression.

For a fiction writer, it’s not enough to just add extra details to your descriptions. You need to create unique characters and worlds your reader will want to invest their time in. Even genre fiction readers want to see a new spin on tried and tested plot structures.

You can always improve business and academic writing with some facts and statistics. If you’ve got research findings, add them where appropriate.

In essay writing, don’t use vague statements or general ideas. Your reader will believe your points if you can prove there’s weight to what you’re writing. Make strong points and back them up with evidence. Don’t forget to check your references and citations.

Weakness 2: Poor Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation

A sure-fire way to lose a reader’s attention is poor grammar, misspelled words, and punctuation that skews the meaning of your sentence. Mistakes make the reader focus on the quality of the writing rather than what you are writing about.

There are many books and online courses available for improving your knowledge of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If you’re uncertain about a rule, you can simply Google it to find out more. Writing style guides are also great places to find grammar rules.

Alternatively, you can use an editing software to tighten up your writing after you’ve finished your first draft. ProWritingAid is an editing software that includes helpful tips and information about the rules you need to brush up on. You’ll learn by doing if you edit your writing with ProWritingAid.

Never make another grammar mistake

ProWritingAid's AI-powered spelling and grammar checker will help you sound professional every time.

Weakness 3: Disorganized Writing

There are structures and templates for literally any piece of writing these days. So there’s no excuse for writing that meanders from one point to another with no apparent connection between each one. Organized writing is a must for all writers.

Before you write anything, you need to plan what you’re going to write. This plan doesn’t need to be very detailed, but it needs to have a logical flow from one point to the next.

For academic writers, you’ll need to include transition words to join points and ideas together. Connecting your points with transition words will keep your reader engaged.

Weakness 4: Lack of Focus on Writing Projects

One of the biggest weaknesses writers face is a lack of focus. If you allow distractions to overwhelm you when you’re trying to write, it will affect your writing.

Writers need to create a suitable environment that will encourage creativity. This is different for each person, but most writers agree that a quiet room with a desk and a comfy chair are the minimum requirements.

Another factor to consider is whether you’re getting enough sleep. Tired writers don’t make amazing literature. First drafts might be safe to complete when you’re sleepy, but editing is something you should do when you’re alert and able to check your work for imperfections.

As I mentioned earlier, ProWritingAid is a piece of editing software that will coach you through your strengths and weaknesses as you make edits to your writing. One of the best things about ProWritingAid is that you can use it at any stage of your writing process.

When you use a ProWritingAid integration, you can check for grammatical errors as you type with the Realtime checker. If you hover your cursor over an underlined word or phrase, you’ll see a pop-up that will tell you what improvement needs to be made, and it’ll give you an option to apply a pre-generated improvement.

The Realtime checker gives you suggestions to improve your grammar, spelling, punctuation, readability, and passive voice. If you want to edit your writing further, you can run any of the 20+ reports that will explore specific things, such as your average sentence length and the use of sensory details.

While there are many strengths that great writers possess, the five strengths and four weaknesses we’ve highlighted in this article are some of the most important ones to focus your efforts on to begin with.

Remember, weaknesses will undermine your hard work to become a better writer. You’ll need to make sure you’re not letting yourself down by making the mistakes we’ve mentioned above.

ProWritingAid is here to help you with strengths and weaknesses in writing so you can ensure your own writing is perfect every time. Though it won’t tell you how much sleep to get or how to rearrange your writing environment. That’s all down to you.

If you want to become a skilled writer, give ProWritingAid a try today.

Get started with ProWritingAid

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How to Structure An Essay: Avoiding Six Weaknesses In Papers

TIP Sheet HOW TO STRUCTURE AN ESSAY: AVOIDING SIX MAJOR WEAKNESSES IN PAPERS

Writing a paper is a lot like painting your house: the bulk of the work is in the preparation–scraping, sanding, cleaning, applying primer. If you fail in the prep work, the finished product will be less than excellent. Similarly, it is the quality of prep work-the brainstorming, prewriting, drafting, revising-that makes some papers stand out as excellent.

It is a common mistake for students to want to start editing their papers before they have substantially revised them. Before you start to stress over individual words and punctuation marks, give your paper a critical read. Does your claim hang together in such a way that an educated reader can follow it? Elegant phrasing and multi-syllable words will not make up for weakness in the development of your argument.

Identifying six major weaknesses Six major weaknesses can doom your paper to mediocrity or worse:

A too-broad thesis statement A poorly formulated thesis Inadequate or unfocused topic sentences Writing off-subject Failing to anticipate objections An inadequate conclusion

The checklist below can help you discover whether your paper suffers from any of these errors. Ask yourself whether all of the following statements are true of your paper.

My subject is limited enough for adequate treatment for this length of paper. My thesis statement is a discussable point and is in the form of a declarative sentence. I have used specific, focused topic sentences to support my thesis statement. All my sentences directly or indirectly support my thesis statement-I have not digressed or written "off the subject." I have not contradicted my thesis statement. I have anticipated the major objections to my thesis and have tried to address and overcome them. My closing paragraph restates the thesis (if necessary) and draws conclusions based on the points I have already discussed in my paper.

If any of these statements are not true, read ahead to find explanations and suggestions that may help.

1. The too-broad thesis statement Many papers fail largely because the writer attempts to write on a subject so broad that he simply cannot adequately address it. Narrow down the topic to one that interests you, and for which source information is available, and that you can discuss adequately in the length assigned. The following sentence might have a legitimate place in a paper (as part of an introduction, perhaps), but it would fail as a thesis statement because it is too broad for a typical three- to four-page paper:

In American schools, there are many kinds of acceptable dress codes and classroom behaviors.

The phrase "American schools" includes pre-, elementary, intermediate, and high schools; public and private colleges; technical schools; adult schools; schools with and without uniform requirements; schools in conservative Midwestern towns and those in diverse urban areas; religious schools; progressive schools–too many schools, too many populations of students to discuss all at once.

Many urban-area public schools are weighing the advantages and disadvantages of requiring students to wear uniforms, and quite a few are deciding that uniforms are the way to go for several reasons.

2. The poorly formulated thesis A thesis should treat a discussable point-that is, a topic that merits discussion because more than one point of view is sane and plausible. While it is possible, for example, to support the following statements, the resulting paper would likely not be very interesting because the points are not discussable:

A dog is a four-legged domestic mammal. A friend is someone who is always there for you. Humans need oxygen to live.

Reformulated, these statements can become more discussable and interesting:

Dogs are smelly, dumb, destructive eating machines, and I couldn't live without mine. My friend Brad uses humor to encourage me to set high standards for myself. In the absence of free oxygen, very different life forms might have emerged on earth.

Even a discussable thesis can fail to make its point clear. This is frustrating to the reader, who at the very least is entitled to a clear statement of your claim (unless it is obviously implied–a technique not recommended for beginners!). Compare the following vague theses with the stronger examples given above:

What do most people think about dogs? Are they man's best friend or worst enemy? In my estimation, a sense of humor is a valuable thing. Oxygen is especially vital for animal life forms.

Try the following to help sharpen a vague thesis statement:

Avoid questions, which are useful as attention-getting devices, but are difficult to use as a thesis statement. For example, avoid "Why should students be given more freedom to choose elective subjects?" Instead use "Students should be given more freedom to choose elective subjects," or even "Students should not be given more freedom to choose elective subjects."
Avoid "I think," "I believe," "In my opinion," or "To me." Such expressions are overly subjective and unnecessary; remember that you are presenting evidence to support your thesis statement, even if you are writing a narrative or descriptive paper. Besides, a simple declarative statement is a much stronger way to say what you think.
Contrary to what you might think, absolute statements do not strengthen a thesis. Avoid them unless you are certain you can support them. Few statements (other than known facts–like the nondiscussable points above) can be proven completely to everyone's satisfaction. If you overstate your case with an absolute statement, and then fail to support it, you lose credibility. Use words like "seems," "seldom," "maybe," "probably," "possibly," and "almost." Avoid "certainly," "absolutely," "always," or "never."

3. Inadequate or unfocused topic sentences Do not, out of enthusiasm, haste, or laziness, abandon the basics of paragraph structure for paragraphs subsequent to your thesis statement. From start to finish the paper should follow a consistent progression leading coherently to a reasonable, well thought out conclusion. Therefore, make sure every single paragraph in your paper contains its own clearly stated topic sentence as well as the specific details to support each, though not necessarily in that order–the following example, for instance, starts with an illustration and concludes with a topic sentence:

At George Washington Junior High School, after students had been wearing uniforms only five months, groups of students who formerly occupied separate areas of the lunch yard began sitting closer to each other and talking to each other more. School administrators concluded that the wearing of school uniforms had obscured the socioeconomic differences between students and resulted in more social mixing between the groups.

Compare the above example with the following too-general claim:

Wearing school uniforms is socially good for junior high school students.

In short, fuzziness in topic sentences suggests fuzziness in thinking. If you settle for vagueness in your topic sentences, you will be more likely to write off-topic or jump around from topic to topic. Clarifying your topic sentence–clarifying your thinking–will go a long way toward producing an organized and convincing paper.

4. Writing off-subject Your thesis statement is a promise to your reader about what you will cover in your paper. Don't write "off" this subject; don't include sentences that do not support or elaborate on this main idea. For instance, if your thesis statement for an expository "process" paper is "Making a set of bookshelves requires precise skills," don't include sentences describing your favorite author or the kinds of books you plan to place in the bookshelves. If your thesis statement for a descriptive paper is "My room is a place of refuge," don't include more than incidental references to the other parts of the house or to your neighborhood.

A narrative sometimes seems particularly difficult to contain within the confines of a thesis statement. Consider, for example, a narrative paper about the biggest fish you ever caught. "The biggest fish I ever caught at Bass Lake hit on my spare house key at the very end of a long day of fishing." A common mistake is to tell the story of the entire fishing trip: when you left home, where you stopped for gas and bait, a description of the scenery, and so on. Remember that what you have promised to tell your reader is about catching the biggest fish ever; every sentence and paragraph should relate to this.

5. Failing to anticipate objections Especially for an argumentative or persuasive paper, you must acknowledge and attempt to overcome objections to your thesis. For example, consider the following thesis statement: "Courses in Western Civilization should not be required of American college students. If they prefer Asian, African, or Native American Studies, for example, these should be acceptable alternatives to Western Studies." Here are two plausible objections to the preceding statement:

Western civilization represents the core culture of American students; to be successful in this culture, they must understand it.

The study of Western culture should be required in addition to Asian, African, or other cultures, in order to foster understanding of the modern global community.

Objections like these can be merely acknowledged-"Although some people insist that all students in American should study Western culture..."–or broken down and discussed in detail, point by point. Decide whether your topic–or the objection itself–is strong enough to warrant detailed discussion of opposing viewpoints.

6. An inadequate conclusion Usually, student writers should write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the topic sentence (in words different from those used earlier) and restates the thesis (again, in different words). The conclusion should include the most important idea from your paper, the one you most want readers to remember. (Some papers may differ; the conclusion to a narrative essay, for example, may not follow this pattern.)

My room is one of the quietest, most beautiful, and most spacious rooms I have seen. Within the confines of my room, I can work, I can think, I can rest. It is, indeed, a place of refuge in a noisy, crowded, and often ugly world.

An effective conclusion "returns" to the material in the introduction–the imagery, metaphor, or analogy found there, for instance. A satisfying conclusion may also contain one last anecdote to illustrate the thesis. Choose a technique that seems appropriate to your subject matter and the tone of your paper.

Although beginners should stick to the techniques outlined above, experienced writers often do one more thing-they draw a conclusion beyond the points already made.

I would not be where I am today if I had not been forced to view my life in an honest manner. Alcohol almost killed me many times, and I am still only one drink away from a life of hell. I have been sober for almost two years, and I have never felt happier or more serene. With God's grace, I will stay sober today. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

While not introducing new material, this kind of conclusion both summarizes and points out more far-reaching consequences, gives a warning, or offers an alternative suggested by or based on the ideas already put forth.

Minor Weaknesses In addition to the major weaknesses above, minor errors can diminish the apparent strength of your argument and result in a paper that is merely adequate. After correcting major problems, check for some of the errors below:

Weak, vague or poorly developed introduction Sentence errors including Unintentional fragmentary sentences Run-on sentences, especially the "comma splice"–using a comma to separate two sentences Short, choppy sentences or lack of sentence variety Poor or nonexistent transitions Awkward sentences due to lack of parallel structure or due to dangling or misplaced modifiers Word errors such as Use of the wrong word or phrase, for example, its or it's Nonstandard English–"they was," "he don't,"-use of double negatives, and so on Trite expressions such as "hit the hay," "gave me a turn," "acid test" Monotonous or ineffective repetition Wrong word choice for the style, tone, or content: formal language in an informal paper, for example, or informal language in a formal paper. Verb tense disagreement Wrong use of subjunctive verb forms, such as in conditional statements Subject/verb non-agreement Errors in pronoun reference "Padding"–using words simply to fill space Plagiarizing, that is, failing to cite source material

Finally, proofread adequately to correct punctuation, spelling, and typing errors

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Enchanting Marketing

Writing advice for small business

How to Spot 8 Weaknesses in Your Writing (and Fix Them)

by Henneke | 68 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

U nderstand the strengths and weaknesses in your writing, and you can become your own teacher and improve your writing skills .

This article discusses how to spot and fix the following 8 writing weaknesses:

Writing strengths and weaknesses

Do you ever read your content and wonder …

Why is this not better?

But then you struggle to decide what’s actually wrong?

Being your own writing teacher can feel like a tough task.

After sweating over your draft, you need to decide what’s good and what needs improving. It’s a matter of tough love for your favorite sentences and precious words. You have to scrap sections and scrub off the dirt to communicate your message with power.

But how can you spot your writing weaknesses so you can let your words shine?

Become your own writing teacher

Remember your favorite teacher from high school?

Be as kind as she was, and tell yourself what you’re doing well already. Perhaps you write fantastic openings, or your word choice is excellent, or you share super-valuable tips and have a wealth of experience to draw from. Remember to celebrate these writing strengths.

As a good teacher, you can’t be negative about your own progress. It’s your task to spot your weaknesses, but also to encourage yourself to embrace your learning and have fun.

Want to write better? Get my best writing tips for business here > > >

Understand what makes writing good—you can do this by creating your own swipe file
Learn to spot the weaknesses in your writing—I’ve listed the most common weaknesses below
Practice fixing your weaknesses—that’s how your content improves

Additional reading to become your own writing teacher:

Trying to solve all problems in one go creates a learning experience from hell.

To make learning how to write more fun, address weaknesses one by one. The list below is in order of importance.

Ready to explore?

Writing weakness #1: You’re boring your readers to tears

So, it’s easy to forget who they are, and write as if lecturing a faceless crowd.

But writing isn’t a monologue. We write to communicate with our readers. And when we write to educate, entertain and inspire, no content is boring.

How to spot whether you’re boring your readers:

If you feel bored writing your content, then this is a sign something isn’t working. Have you lost your mojo? Have you lost your connection to an (imaginary) reader?

Or perhaps you don’t know who your ideal reader is or you don’t like them?

How to turn this common weakness into a strength:

Describe the person you’re writing for—it can be a real or imaginary person
Write down in one sentence which specific problem your content solves

Remember, when our writing eases our reader’s pain, solves their struggles and improves their lives, our content can not be boring.

Writing weakness #2: Lack of focus

Lack of focus is a common weakness in writing

But, think about your readers … how many of them feel overwhelmed? And would they prefer one valuable tip to improve their life or an in-depth bible with all do’s and don’ts?

As writers, we often feel insecure. We think we’re not good enough . We wonder what we can do to make our content better, more valuable, and more extensive. We want to write THE definitive guide.

But the idea that longer content is always better is wrong. The task of a writer is not to be more comprehensive, but to communicate a message and inspire a reader to take action—to implement their advice or to buy a product if it’s right for them.

How to spot this weakness in your writing:

Can you distill the essence of your content in one sentence?

If you can’t, try this exercise:

Write down in one sentence which problem your content solves
Define in one sentence the “sunny destination” of your content: how does your content make your reader’s life better?

Remember, your content makes an impact when it makes your reader’s life better—even if the improvement is tiny.

Writing weakness #3: Lack of substance

Instead of an article sprawling out into multiple directions, focus on one specific topic and add more depth to your argument. For instance, a personal story adds depth because it can illustrate how you’ve benefited from your tips; and statistics or research results help back up your arguments.

How to spot whether your writing lacks substance:

Does your content remain abstract or superficial? Have you given examples to make your advice concrete? And if you’re writing sales copy, do you communicate both benefits and features ?

A personal story, examples or case studies to illustrate your key point
A metaphor to make your point crystal-clear
Research results to back up your story with facts
Quotes from experts or testimonials to put the spotlight on your key point
Common mistakes your readers should avoid
Answers to questions readers are dithering about
Suggestions on overcoming hurdles that may block readers from implementing your advice
Drawings or graphs to add comprehension

Remember, substance is about the depth of your arguments, not about the length of your article. It’s about the insight you offer your readers. Even an email of 100 words can have substance. A nugget of wisdom. A super-practical tip. A spark of inspiration.

To write substantial content, first find focus, then add substance.

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment and join the conversation cancel reply.

June 8, 2021 at 2:09 pm

Thanks for explaining the weaknesses so lucidly. I now have a clearcut idea of how to go ahead with improving my writing. It’s always a pleasure reading your thoughtful and well-written blog posts. Thanks a lot, Henneke!

June 8, 2021 at 2:59 pm

That sounds good. Happy writing, Devi!

May 7, 2020 at 3:54 pm

Fantastic information. Thanks. I needed this because I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my writing.

I’m glad this was useful, Suzana. Happy writing!

April 29, 2020 at 9:45 am

I think that emails have become the curse of the English language. They are easy to misinterpret and often suffer from the many mistakes you have identified. Why say 100 words when 10 will suffice. I found your tips very useful and they will help me to think before I press the SEND button. Thank you

April 29, 2020 at 9:51 am

Yes, email has made us lazy. So often, we dash of a quick email rather than consider why we’re sending the email and edit our writing accordingly. I’m glad you’re enjoying my tips.

March 4, 2020 at 3:43 am

Hi Henneke Enjoyed this article…very helpful and informative. Loved the tips. Keep them coming!

March 4, 2020 at 4:06 pm

Thank you, Leena. Happy writing!

February 4, 2020 at 1:15 pm

thanks for your your great and amazing tips!!!

February 4, 2020 at 1:23 pm

Happy writing, Jaqueline!

July 28, 2019 at 1:50 pm

Hey Henneke, you are such a great writer. Your articles are very helpful and easy to digest. Every single heading has meaningful insights. You sound like a polite teacher students love to learn from.

July 28, 2019 at 3:55 pm

What a lovely compliment. Thank you, Kulsoom. Happy writing!

March 28, 2019 at 2:28 am

Hi Henneke, I enjoyed reading your blog on the 8 weaknesses in your writing and how to fix them. I always felt that less was more in writing. You need to get to the point with as few words as possible, as much as possible to eliminate boredom. I will incorporate these 8 tips to help improve my writing skills.

March 28, 2019 at 4:51 pm

Thank you, David, and yes, I agree—less is more and that can feel like a tricky skill to master.

July 10, 2017 at 7:04 pm

Hi Henneke,

Epic Post. Salute to your idea..”Becoming your own writing teacher”. I can see my writing weaknesses vividly now. 🙂

There’s magic in your writing. That enriching & grounding my writing journey. I try to re-read your every post until I grasp fully. Never get bored.

Your honesty brings clarity in your writing. And allows words to shimmer. I feel it.

Loads of thanks.

July 10, 2017 at 10:34 pm

Thank you, Mehera for your lovely comment.

Happy writing!

July 7, 2017 at 5:59 pm

While I believe that I suffer from all of these, the hardest for me to identify is whether I am boring my readers or not. I tend to be able to entertain myself in my writing as I mostly write about myself! I like the idea that you can be your own writing teacher. With a little bit of time, hard work and focus we can all take away so much from this wonderfully insightful article. Thank you for sharing your expertise!

July 7, 2017 at 7:22 pm

Even when you write about yourself, you can still address your readers and think about what’s in it for them. Usually, when we write about ourselves, our readers can learn from the processes we’ve been through and the mistakes we’ve made.

Happy writing, Patrick!

July 4, 2017 at 3:21 pm

Lack of focus is what I struggle with.

I’m the one that’s always trying to come up with the definitive guide when I can easily just write one great post on one point. I’ve even been told that when I tried to submit a guest post to a site and the person suggested to focus on one main point.

Lesson learned.

Great post once again. Have a great day.

– Andrew

July 4, 2017 at 7:13 pm

Focus can feel hard to achieve, especially when we feel under pressure to write an “epic blog post” or “skyscraper content.”

A lot of people suggest we need to be definitive and write longer posts so there’s a lot of incentive to cram as much as we can into a post. I’ve been there, too.

Happy writing, Andrew. And thank you for stopping by!

July 3, 2017 at 7:07 pm

This is a really amazing post for every writer out there. Indeed, the points mention are the big reasons for weak writing. It actually helps me a lot in identifying my style of writing. Thank You, Henneke, for sharing it with us. And yes, I liked the graphics with every point.

July 4, 2017 at 5:14 pm

Thank you for your comment, Rahul. I’m glad you like both the tips and the graphics.

June 28, 2017 at 3:48 pm

Great actionable article Henneke! Lots of information to put into practice right away.

You mentioned a concern about putting too much substance is this article. A small suggestion from Backlinko – in longer articles, a table of contents with clickable links helps both with navigation and understanding the overall structure. It’s such an excellent resource, a downloadable PDF would be fantastic.

Thanks for this incredibly helpful post!

July 4, 2017 at 4:57 pm

Yes, I can see a PDF would be useful. I guess it’s just laziness on my side. I also don’t like to ask people to sign-up so they can download a PDF, so I’d only do it as an extra service to readers. Maybe I should …

I’ve thought about creating a table of contents, but I’m not quite sure I like it as it doesn’t encourage people to read the post—the items may seem random, but they follow each other in a logical order. I have used tables of contents on my content overview pages, so people can find the most relevant content for them; in such a case, I think it’s useful.

Thank you for your suggestions, Faye. Food for thought!

June 26, 2017 at 9:39 am

Hi great article. I am just starting to write a blog and this sort of information ensures I will not write a boring piece. Thank you.

June 26, 2017 at 9:35 pm

Great! Happy writing, Roger.

June 22, 2017 at 1:19 am

Lovely tips for working around fluff. Fluff is definitely a problem that, unfortunately, muddies much of the work I do. Keep it up! 🙂

June 22, 2017 at 10:52 pm

Thank you, Barry. Keep up the fight against fluff! 🙂

June 21, 2017 at 12:00 pm

You make it sound so simple and attainable. I like the part about improving step by step, you’re an encouraging teacher. Bless you, H.

June 21, 2017 at 8:51 pm

Somehow writing is both simple and hard. The principles are simple, but implementing them can feel hard and it’s easy to feel down when content doesn’t turn out like we had originally envisioned it (it still happens to me all the time).

Take it easy on your writing journey. Good writing is definitely attainable as long as we learn step by step. Happy writing!

June 21, 2017 at 9:30 am

Henneke, you continue to be my in situ writing teacher and to run my favourite writing blog! I was glued to every sentence as I’ve been searching for just this kind of advice for some time now. While I’m, on the whole, happy with my writing, I know that it needs to improve. This will definitely help me to do that.

June 21, 2017 at 8:05 pm

You made my day, Matthew. I’m so glad this was just the advice you were looking for. Happy writing, and thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it 🙂

June 21, 2017 at 6:14 am

I love this blog! After reading it, I felt like I just had a good wholesome dinner. As a newbie writer/blogger, I am going to use your tips and helps step by step to learn and grow as a writer.

And I love your drawings too!

Thanks for all the helpful information.

June 21, 2017 at 4:28 pm

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Meralyn. I’m glad you enjoyed this post.

June 21, 2017 at 12:32 am

You are good at what you do Henneke.

This post came at the most opportune time for me. I have been having this feeling that my writing needs something fresh to enliven it. I wasn’t feeling it anymore. I hate to submit to a client something I don’t even enjoy reading myself.

And then this article pops up in my inbox. Suddenly it’s all clear. I just need to clean up my writing. Somehow I have let a lot of bad habits build up and the quality of my writing dropped as a result.

This will definitely help.

Thanks for sharing.

June 21, 2017 at 4:21 pm

It can be extra tough when you’re writing for clients and when perhaps the topics you’re writing about aren’t the ones you’d choose yourself. When I was still writing for clients, some topics seemed utterly boring at first, but by imagining who might be interested in it, I often could get more excited about a topic (and produce better content0.

Happy writing, Patrick, and thank you for stopping by.

June 20, 2017 at 9:53 pm

While I always look forward to your emails, I believe that this one is my favorite. You cover eight topics quite well, while creating the “flow” you write about. All important stuff for writers, and presented like an info feast!

Great job, Bill

June 20, 2017 at 9:57 pm

Oh my, that’s a big compliment. Thank you so much, Bill. I love your phrase “info feast.”

And silly me was worried that I had crammed too much into this post!

June 20, 2017 at 9:28 pm

Oh, wow, Henneke, I just read a post aloud to my husband the other day, because I thought he’d like it. However, the more I read, the more I did not like it! I was so shocked. It was not good. This post of yours should be just what I need to fix! Thanks so much. I’ve been a bit scared to post any more since that episode!

June 20, 2017 at 9:55 pm

Oh my, you shouldn’t be scared to post! When you read it aloud and don’t like it, try to figure out why you don’t like it and then post it.

It’s fascinating how reading something aloud can change our perspective, isn’t it?

June 21, 2017 at 4:07 am

I know. I ‘m not really scared to post, but just hesitant, not trusting my ear while I’m writing. And yes, that read-aloud moment surely taught me a thing or two! I think what’s wrong is that I am mostly a pencil writer and when I take to the keyboard, I make garbage; it’s some kind of disconnect with my core, as if my brain is writing but my heart is elsewhere. That, and I broke almost every rule you listed above! 😀 I’m going to print that yuk post, double-spaced, and attack it with a pencil while on vacation, soon, thanks to you. 🙂

June 21, 2017 at 4:27 pm

That’s an interesting point you make about “not trusting your ear while writing.” This makes me realize I don’t really trust my ear either–at least not when I am writing my first draft. I use the revision and editing phases to make the writing feel more like me—something I’m happy with.

I need to think about heart vs brain. I think it’s always a balance for me, but I’m not sure. And, of course, we’re all different in our writing process, so what works for me doesn’t necessarily work for you.

Happy revising!

June 20, 2017 at 5:41 pm

Hey Henneke,

Boredom is a big weakness! Yes it occurs when we ourselves are bored with our writing. Losing the mojo can happen to anyone. But spotting it right away to avoid the same from conquering the writing is the key.

Following a very strict pattern, or working on publishing the same type of content can cause boredom too!

Just like readers, writers do become bored with a strict pattern.

Fluff = adding water to wine. Yes!

Thanks for sharing this awesome piece 🙂

Cheers, Jane.

June 20, 2017 at 6:34 pm

Yes, so true. Everyone can lose their mojo, and it can be hard work to get it back.

Thank you for stopping buy again, Jane. I appreciate it.

June 20, 2017 at 5:36 pm

Great post, as always. 🙂

I will definitely be having all these in mind on all of my future posts.

One writing tip I love is about the word “that”. It’s totally overused. Have you noticed?

I try not to use it when it doesn’t need to be included in a sentence. For example:

Instead of this… I’m going to show you everything that you need…

You’d go with this… I’m going to show you everything you need…

It gives your writing a better flow.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to your next post. And thanks for all the advice.

Cheers, Julian

June 20, 2017 at 6:33 pm

Yes, that’s a good tip!

I cross out many “that’s” in my draft posts, but it could be that some “that’s” still sneak in 😉

Thank you for stopping by, Julian. Happy writing!

June 20, 2017 at 5:00 pm

Great Post Madam. Thanks for sharing. May God bless you.

June 20, 2017 at 6:30 pm

Thank you, Dhaya. Happy writing!

June 20, 2017 at 3:35 pm

I just looked at two drafts I did last week and I had lots of lackluster writing. I revised with your suggestions and I do believe they are better now! Thanks.

Yay! Reading this makes me happy. Thank you, Kathy.

June 20, 2017 at 2:59 pm

One thing you will never be accused of, Henneke, is a lack of substance. Your posts are always chock-full of great tips and visuals. 🙂 Thanks for another super post.

June 20, 2017 at 6:29 pm

To be honest, I was a little worried that there might be too much substance in this post, but it seemed like a useful overview so I went ahead to publish it anyway (and I’m glad I did).

Thank you for your encouragement, Cathy!

June 20, 2017 at 12:44 pm

Hey! I laughed out loud at Henrietta with the cigar doing the “sham-wow” sales pitch. 😉 I’ve been paying a lot more attention to specific detail in both my reading, writing, and teaching, and it really is a game-changer in so many ways. It differentiates the level of mastery. Thanks for all you do!

June 20, 2017 at 6:28 pm

And thank you for being you, and for being such a loyal reader and commenter.

I remember you once teaching me the word “sham-wow” 🙂

June 20, 2017 at 12:34 pm

Your articles always give me 100% boost to my skills 🙂 Consider yourself a copy doctor? You should.

June 20, 2017 at 6:26 pm

Thank you so much for your compliment, Wojtek. I appreciate it. Happy writing!

June 20, 2017 at 12:17 pm

Before this landed in my inbox, I had been swirling in my pits of misery and doom, thinking why I ever thought I could write. Your post is not only timely, but amazing! Thank you so much for telling us to knock of the negativity, pull up our socks and work on our weaknesses.

Great tips 😀

Much love from India!

Oh my, I’m sorry you were swirling in pits of misery and doom.

Learning to write can feel like a lonely struggle. Please don’t give up, Vinita, and celebrate your successes—congratulate yourself for each a piece of writing you finish. Happy writing!

June 20, 2017 at 12:13 pm

You couldn’t say it better, if I enjoy writing, my readers will enjoy reading- what an awesome test. And, also, here onwards, I commit to focus on writing only and only to clarify and not to impress.

June 20, 2017 at 6:23 pm

Happy writing, Hena. Thank you for your lovely comment. I like your commitment to writing for clarity, not to impress. 🙂

June 20, 2017 at 12:03 pm

Hi Henneke, brilliant article. You give so much.

I know I probably sound ridiculously lazy, but this is all so much work. I love the idea of deliberate practice, but find it almost impossible to set myself the problems, so I can practice later. Why is there no app for deliberate practice for writers? Surely I can’t be the only one that would be happy to pay for such a thing.

June 20, 2017 at 6:22 pm

It doesn’t sound lazy at all, we all have to set our own priorities and we can’t do everything. You’re absolutely right: writing and improving our writing skills IS a lot of work. It’s just like with learning to play the piano or tennis—you have to practice a lot.

June 20, 2017 at 12:01 pm

Hi Henneke! 🙂

Missed your posts, and this one is a beauty! I think I now need to rearrange my list of top 3 of your favorite posts. Super useful and actionable, and I love the drawings, too (I didn’t know Henrietta smoked cigars! ;D)

Can’t wait to spread the word!

June 20, 2017 at 6:20 pm

Thank you so much, Gill. I’m glad you like this one 🙂 In your top 3 of my posts? That’s a big compliment!

PS Henrietta seems to only smoke cigars when she’s impersonating a sleazy sales person 😉

June 20, 2017 at 11:58 am

What an insightful post. I make all of these mistakes and until you pointed them out I was probably unaware – thanks. The last one was quite surprising but logical. I will pay more attention to that in the future.

Also, this trick for the overused words and sentences made me laugh out loud “Would you use the word in a face-to-face conversation with your ideal reader?”.

June 20, 2017 at 6:19 pm

It sounds like you could perhaps be a bit kinder to yourself and more upbeat about your writing skills? You’re publishing your first book!

June 20, 2017 at 6:27 pm

hahahah yes! This cracked me up, it’s something my sister would say to me in that tone. Also, I am writing a personalized email with lots of sugar to my backers so expect a “dessert” in your inbox soon 😉

June 20, 2017 at 6:31 pm

I’m looking forward to dessert 🙂

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4.6 SELF-REFLECTION: What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses in Writing an Academic Research Essay in English?

What are your strengths in writing an academic research essay in English?
What are your weaknesses in writing an academic research essay in English?

ACADEMIC Writing Skills

Getting ideas, planning, and organizing my essay
Writing thesis statements for an essay
Writing effective introduction and conclusion paragraphs
Developing and supporting my ideas with good examples and complex sentences
Organizing my ideas logically into strong paragraphs
Using grammar correctly (verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, etc.)
Using vocabulary correctly (including spelling)
Using MLA format to cite information that I use from other sources
Identifying and evaluating secondary sources of information to support my own ideas or opinions
Summarizing and paraphrasing information from other sources
Editing and proofreading, finding and correcting mistakes

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Editing: analyzing your writing strengths and weaknesses.

You’ve hopefully integrated many of the principles covered in the Fundamentals of Writing for Researchers module in writing several drafts of your manuscript. It’s now time to put the finishing touches on your work.

By reflecting on these summary principles and checking your work based on the questions presented here, you’ll ensure your research is both easily accessible and understandable, therefore persuading your reader that your problem, approach, and findings are valid.

Editing for Content

Is your purpose immediately clear? Or will readers have to wade through six or eight paragraphs before understanding the purpose of each of the sections or the paper as a whole? Get to the point right away. Be explicit. Don’t write in a mystery-story fashion.

Have you limited your subject in each of your sections sufficiently? Or did you cover items that don’t relate to the main theme or purpose of each?

Did you leave out major points that could help readers gain a better understanding of your purpose or point?

Are your supporting details adequate? Have you developed each topic fully enough?

Did you include too many supporting details? Are your paragraphs or sections weighed down with more facts than your readers need or want to know?

Is your organization easy to follow? Did you move from beginning to end in a logical way? Or does your flow of ideas ramble and confuse readers? Did you use headings and subheadings consistently to guide the reader?

Does your copy answer the following questions as they relate to the main theme: “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How”?

Does your writing also answer the question, “So what”? In other words, do you tell readers the implications of your research; that is, how your research adds to the literature?

Editing for Paragraph Strength

Does each paragraph contain a topic sentence and deal with only that topic.

Including more than one will confuse your readers. In the example below, each sentence supports or elaborates upon the topic sentence, “Whales are the most intelligent creatures ever to inhabit the earth.” Each subsequent sentence tells the reader why. The logic of the paragraph would have suffered had the writer included a sentence such as, “Whales continually need to search for food in order to survive” because searching for food has nothing to do with intelligence. Amoebas search for food.

Well written: “Whales are among the most intelligent creatures ever to inhabit the earth. Scientists studying whales rate their intelligence on a level with higher primates because of their complex group behavior. For example, these huge and impressive mammals have been seen teaching and disciplining their young, helping wounded fellow whales, engaging in elaborate sexual foreplay, and playing in definite game-like patterns. They are able to coordinate complex group activities because of their apparently effective communications system of sonar clicks and pings. All in all, scientific evidence shows that whales have a higher order of social organization. Unfortunately, the whales&rquo; intelligence is ignored by an industry that threatens them with extinction.”

Does each sentence in the paragraph contribute to the main idea in the paragraph?

Have you supported your main idea with one or more of the following: facts, examples, incidents, arguments, and reasons?

Well written: “Employees in both business and industry should receive pay raises to cope with the rising cost of necessities. Food, for example, costs almost twice as much as it did five to ten years ago. Not too long ago a family of four had an adequate supply of food for about forty dollars a week, but today the same items cost eighty dollars or more. For example, ground beef that had sold for one dollar a pound now costs two dollars a pound. A loaf of bread now costs two dollars instead of eighty to ninety cents. Unless wages match rising prices, people will have difficulty buying necessities such as food.”

The above example illustrates excellent supporting statements for the main idea (topic sentence). The writer moves from a general statement or claim to increasingly more detailed examples as to why the claim is made; that is, why employees pay raises should align with cost of living increases. This can best be illustrated by the following paragraph breakdown:

Employees in both business and industry should receive pay raises to cope with the rising cost of necessities.

For example, ground beef that had sold for one dollar a pound now costs two dollars a pound.
A loaf of bread now costs two dollars instead of eighty to ninety cents.

Unless wages match rising prices, people will have difficulty buying necessities such as food.

Is each paragraph developed in a logical way? Will your readers be able to follow your thoughts?

Both of the example paragraphs above contain a naturally logical progression of thought and are easy to read because of it. It doesn’t matter if the first draft of your paragraph makes sense to you; you must ensure that the progression makes sense to your reader.

Are your thoughts in each paragraph linked where necessary by:

Transitional words, such as “however,” “also,” “yet,” “although,” and so on?
Repetition of a word or idea (sometimes in form of synonym) from the preceding sentence?

The following paragraph includes highlighted words and phrases to show how they increase readability; they link the writer’s thoughts and help with the flow of the paragraph, despite a rather boring topic. The last sentence also serves as a transition because it prepares the reader for the topic in the succeeding paragraph.

Excellent use of transitions: “We do not read textbooks for amusement. Therefore, we should not use the same method for studying them that we use when reading novels. For one thing, much of the pleasure of reading fiction comes from our continuing surprise as the story unfolds, but we are usually confused by surprises in textbooks. For another, a good piece of fiction keeps us interested, awake, actively involved. However, textbooks often put us to sleep because there is no “action.” And finally, it is not very important if we miss or forget some of the details or events in a novel. But that is surely not the case when dealing with a textbook.”

Have you varied the lengths of your paragraphs?

When you look at each of your pages, check to see if your paragraphs vary in length. And length here refers to the “visual height” of the paragraphs. You need to vary the lengths of your paragraphs. Otherwise, readability is compromised by visually predictable blocks of text.

Editing for Brevity and Clarity

Have you purged each sentence of extraneous words.

Weed out every word that adds nothing to meaning and understanding. Examples: Change “during the course of” to “during” and “few in number” to “few.”

Example: “The end result of the report is that it presents a full and complete account of the project’s final outcome.”

Revised: “The report presents a full account of the project’s outcome.”

Did you choose concrete words and terms instead of abstract ones whenever possible?

Example: “The research group structured the report in a functional manner.”

Revised: “The research group put the conclusions first and then explained how they arrived at them.”

Have you avoided technical terms your readers might not understand?

If you had to use them, did you briefly explain or define them? Did you use acronyms without first explaining their meaning? For example, did you write, Institutional Review Board (IRB)” on first mention? Did you use vague adjectives when specifics are called for?

Example: “We received numerous inquiries.”

Revised: “We received 84 inquiries.”

Is your meaning clear to the reader?

Did you write to impress or communicate clearly? It doesn’t matter whether your writing is clear to you; it must be clear to the reader.

Unclear: “Our models worked well when compared with the calculated values, which is evidenced by the percent errors.”

Revised: “As the percent errors indicate, our models worked well when compared with the calculated values.”

Unclear: “Isotopes, which were discovered in 1853, are radioactive.”

Accurate: “The isotopes that were discovered in 1853 are radioactive.”

Is your average sentence length about 17–20 words?

Unusually long sentences contain too many ideas and force readers to work harder to understand your message.

Exhausting: “In a smoke-filled room, teary eyes and runny noses occur, and auditory discrimination and visual perception are altered, which is irritating but not associated with any serious disease, except for people with heart and lung diseases who are threatened with major problems from smoke.”

Revised: “A smoke-filled room does not only cause teary eyes and runny noses. The smoke also can alter auditory and visual perception. Although the smoke itself does not produce disease, it does pose a threat to people with heart and lung ailments.”

Editing for Vigor and Pace

You used some dynamic verbs, such as “determined,” “examined,” “synthesized,” “identified,” etc. They energize your sentences.
Example: Change, “The experiment was productive” to “The experiment generated significant data.”

Determine if you used long nouns or phrases that can be changed to simple verbs.

Change “give consideration” to “consider” and “arrived at an agreement” to “agreed.” Look especially for nouns ending in “-tion,” “-tive,” “-ability,” “-ment,” “-able,” “-ness,” and “-ance.” Don’t overuse these.

Example: “The manager made a recommendation that new employees should be given an invitation to join the credit union.”

Revision: “The manager recommended that new employees be invited to join the credit union.”

Eliminate pesky prepositions (e.g., overusing to, of, in, on, by, with).

Example: “The decrease in profit margins is of great concern to leaders of business.”

Revision: Decreasing profit margins greatly concern business leaders.”

Did you vary the length of your sentences?

Even though your sentences should average about 17–20 words, your writing should contain some short, some medium-length, and some longer sentences to add rhythm and pace. Read your paragraphs aloud; you’ll quickly hear whether or not you’ve varied the length of your sentences and helped with readability.

Overly simple sentences: There are some drawbacks about diesel engines. Diesel engines are much noisier than standard engines. They are difficult to start in cold weather. They tend to cause considerable vibrations. They also give off an unpleasant odor. For these reasons, many car manufacturers are limiting their diesel models to light trucks only.

Revised: Diesel engines have some drawbacks. Most obvious are their noisiness, cold-weather starting difficulties, vibrations, and unpleasant odor. Therefore, many manufacturers are limiting their diesel models to light trucks.

Did you vary the beginnings of your sentences or do most of your sentences begin with the same part of speech?

Some writers, for example, start most sentences with nouns or noun phrases. Don’t. Variety adds spark. Caution: Don’t try to start each sentence with a different part of speech. Just strive for a moderate amount of variety.

Did you use the same word repeatedly throughout a paragraph?

Use synonyms to avoid repetitiveness unless reader understanding requires it.

Editing for Tone and Style

Instead of writing, “We utilized UV light to induce Arabidopsis for mutations,” write, “We used UV light to . . . for mutations.”
Tip: Apply the conversational test: Ask yourself if you would use the same words if you were speaking to your reader.

The Final Editing

Remember, it doesn’t matter if what you’ve written is clear to you; it must be clear to the reader.

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How to Write an Essay About Your Strengths & Weaknesses

While you may be asked to write an essay about your strengths and weaknesses for an English course, this type of essay is more commonly requested for scholarship and school applications. Whoever its audience may be, the essay must have a focus, be well-organized and should paint a truthful and insightful picture of you.

Your essay should have a focus from the start. This will avoid turning the paper into no more than a list of strengths and weaknesses. The main point is expressed through the thesis statement, which should be included in the introduction of the essay. For example, you can write, "It was through my biggest failure as an older brother that I discovered my greatest strength." Or you can write, "While being a perfectionist is in many ways a strength, it also can be a weakness."

Organization

Make an outline charting the course of the essay before you write it. Begin with the thesis statement, then note the points you will make in each body of the paragraph. Make certain these points support the essay's main idea and that they are distinct from one another. List the evidence you will include in the body under each paragraph's topic sentence. Once it's complete, writing the essay will be more organized and quick, and you can flesh out the notes you made in the outline.

The content of the essay can address your achievements, failures and values. Show how the strengths and weaknesses you present are related to your personality, goals, relationships and work ethic. You can write about a specific experience that has changed you or taught you something new about yourself or life in general. Be honest and provide details, analysis and evidence. In the case of a scholarship essay, the Borough of Manhattan Community College advises that it should be "about you, your ideals, and/or your opinions."

To write a strong essay, you always should write more than one draft. After the essay is complete, read through it carefully to identify spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as to verify that you have properly addressed the prompt. You also can show your essay to a peer or instructor for review to make certain there are no confusing or unclear aspects. Finally, incorporate all the feedback into a rewrite of the first draft. The revision should be more developed, organized and polished than the original.

Borough of Manhattan Community College: Writing the Scholarship Essay/Personal Statement

Soheila Battaglia is a published and award-winning author and filmmaker. She holds an MA in literary cultures from New York University and a BA in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley. She is a college professor of literature and composition.

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Writing Critiques

Writing a critique involves more than pointing out mistakes. It involves conducting a systematic analysis of a scholarly article or book and then writing a fair and reasonable description of its strengths and weaknesses. Several scholarly journals have published guides for critiquing other people’s work in their academic area. Search for a “manuscript reviewer guide” in your own discipline to guide your analysis of the content. Use this handout as an orientation to the audience and purpose of different types of critiques and to the linguistic strategies appropriate to all of them.

Types of critique

Article or book review assignment in an academic class.

Text: Article or book that has already been published Audience: Professors Purpose:

to demonstrate your skills for close reading and analysis
to show that you understand key concepts in your field
to learn how to review a manuscript for your future professional work

Published book review

Text: Book that has already been published Audience: Disciplinary colleagues Purpose:

to describe the book’s contents
to summarize the book’s strengths and weaknesses
to provide a reliable recommendation to read (or not read) the book

Manuscript review

Text: Manuscript that has been submitted but has not been published yet Audience: Journal editor and manuscript authors Purpose:

to provide the editor with an evaluation of the manuscript
to recommend to the editor that the article be published, revised, or rejected
to provide the authors with constructive feedback and reasonable suggestions for revision

Language strategies for critiquing

For each type of critique, it’s important to state your praise, criticism, and suggestions politely, but with the appropriate level of strength. The following language structures should help you achieve this challenging task.

Offering Praise and Criticism

A strategy called “hedging” will help you express praise or criticism with varying levels of strength. It will also help you express varying levels of certainty in your own assertions. Grammatical structures used for hedging include:

Modal verbs Using modal verbs (could, can, may, might, etc.) allows you to soften an absolute statement. Compare:

This text is inappropriate for graduate students who are new to the field. This text may be inappropriate for graduate students who are new to the field.

Qualifying adjectives and adverbs Using qualifying adjectives and adverbs (possible, likely, possibly, somewhat, etc.) allows you to introduce a level of probability into your comments. Compare:

Readers will find the theoretical model difficult to understand. Some readers will find the theoretical model difficult to understand. Some readers will probably find the theoretical model somewhat difficult to understand completely.

Note: You can see from the last example that too many qualifiers makes the idea sound undesirably weak.

Tentative verbs Using tentative verbs (seems, indicates, suggests, etc.) also allows you to soften an absolute statement. Compare:

This omission shows that the authors are not aware of the current literature. This omission indicates that the authors are not aware of the current literature. This omission seems to suggest that the authors are not aware of the current literature.

Offering suggestions

Whether you are critiquing a published or unpublished text, you are expected to point out problems and suggest solutions. If you are critiquing an unpublished manuscript, the author can use your suggestions to revise. Your suggestions have the potential to become real actions. If you are critiquing a published text, the author cannot revise, so your suggestions are purely hypothetical. These two situations require slightly different grammar.

Unpublished manuscripts: “would be X if they did Y” Reviewers commonly point out weakness by pointing toward improvement. For instance, if the problem is “unclear methodology,” reviewers may write that “the methodology would be more clear if …” plus a suggestion. If the author can use the suggestions to revise, the grammar is “X would be better if the authors did Y” (would be + simple past suggestion).

The tables would be clearer if the authors highlighted the key results. The discussion would be more persuasive if the authors accounted for the discrepancies in the data.

Published manuscripts: “would have been X if they had done Y” If the authors cannot revise based on your suggestions, use the past unreal conditional form “X would have been better if the authors had done Y” (would have been + past perfect suggestion).

The tables would have been clearer if the authors had highlighted key results. The discussion would have been more persuasive if the authors had accounted for discrepancies in the data.

Note: For more information on conditional structures, see our Conditionals handout .

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Commenting Efficiently

10 STRATEGIES FOR RESPONDING TO STUDENT WRITING MORE EFFICIENTLY

Skim through the pile to discern the range of responses to an assignment.
Read each essay through quickly, before making any marks, to identify major strengths and weaknesses.
Think about strengths and weaknesses in terms of clear assessment criteria—thesis, structure, analysis, and so on.
Comment representatively in the margins by noting patterns.
Use a reliable format for structuring final comments—for example, restatement of thesis, discussion of strengths, and discussion of weaknesses.
Identify in final comments no more than three or four areas for improvement.
Design effective writing assignments.
Respond to proposals, outlines, and drafts.
Organize students into writing groups.
Ask for a cover letter.
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Vocabulary for Discussing Student Writing
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Guidelines for Writing Strengths and Weaknesses

As a reviewer , you are asked to identify and clearly state major strengths and weaknesses for each published review criterion. Your statements should be constructive and absent of bias and outside information. Please keep in mind that your comments will be read by the applicant, and therefore should be appropriate and helpful to the applicant. The following are some guidelines to crafting statements of strengths and weaknesses.

Use complete sentences (present tense) with language that presents your ideas fully. Incomplete sentences and fragments delay the work of producing a cogent and cohesive combined summary statement.
Depersonalize your criticisms. When describing a weakness, always refer to the application's weaknesses, not the applicant's weaknesses. Try to avoid using phrases like “fails to” and other negative statements. For instance, instead of stating “The applicant fails to demonstrate organizational expertise,” write “The application does not clearly demonstrate the organization's expertise.” The difference is subtle but significant.
Avoid arcane jargon. Terminology used widely and commonly in the field is acceptable, but niche jargon should be avoided. If you are using uncommon or recently coined terms, please explain them.
Provide a clear and succinct synopsis of the project in the “Overview” in your own words. Do not retype the introduction of the application.
Write in the third person (i.e., “The applicant plans to…”) rather than the first or second person, (i.e., “This Reviewer feels…” or “In the opinion of this Reviewer…”). The final summary statement will be the combined opinions of all of the application Reviewers. The strengths and weaknesses listed should be simple, declarative statements of opinion.
Provide definitions for acronyms when used for the first time.
Remember that each application is to be evaluated on its own merit. The evaluation should reflect a clear, objective, explicit, and justified assessment of the application. The Reviewer should write the strengths and weaknesses based on how well the applicant develops the proposed project and the extent to which the project is responsive to the published criteria.
Use the same published review criteria for all assigned applications.
Avoid comparing one application's content, process, or budget to any other assigned application. Each application should be reviewed independently, and be assessed and analyzed based on the facts presented within the application.
Avoid scoring an application based on your personal experiences, outside knowledge, and personal feelings of the application's feasibility.
Avoid complex formatting in the document. Reviewers are asked to use only basic formatting (i.e., bold, italic, underline, bullets, and tabs). Please refrain from using numbered bullets.
Provide information that helps the applicant understand why a particular statement or recommendation was made.

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How to Answer “What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?”

Joel Schwartzberg

Advice and examples to help you craft an authentic answer to this common interview question.

Don’t take common interview questions lightly just because they’re predictable. Underpreparing for them can make the difference between moving ahead and moving on. One question that often comes up: What are your strengths and weaknesses? In this article, the author outlines clear steps for how to describe your strengths and weaknesses along with sample language to use as a guide.

Some questions come up again and again in job interviews . At the top of the list: “ Tell me about yourself ,” “ Why do you want to work here? ” and “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”

JS Joel Schwartzberg oversees executive communications for a major national nonprofit, is a professional presentation coach, and is the author of Get to the Point! Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter and The Language of Leadership: How to Engage and Inspire Your Team . You can find him on LinkedIn and X. TheJoelTruth

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How to Showcase Your Strengths in Your College Application Essays

Your admission essay is an adcom’s greatest insight into who you are as a person. It can also be a tool to showcase your high school accomplishments. So, how can you craft an essay that both conveys your personality and portrays your strengths—without coming off as arrogant? Here are four tips to guide you.

1. Paint a picture.

This is a phrase that English teachers have drilled into your head, but it’s true for your college essay and in all your written work. Painting a picture of your accomplishments through examples and rhetorical devices helps adcoms visualize the steps you’ve taken to get to where you are today and the person you are and strive to be.

How can you show rather than tell? There are many ways to express yourself through language, from personalized metaphors —actions, experiences, or objects that mirror and symbolize your journey—to rich, vivid details. This is especially true in your essay, but you can also employ these rhetorical devices and language throughout your application, such as in your extracurricular accomplishment descriptions.

For instance, if you’re a pianist, you might use imagery to describe the progression of your musical development, initially exploring playing one note at a time to learning how to play the music you play today. You could evoke specific sounds and melodies to illustrate this development.

2. Use action-oriented verbs.

Rather than relying on soft adjectives, use action verbs like “implemented,” “facilitated,” and so on. These types of words are much more powerful and demonstrate that you do and make things happen. They also emphasize your ownership of your achievements, signifying that these achievements don’t just happen to you: you made them happen.

For example, rather than saying that you were responsible for speaking on behalf of the student body as student council president, you might say, “Raised awareness of X issue and implemented a procedure for handling complaints.”

3. Offer examples and details.

Examples are an essential feature of your essay. They illustrate your accomplishments, provide context, and show adcoms how you’ve made an impact in concrete ways. You should also use numerical values and other details to quantify your accomplishments.

In this post on successful activity entries, students use details to summarize and portray their accomplishments. While this post concerns another section of your application, you can apply the same concepts to your essay.

Example: “Provided homework and study help to underprivileged kids. I studied with one girl until her Cs became As. I love being the “go-to” mentor.”

Here, the applicant shows the impact of her tutoring, rather than simply stating that she tutored. In doing so, she demonstrates the impact on both her and the students she tutored.

Example: “I have been studying piano and performing in recitals since kindergarten. I’m currently working on Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 in F minor from Opus 2.”

This entry shows the progression of the applicant’s work by demonstrating how far she has come, exemplified by the challenging piece she’s currently playing.

These examples bring your experiences to life, so you’re not just listing achievements but also quantifying them and pointing to concrete ways in which they’ve affected you and others.

4. Tell a story.

Like any good story, your essay should have a narrative arc. Instead of a list of achievements, it should portray an experience that shaped you. No matter what topic you choose, you should be able to tell an account that captures your reader’s attention and has all the hallmarks of a compelling narrative.

For instance, if you’re a first-generation student, you might begin by describing a specific moment in your childhood when you realized that you would be the first member of your family to attend college and then narrate specific events along your journey, such as encouragement from your parents or teachers, difficulties you faced and how you overcame them, and how you finally reached this moment and are excited about the next chapter. This is much more effective than simply stating that you’re a first-generation student and listing the reasons why attending college is important to you.

If you can’t weave together a compelling story with the topic you’ve chosen, you may want to rethink it. Spend some time brainstorming to hone your topic and ensure that it is one that will both capture your audience and showcase your accomplishments.

Your Essay: A Reflection of You

Your essay is a concise glimpse into you as a person. While other areas of your application detail your accomplishments, grades, and extracurricular achievements, this is a place to showcase your qualities as a person. Still, your accomplishments are most likely integral to your personality. Keep these tips in mind as you craft an essay that both captures your character and your strengths as a candidate for admission.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context Report (Assessment)

A review of the basic procedures of a comparison vs. an evaluation argument, strengths and weaknesses of living in cape breton, the weaknesses of living in cape breton, other negative aspects of cape breton include the following, a draft of this essay.

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The usual sense of argument differs from argument concepts in formal circumstance such as when we engage in writing an essay. The context of weakness and strengths in the thesis of an essay brings about a literally argument on the part of the writer. This means, the writer argues with himself in a personal debate, strongly arguing in favor of his own subject and at the same time, disagreeing with the same. For instance, the writer may be discussing a serious and complex political issue wherein, he explains in detail his views and suggestions in favor of the political issue, however, he has to explain and discuss the other side of this political issue comprehensively (Kay, 14-16 ). Thoroughly he must discuss the negative aspect of this political debate from his own perspective similarly as how he argued about his positive perceptions on the debate.

The everyday sense of an argument dissents in perspective to proper arguments. In an essay, the debate about the strengths and weaknesses of a context are generative. An essay argument structure is different from the everyday sense of an argument; indeed, the latter is not a typical difference in opinion and disagreement involving emotions. It is a well-researched and structured guide and conclusions supported by facts. The essay writer should be critical about his opinion and equally critical in thinking about the essays paradigm.

An essay’s argument should be cosmological. The writer should only discuss the strengths and weaknesses from his cosmological knowledge or borrow from existing literature. Normally, this segment of an essay is referred to as a literature review. It is a comprehensive analysis of arguments and relevant debates about the concepts of the particular essay. The perspective of the essay should follow an inductive trajectory. The term cosmological connotes universal concepts hence an inductive argument. The essay writer argues throughout the essay from experience, from particular subjects to a relevant conclusion (Kay, 445-6).

An essay has to follow the cosmological trajectory. This means that, the argument about strengths and weaknesses should be based on observation. Objectively, the observation about the specific matter should be recent and may well show previous observations (Pritchard, 46-56). This helps identify if we have been led to wrong assumptions. Living in a particular environment reflects the various social-economic capabilities of an individual. Living in up market residences depicts that individual as rich and vice versa. However, living in a particular environment does not explain the individual’s feelings about the place. These feelings and perceptions about the place are his own hence cannot be debated unless the individual argues in a debate that aims at establishing the negative and positive of living in that particular environment; For example, living in Cape Breton. This paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of living in Cape Breton without comparing the protagonist with somewhere else.

Essays, which feature both the inductive and deductive, should follow a basic procedure. The procedure is a trajectory of the argument of the essay. The first element of an argumentative essay is an overview or an answer to a question or task that has been recommended as the subject of the essay. The essay writer should focus on answering the question or rather debating and drawing out a clear picture of what the subject intends to give credence.

Secondly, the essay should have an argument. The argument is the review of literature related and arguing, both, in favor and in negative perspective of the subject of the essay. Normally, a literature review is a profound debate about the strengths and weaknesses of the subject and the facts that support it. In this case, the subject of the essay is subject to a debate that aims to verify the credibility of the subject. The argument draws facts from past debates and facts and lays bares the strengths and weakness of the subject of the essay.

An essay should develop a thesis. A thesis gives an essay a meaning and a story line which the reader can follow and understand the objective of the essay. This entails discussing a particular subject or the core element of the subject. As a result, a set of closely related points are debated and developed into facts through reasoning and using past and present literature and enough evidence drawn from various credible sources. The essay should draw its support to its perspective throughout its arguments from credible sources

Writing an essay should involve concentration and focus on the subject. The subject of the essay might vary with sub-subjects. Understanding what the structure of the essay is like is very vital. The subject of the essay might be a question while several questions may follow and at some point dissent with the purpose of the initial question (Hairston, 11-57).

Living in Cape Breton provide an insight about life in a farmhouse and a farming culture in modern society. Cape Breton is an Island Northeast of Canada. It is separated from the mainland by the Strait of Canso. The centre of Cape Breton is occupied by a lake known as Lake Bras d’Or salt lakes. The inhabitants of Cape Breton are mainly the Scottish of highland descent. The Island is developed with modern facilities like hospitals, schools, and industrial centers present. Beach resorts and fishing villages are available making the Island an ideal place to live.

The lifestyle here is both cosmopolitan and metropolitan. This provides a unique platform to attain a multi-cultural experience. The Scottish farmlands have inspired insights about agriculture and an understanding of how food is grown and processed. Looking at multiculturalism, Cape Breton is an ideal example. Learning cultures and different religions has provided a gateway to knowledge about other people’s way of life. Tourism in Cape Breton is an activity embraced by the community here. Indulging in exploring and enjoying the vast flora and fauna of Cape Breton has helped create a dynamic reasoning about places and their natural beauty.

Cape Breton is an ideal platform for learning industry practices and related faculties. Why; proximity to industries and factories provides hands on experience on what goes on in these factories. It is easier to identify the core business processes carried out by industries and other institutions due to their proximity. Farming and the geography of the land offers the necessary knowledge about how cultures adopt economic practices based on the environment they live in. Cape Breton inspires a quest for knowledge and understanding of multiculturalism in the modern society.

The panorama of Cape Breton expanse is breath taking. It distracts ones imagination of tourism. Valleys and canyons where farming activities go on show a unique landscape, which is well supplied with agricultural produce. Cape Breton has rich farmlands, which enjoy short growing seasons. However, the harsh weather inspires desire to travel away to sunshine.

Conclusively, the insight about living in Cape Breton provides a clear picture of an island that evokes a desire to experience the fullness of life. The Island is complete and suffices to provide the experience of life a soul desires; However, this only the positive side of perception about Cape Breton. On the contrary, other elements of life in this island do evoke negative attributes defined as weaknesses.

These are understood as the negative factors and environmental effects on individual’s feelings. What could these be? Based on a truism approach, there are quite a number of weaknesses evoked by Cape Breton. One is the weather. The harsh weather conditions, which are backed up by brutal snow and cold spell, inspire a desire to have a change of climate in the island. One is tempted to think what life is beyond Cape Breton. The weather, especially the short summer or rather fewer days of sunshine are indicative of a long-suffering, which many wish to get over. Living in Cape Breton was once described as chaotic. Waves of crime were reported but they later subsided as opportunities kept on increasing.

This evokes desire to evaluate the rapid industrialization. Life is fast here; today you might see this and tomorrow something else. Industries have popped up like proverbial mushrooms on dung heaps. Economic activities are many in numbers and opportunities are on the rise. Settling here is ideal for the dynamic human. However do such business opportunities provide the right climate for social health; no. Such rapid economic developments only create a deep hole for moral and social imbalance. Many black hat business processes might come up as a result.

The place offers too much experience to an individual such that, one has nothing to learn from outside Cape Breton. This is attributed to the multicultural nature of the island.

The diverse culture and religion provides one with hands on experience about living with other people rather than allowing a gradual process of growth and development in such environments.

One is forced to believe that this is the only place where life is fast and provides opportunity. There are emerging markets and a hungry market from services and products here making everyone to be comfortable.

This essay has focused on outlining the basics of formulating an essay. It is a clear guideline on how an essay should be structured, especially when arguing about strengths and weaknesses of a subject or an opinion. Literally, the essay lays bare the various paradigms of structure and trajectory of an essay (Hacker, 20). This is observed in the introduction where the essay debates inductively the process of generative arguments.

The aspect of structure is discussed throughout the Cape Breton review. In this part, the essay uses both the inductive and deductive principles of writing an essay about strengths and weaknesses. We observe how putting aside each aspect of the essay is important. The essay weighs both sides and proffers each a thorough analysis. The strengths are discussed in a positive manner and various projections outlining the context of strengths is equally inductive. On the other hand, the essay considers the weaknesses as fewer and overshadowed by the strengths. As such, the essay proffers the weaknesses a comprehensive analysis of their effects on an individual as well as the environment and the society.

The essay has a literature review, which features scholarly debates about the context of strengths and weaknesses when structuring arguments. Each element of proper essay writing is discussed in the literature review making the facts argued in the essay to hold. The scholarly works connotes comprehensive approaches and insights about how the process of arguing should be, especially, from a scholarly perspective.

Hacker, Diana. Canadian Writer’s Reference . 4. st. Martin’s: Bedford, 2008. Print

Hairston, Maxine. A Contemporary Rhetoric. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982.

Kay L. Stewart, et al. Essay Writing for Canadian Students with Readings. 6th-ed. Pearson/Prentice Hall.2008: 14-446

Pritchard, R. J. “A study of the cohesion devices in the good and poor compositions of eleventh graders (doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri.” Dissertation Abstracts International . 46.668a (1980): 48,56,. Print

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IvyPanda. (2024, March 16). The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-strength-and-weaknesses-of-the-essay-context/

"The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context." IvyPanda , 16 Mar. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/the-strength-and-weaknesses-of-the-essay-context/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context'. 16 March.

IvyPanda . 2024. "The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context." March 16, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-strength-and-weaknesses-of-the-essay-context/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context." March 16, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-strength-and-weaknesses-of-the-essay-context/.

IvyPanda . "The Strength and Weaknesses of the Essay Context." March 16, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-strength-and-weaknesses-of-the-essay-context/.

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6 Tips for Talking About Your Weaknesses

How do you react when you read/hear the weakness question? With this question, schools are assessing how well you self evaluate. Like a business problem, they want to hear your plan of action, your implementation, and your success rate.

Here are some tips to help you a) think about and evaluate your weaknesses, and b) be prepared to write about them in an essay or discuss them in an interview .

1. Prepare answers in advance.

When an interviewer asks, “So Natalie, tell me about your weaknesses and what you did to overcome them?” you don’t want to be left silent drawing a blank, or worse – caught off guard and say something crazy like, “Gosh, there are so many, I don’t even know where to begin.” Ding!

2. Be honest.

If you have been let go from a position, you need to discuss the lessons learned from this negative experience and how you overcame the situation. If you have a procrastination problem, you need to talk about ways in which you’re working on boosting your time management skills.

3. Remain professionally focused.

Don’t discuss your addiction to video games or your weakness for chocolate. It’s also certainly not the time to talk about anything inappropriate. We’re talking about work-related, professional weaknesses.

4. Focus on your own weaknesses.

Don’t talk about your cousin’s attraction to arson or your mother-in-law’s conspiratorial behavior. Don’t discuss how your boss is a jerk or how you can’t stand your coworker’s habit of nail biting or how your desk is unorganized because the guy you share your cubicle with always throws his garbage your way. This question is about YOU and your weaknesses – don’t shift the attention or blame onto someone else.

5. Proactively address the issues.

If you have a quantitative weakness , take courses that address the weakness (accounting, statistics). Don’t wait for the admissions committee to ask you to take a course. If you are uncomfortably shy, getting involved with an organization like Toastmasters can help you and show the committee that you’re taking steps to overcome that challenge.

6. Avoid clichés.

“Gee, I guess I just work too hard sometimes” is a copout – the adcom/interviewer will know that deep down you’re proud of your intense work ethic. It is the life of a student to work hard – don’t use that as your “weakness . ”

If you need help drafting your essay or framing your answer for your interview , Accepted is here to help you. Contact us for assistance.

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Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws To Avoid In Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide • 5 A’s for Your Low GPA , a podcast episode • How Personal is Too Personal?

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personal Strengths — Exploring Personal Strengths and Weaknesses for Self-Improvement

Exploring Personal Strengths and Weaknesses for Self-improvement

Categories: Personal Strengths Struggle Weakness

About this sample

Words: 865 |

Published: May 14, 2021

Words: 865 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

My strengths, my weaknesses, works cited, fostering organization as a strength, the strength of observation, confronting the weakness of confidence, resisting change: a challenge to overcome, striving for academic excellence despite intelligence challenges.

Buckingham, M., & Clifton, D. O. (2001). Now, discover your strengths. Simon and Schuster.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
Grant, A. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2003). Clarifying achievement goals and their impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 541-553.
Linley, P. A., Willars, J., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The strengths book: Be confident, be successful, and enjoy better relationships by recognizing where you're strong. CAPP Press.
Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (Eds.). (2009). Oxford handbook of positive psychology. Oxford University Press.
Marsh, H. W., & Yeung, A. S. (1997). Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement : Structural equation models of longitudinal data. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(1), 41-54.
Neff, K. D. (2011). Self-compassion: Stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind. HarperCollins.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.
Rothwell, W. J. (2015). In mixed company: Communicating in small groups and teams (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (1998). Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 240-261.

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Reflective Essay: My Greatest Weakness

Every one of us has weaknesses, and so do I – quite many, in fact. But out of them all, I believe the greatest one is my lack of self-confidence. I don’t know how I came to have this low self-esteem, but I do know it is a problem I absolutely have to fix. Upon reflecting quite a while on this matter, I understand it is a flaw in my personality that is needlessly complicating my life on many levels and often hinders my development, both personally and professionally.

First of all, my lack of self-confidence too often leads to a lack of trust in others. Many times, I found myself suspecting others of having hidden agendas when offering their friendship or help, or making a kind gesture. “Why would they want to help me?” “Why would they want to have a coffee with me? They must be after something!” I know I not only missed many opportunities this way, but, most importantly, that I may have hurt good people because of this way of thinking.

Paradoxically, even though my self-confidence issues make me not trust others, when I do let people in, I start relying on them too much. Since I don’t believe in myself to find my own happiness, I tend to turn to others to fulfill that role for me. Thinking about this objectively, I understand I sometimes put too much pressure on others or burden them excessively, because I don’t trust my interior strength and my own judgment.

Mix the two above-mentioned ingredients together, add some spices, and you get a nice dish of troubles in your romantic relationships. Because of my trust issues, low self-esteem and emotional dependence on my partner, I constantly needed reassurance and I started many unnecessary fights. Luckily, I have an understanding partner and he still puts up with me, in spite of all this. I, too, have been doing my best to overcome these issues since I became aware of them, and I now try to view our relationship more objectively, more trustfully. However, sometimes, that crazy little leprechaun in my had still comes out to play.

Now, my self-doubt doesn’t affect only my relationship with others – it affects me, individually, as well. Because of this weakness of mine, I often give up on my self-development goals, thinking that I’m never going to accomplish them anyway. For instance, I started a 30-day home yoga challenge to get into shape and lose some weight. It’s been 3 months, and I’m on day 10 with the program. I think the facts speak for themselves.

Likewise, I’ve lost many job opportunities because I simply didn’t have the motivation or the courage to take action at the right moment – or even to complete a job application. “I’m going to fail anyway. Why put myself through this?”; “I’m not good enough.”; “I do have the skills, but the competition is much better than me. I don’t have a chance.” – and so on and so forth. It’s not laziness, as many might imagine. It’s just fear – most of the times silly, but still fear.

All in all, after extensive soul-searching, I realize that my self-doubt is my greatest weakness of them all, because it is a brick wall I keep hitting in all aspects of my life, be them personal or professional. Lack of self-confidence makes one suspicious of others, it hurts relationships, it hurts people, it hinders one’s development, and it simply complicates everything. Acknowledging the existence of a problem is a huge step towards solving it, and I will keep working on it until I demolish that brick wall – or banish the crazy little leprechaun in my head, if the metaphor feels more appropriate.

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Essay on My Strengths And Weaknesses

Students are often asked to write an essay on My Strengths And Weaknesses in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on My Strengths And Weaknesses

My strengths.

Everyone has things they are good at. My strengths are being kind, working hard, and learning quickly. I like to help friends and always do my best in school. When I get new lessons, I understand them fast. This helps me do well in class.

My Weaknesses

But, I also have things I’m not so good at. I sometimes worry too much, which can make me feel stressed. Also, I get shy around people I don’t know, making it hard to make new friends. I’m working to get better at these things.

250 Words Essay on My Strengths And Weaknesses

Introduction to my strengths and weaknesses.

Everyone has things they are good at and things they are not so good at. These are called strengths and weaknesses. Knowing what these are can help us get better and feel proud of what we can do.

My Good Points

I have a few strong points that help me in school and with friends. One of my best strengths is being kind to everyone. I like to share and make sure no one feels left out. I am also really good at reading. I can understand stories and learn new words quickly. Being organized is another strength. I keep my things tidy, so I don’t lose them, and it helps me do my homework on time.

Things I’m Working On

Just like everyone, I have some weak points too. I find math hard sometimes. Numbers and formulas can be confusing, and I need more practice to get better. Another weakness is that I am shy. Speaking in front of the class makes me nervous, and I am quiet when I meet new people. I am also not very good at sports. I am not as fast as the other kids, and I don’t catch the ball very well.

In the end, knowing my strengths and weaknesses is important. It shows me what I am good at, like being kind and organized. It also shows me what I need to work on, like math and speaking up. By understanding these things, I can try to become better every day.

500 Words Essay on My Strengths And Weaknesses

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s like having a bag of tools that we use to handle different situations in life. My strengths are the tools I use the most, and they help me do things well. My weaknesses are like the tools I don’t use often because I might not be very good at using them. Let’s talk about what some of these are for me.

One of my big strengths is being a good listener. When my friends talk to me, I pay close attention to what they are saying. This makes them feel important and cared for. Another strength I have is being organized. I keep my school work and toys in order, so I know where everything is when I need it. This helps me save time and stay calm because I’m not looking for things at the last minute.

I’m also pretty good at learning new things. When I get interested in a topic, I read a lot about it and try to understand as much as I can. This curiosity makes school more fun because I like finding out new facts and ideas. Lastly, I’m kind to others. I believe that being nice to people is important, and it makes me happy to see others smile when I help them.

Now, for my weaknesses. Sometimes, I can be shy, especially around new people. It takes me a while to feel comfortable enough to talk a lot with someone I just met. This can make it hard for me to make new friends quickly. I’m also not very good at sports. I can be clumsy, and I don’t catch or throw balls very well, which makes team games a bit tough for me.

Another weakness is that I get frustrated when things don’t go the way I planned. If I’m working on a puzzle and can’t find the right piece, I might feel like giving up. This is something I need to work on because not everything will always be easy. Lastly, I sometimes rush through my homework and make silly mistakes because I want to go play. This means I have to do it again, which takes even more time.

Working on My Weaknesses

I know that it’s okay to have weaknesses because everyone does. The important part is that I try to get better at them. For example, to help with my shyness, I practice talking to my family about my day, so I get used to sharing more with others. For sports, I keep playing and having fun, even if I’m not the best at it. I learn from my mistakes, and slowly, I get a little better each time.

When I get frustrated, I take deep breaths and remind myself to be patient. I tell myself that it’s fine to take breaks and come back to a tough puzzle later. And to stop rushing through my homework, I set a timer to make sure I spend enough time on each question.

In the end, knowing my strengths and weaknesses helps me understand myself better. It shows me what I’m good at and what I can improve. By working on my weaknesses, I can turn them into new strengths one day. And by using my strengths, I can help others and do my best in school and life. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and that’s what makes each of us special.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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The Achilles Heel of Early American Governance: Weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation

This essay about the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation discusses the significant shortcomings of America’s first constitution. It outlines how the Articles established a weak federal government that lacked the ability to tax, enforce laws, or regulate interstate commerce effectively. Highlighted issues include the lack of central fiscal policy, absence of a national judiciary or executive branch, and the detrimental effects of individual states imposing tariffs on each other, which stunted economic growth and fostered disunity. The essay also explains how these weaknesses necessitated the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, aiming to create a more robust federal system that balanced state autonomy with effective national governance. The discussion underscores the importance of learning from the Articles’ failures to understand the evolution of American government from a loose confederation of states to a unified federal republic.

How it works

When the American colonies broke away from British rule, they faced not only the challenge of a new nation’s birth but also the daunting task of creating a government that could sustain it. The Articles of Confederation, America’s first constitution, was crafted with this aim but ultimately fell short in several critical areas. Here, we examine the intrinsic weaknesses of the Articles that led to the eventual adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781, a time when the fledgling United States valued state sovereignty and feared the potential tyranny of a strong central government.

This sentiment profoundly shaped the Articles, which established a national government that had limited authority and lacked the power to enforce its laws. The government under the Articles was unicameral, with each state regardless of size or population, having one vote. This structure was meant to protect the autonomy of individual states, but it also introduced several significant problems.

One of the most glaring issues was the lack of a centralized fiscal policy. The national government did not have the power to tax, which meant it was incapable of generating revenue on its own. Instead, it relied on contributions from states, which were neither mandatory nor regularly offered. This financial weakness left the government unable to pay its debts, including those accrued during the Revolutionary War, and hindered its ability to secure funds for any federal initiative, whether it be military or domestic.

Additionally, the Articles did not establish a national judiciary or executive branch. This absence meant there was no mechanism to enforce laws or arbitrate disputes between states. Each state retained its court system and could interpret national decisions as it saw fit, leading to a lack of uniformity in law enforcement across the nation. Such disunity was particularly problematic in matters of interstate disputes and could have escalated into open conflict if left unchecked.

Commerce between states under the Articles also faced significant hurdles due to the ability of each state to impose tariffs on trade crossing their borders. This not only led to conflicts but also stifled economic growth, as states often retaliated against each other’s tariffs. The resulting economic fragmentation contrasted sharply with the vision of a single, unified market that could compete on an international scale.

The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation created a scenario where the United States was less a single nation and more a collection of loosely connected states. This fragmentation was evident during attempts to amend the Articles. Any amendment required a unanimous decision, an almost impossible feat given the diverse interests of the states. This requirement paralyzed the government, preventing it from adapting to new challenges or correcting its existing flaws.

The culmination of these issues was the realization that the Articles were insufficient for the growing needs of the nation. This led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which was initially meant to amend the Articles. However, it soon became clear that a complete overhaul was necessary. The U.S. Constitution subsequently drafted provided a stronger federal government with the ability to tax, a bicameral legislature, an executive led by a president, and a federal judiciary.

Reflecting on the Articles of Confederation provides us with a cautionary tale about the dangers of a decentralized government that is too weak to enforce its laws or fund its initiatives. It underscores the importance of a balanced system where federal authority is sufficiently empowered to act on behalf of a nation, while still respecting the autonomy of states. The Articles’ failure catalyzed the creation of the U.S. Constitution, a robust framework that has adeptly guided the United States through more than two centuries of challenges and changes.

Understanding these historical nuances helps us appreciate the complex journey American governance has undergone, from a loose association of states to a powerful federal republic. The lessons learned from the Articles of Confederation continue to inform contemporary discussions about federal and state powers, reminding us of the delicate balance required to maintain both unity and individual freedoms.

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The Impact of Professional Scholarship Essay Writing Services on Academic Success

I t’s hard to overestimate the usefulness of writing services for someone who needs a good essay for a scholarship application. At the same time, there are some concerns about the probable negative impact of writing services on academic success. Let’s consider both the potential negative and positive impact of a scholarship essay writing service to decide what’s stronger.

One of the most widespread concerns about the impact of essay writing services is the ethical side of use. Evidently, it is improper if people will provide someone’s work as their own. Even though such concern cannot be called groundless, it’s a matter of choice. Writing service is a tool, and it’s only the customer's choice how to use it. A person can buy a knife to cut fruits and vegetables or to take someone's life. This is not about the tool but about the ethics and decisions of the particular person who uses the tool.

Another concern is related to the dependency. When people overuse writing services and outsource their own tasks to other experts, it rather decreases their own skills that ought to be developed with the assignments. It’s once again about human conscience and ethics. In this context, it can be useful to compare writing services with coffee. Sometimes, this drink can be very useful to help you wake up or not fall asleep for longer. However, with excessive use, it can be harmful to health and be addictive. And, if you are regularly using coffee to wake yourself up or to stay awake, you probably have to reconsider your time management.

One more concern is about the money. Writing services obviously don’t provide their help for free. Hence, the frequent use of it can cause a financial burden for people who use such services. Thinking this way, one can assume that any type of purchase can cause a financial burden. Most writing services insist on price transparency and the absence of any hidden additional increase in the price. One can see the price before placing an order and deciding whether this money will harm the budget.

As you can see, although the concerns about writing services aren’t baseless, they’re more about the weakness of human nature than about the negative impact of writing services themselves. People who can act unethically will find their way with or without writing services. And if a person has trouble managing money it will be evident from the different aspects of life, not only the use of writing services. You can be careful using writing services, but not more careful than with anything else in life.

Except for the concerns considered above, writing services can also positively impact academic success when used properly. A person who needs to write a scholarship essay often faces the problem of procrastination and blank page syndrome. In such a case, help from a writing service can be incredibly useful to overcome the problems. A person can use the paper from the writing service as an example to follow or, in contrast, decide that everything must be written differently. Most importantly, one will start working on the scholarship essay instead of waiting for inspiration or being lost in anxiety.

The positive impact on mental health comes from the previous advantage. Applying for the scholarship is a stressful process. A person is concerned about all the papers that must be gathered and forms to be filled out in the proper way, about the future if the scholarship will be obtained, and about the development of the events if not. Writing services that provide personalized examples of scholarship essays can help reduce stress and anxiety and, hence, have at least a small positive impact on mental health.
Expert guidance can be crucial for a person who needs a scholarship. Yes, you can find free examples of scholarship essays on the web, but you might not be sure which is most suitable for your particular case. Writing services have professionals who often write scholarship essays and know their specifics. In addition, a personalized example is the most useful one to understand what and how you can write to succeed.
Time management is the last but not the least point in this list. Writing services have short deadlines of just a few hours, which allows a person to get a ready example on the same day it was ordered. This saves time that a person might spend reading and understanding the nuances of the scholarship essay. Instead of that, one can take this time for other no less essential papers or activities related to getting a scholarship.

Final words

As one can see, scholarship essay writing services can potentially negatively and positively impact academic success. Such services can be a powerful tool to save time, avoid stress, and get a well-written personalized example of a scholarship essay. However, as well as in the case of any tool, it must be used wisely and ethically.

The Impact of Professional Scholarship Essay Writing Services on Academic Success

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Book Review: ‘Challenger’ is definitive account of shuttle disaster and missteps that led to tragedy

This cover image released by Avid Reader shows “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space” by Adam Higginbotham. (Avid Reader via AP)

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When the Challenger space shuttle exploded a little over a minute after its launch in 1986, it pierced the dreams of millions about who watched the tragedy unfold live on television. It also eventually exposed the weaknesses of a space program that had been revered by many.

In “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space,” Adam Higginbotham provides the most definitive account of the explosion that took the lives of the seven-person crew. He also meticulously explores the missteps and negligence that allowed the tragedy to occur.

Bookmarked between two other tragedies that struck NASA — the 1967 Apollo launchpad fire that killed three astronauts and the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster that killed seven — Higginbotham’s book traces the history of the nation’s shuttle program leading up to the Challenger explosion.

Higginbotham manages to temper his account of the excitement the shuttle program generated — recounting how “everyday life seemed to come to a standstill” during the launch of the Columbia shuttle in 1981 — with the warning signs of technical flaws that were overlooked or outright ignored over the years.

This cover image released by Norton shows "This Strange Eventful History" by Claire Messud. (Norton via AP)

In clear and accessible language, Higginbotham explains the mechanics of the shuttle and its problems without sacrificing any of the pace that carries readers forward. The pace is so brisk that readers will be surprised when they realize the vivid account of the Challenger launch doesn’t occur until well after halfway through the book.

Higginbotham provides just as dramatic of a retelling of the aftermath of the shuttle’s crash, from the search for the wreckage and astronaut remains to the investigation and hearings on the disaster.

The book delivers a compelling, comprehensive history of the disaster that exposed, as Higginbotham writes, how “the nation’s smartest minds had unwittingly sent seven men and women to their deaths.”

AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

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