HiSET Writing common mistakes
HiSET Writing · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
On sentence-placement items, the candidate reads only the sentence being moved and picks an insertion point that 'sounds smooth,' without checking what the surrounding sentences refer to - so a sentence beginning 'This decision...' gets placed before any decision has been mentioned.
Placement questions look like style/flow questions, so candidates judge them by ear instead of treating them as a chain of references.
What to do instead
Before choosing a spot, underline every pronoun, transition word, and repeated key term in the target sentence. Then scan the paragraph for the sentence containing the thing those words point back to, and insert immediately after it. Confirm by reading the sentence before and after the insertion point.
When asked which sentence should be deleted, the candidate keeps or removes sentences based on whether the information is true, interesting, or well written, rather than whether it supports the paragraph's main point.
Every sentence in the passage is factually plausible and competently written, so the 'wrongness' is invisible unless the candidate is testing against the topic sentence.
What to do instead
Write the paragraph's topic sentence (or main idea) in the margin in five words or fewer. Label each sentence S (supports) or X (off-topic/duplicates). The delete answer is the X that no other sentence depends on.
The candidate selects transitions by ear - choosing 'however' or 'therefore' because it sounds sophisticated - without naming the logical relationship between the two sentences being joined.
Transition words are taught as vocabulary rather than as signals of a specific relationship, so candidates match on tone and register instead of on logic.
What to do instead
Before looking at the options, state the relationship in plain words: 'these two ideas are in contrast,' 'the second is a result of the first,' 'the second is an example.' Then choose only the transition that matches that label, and verify by substituting the plain-words phrase back into the sentence.
The candidate begins writing the essay immediately and discovers the argument mid-paragraph, producing body paragraphs that overlap, arrive out of order, or drift away from the prompt's specific question (e.g., writing a personal story when the prompt asks for a position).
Timed essays create pressure to 'get words down,' and candidates underestimate how much a short plan protects them from mid-essay dead ends.
What to do instead
Spend the first 3–5 minutes on a written outline: one thesis sentence that answers the exact prompt, plus two or three body points, each paired with one concrete example. Before writing each paragraph, check it against the thesis; before finishing, re-read the prompt and confirm the thesis answers that question, not a nearby one.
The candidate picks the longest, most formal-sounding revision - 'in the event that' over 'if,' 'due to the fact that' over 'because,' or a passive construction over an active one - because it reads as more academic.
School feedback often rewards formal register, so candidates equate word count and Latinate vocabulary with correctness.
What to do instead
Choose the shortest option that preserves the original meaning. Eliminate any choice that adds words without adding information, then test the two remaining options by reading both aloud and keeping the one a reader could follow fastest.
The candidate leaves informal language in a formal context - contractions, 'a lot of,' 'kids,' 'totally,' slang, or a sudden shift to direct address ('you') in a third-person passage - or conversely stiffens a deliberately casual passage.
Candidates edit sentence by sentence for grammar and never form a picture of the whole piece's audience and purpose.
What to do instead
Before answering any word-choice item, state the passage's audience and purpose in one line (e.g., 'job application letter to an employer - persuade'). Then flag any word you would not use in a school essay, and check that the point of view (first/second/third person) stays consistent throughout.
The candidate confuses similar-sounding or similar-looking words (affect/effect, then/than, imply/infer, fewer/less, between/among), or keeps a verb with the wrong preposition ('differ with' for 'differ from'), because the sentence 'sounds right' overall.
These errors are small enough that overall sentence fluency masks them, and candidates rarely slow down on a single word.
What to do instead
Substitute each candidate word into the sentence and paraphrase the sentence's meaning in your own words; if the paraphrase changes, the word is wrong. Keep a running personal list of the ten confusable pairs you miss and review the preposition that each verb requires.
The candidate assumes every item contains an error, finds a 'problem' in a sentence that is already correct, and rules out the 'no change' option without testing it.
Editing tests train a search-for-error mindset, and candidates distrust an answer that requires doing nothing.
What to do instead
Read the original sentence alone and name the rule (if any) it breaks. If you cannot name a broken rule, choose 'no change.' Verify by plugging your chosen revision back in: if the rewrite changes the original meaning or fixes nothing, revert.
The candidate misses subject–verb and pronoun–antecedent agreement errors because a prepositional phrase or parenthetical sits between the subject and verb ('The box of tools were...', 'Each of the students handed in their...').
The ear latches onto the nearest noun before the verb rather than the grammatical subject.
What to do instead
Cross out every prepositional phrase and parenthetical between the subject and verb, then read only subject + verb aloud. For pronouns, circle the antecedent noun and check number before choosing his/her/their/its.
The candidate fails to spot run-ons and comma splices, or selects a 'fix' that leaves a fragment - joining two independent clauses with a comma alone, or accepting a semicolon or comma before a clause that cannot stand alone.
Long sentences with several clauses sound fluent, and candidates judge punctuation by pause rather than by clause structure.
What to do instead
Bracket each clause in the sentence. Test each one by asking whether it could stand alone as a sentence. Two stand-alone clauses require a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (and, but, so, yet); if either bracketed unit cannot stand alone, the separating punctuation must go.