LC English common mistakes
LC English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing a personal essay or opinion piece when the task is an argument, and never stating a position the reader could disagree with.
Students practise narrative and descriptive writing all year, so under time pressure they default to telling a story or listing feelings rather than constructing a case with a clear thesis.
What to do instead
Before writing, compose a one-sentence thesis and check every paragraph against it. Open with a direct claim, use at least three developed arguments with evidence or examples, and include a short counter-argument paragraph you then rebut.
Producing five or six short paragraphs that each make a single point with no development, leaving the composition well under the expected length.
Candidates plan in bullet points and then write one sentence per bullet, confusing a plan with a paragraph structure.
What to do instead
Use a three-part paragraph template: topic sentence, two or three sentences of development with a specific example, and a closing sentence that links forward. Aim for four to six substantial paragraphs rather than many thin ones.
Ignoring register and audience, so a formal persuasive piece for a broad readership contains slang, contractions and second-person address throughout.
Candidates write in the same voice they use in text messages and do not consciously select a register for the stated purpose and audience.
What to do instead
Decide the register before drafting: formal for speeches, articles and letters to editors; lightly informal only where the task invites it. Do a final sweep removing contractions, slang and vague intensifiers such as 'really' and 'a lot'.
Spending far too long on the comprehension passage and then rushing the functional writing task, or the reverse, so one section is visibly weaker.
Candidates work sequentially with no time budget and let the reading passage absorb time because it feels easier to keep checking.
What to do instead
Set a fixed split before the exam starts and stick to it, for example half the time on comprehension and half on functional writing, leaving five minutes to proofread. Practise under timed conditions so the split becomes automatic.
Quoting long stretches of the passage in comprehension answers instead of answering in their own words.
It feels safer to lift text, and candidates believe a direct quote guarantees the mark.
What to do instead
Use the passage only to locate the answer, then close the text and write the point in your own sentence. Quote at most a short phrase where the wording itself is the point being asked about.
Writing a functional writing piece, such as a letter, review or article, without its required conventions, so a formal letter lacks addresses and a salutation, or a review never evaluates.
Candidates focus on content and forget that the format itself carries marks and signals the genre to the reader.
What to do instead
Memorise a short checklist for each genre: formal letter needs sender and recipient details, date, salutation, sign-off and signature; a review needs a verdict, criteria and a recommendation; an article needs a headline and byline. Check the checklist before writing.
Retelling the plot of the studied text in an answer to a question about theme, character or technique.
Plot is the easiest material to recall, so under pressure candidates summarise events rather than analysing them.
What to do instead
Never write a sentence that only reports what happens. Attach every reference to a point about theme, character development or authorial technique, and support it with a short quotation or precise moment used as evidence.
Answering the single-text question with general impressions and no close reference to specific moments, quotations or structural features.
Candidates rely on memory of the whole text and cannot retrieve precise detail quickly in the exam.
What to do instead
Build a revision sheet of eight to twelve key moments with a short quotation for each, plus notes on narrative viewpoint, structure and imagery. In the exam, anchor each paragraph to one of these moments rather than generalising.
Treating the comparative study as three separate mini-essays, with no sentence that puts two texts side by side.
Candidates revise each text in isolation and then write about them one after another, which is the shape their notes already have.
What to do instead
Write comparison as the default sentence pattern: 'Whereas X does A, Y does B, which reveals...'. Plan by shared theme or mode rather than by text, and ensure every paragraph discusses at least two texts.
Identifying poetic techniques by name without explaining their effect, and writing about the poem's subject rather than how the poet shapes it.
Candidates learn a list of terms and assume naming a metaphor earns the mark, without practising the link from technique to meaning.
What to do instead
Use a fixed three-step sentence: the technique, the specific words quoted, and the effect on the reader or the poem's meaning. For every poem on your course, prepare two or three quotations with a written effect, and practise the pattern until it is automatic.