Why These Mistakes Cost You More Than You Think
After marking thousands of student essays over 8 years, I can tell you this: most students lose marks not because they lack ideas, but because they repeat the same 10 mistakes. Fix these, and your essay score typically improves by 10-15 marks in the first 3 months.
These aren’t vague tips like “improve your grammar.” Every mistake below includes a real example from student essays (anonymised) and the exact correction.
Mistake 1: Subject-Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns
This is the most misunderstood grammar rule among Malaysian students. Collective nouns (team, family, government, committee) take singular verbs in most SPM contexts.
Before: “The committee have decided to cancel the event.” After: “The committee has decided to cancel the event.”
Before: “My family are very supportive of my studies.” After: “My family is very supportive of my studies.”
Why it matters: Examiners flag this immediately. It signals weak grammar control, which pulls down your Language band. One occurrence is forgivable; three or four across an essay moves you from Band 4 to Band 3.
Mistake 2: Tense Inconsistency Within Paragraphs
Students start a paragraph in past tense, switch to present in the middle, then end in past again — often without realising it.
Before: “Last year, I joined the debate team. We practice every Tuesday and our teacher gave us useful feedback.” After: “Last year, I joined the debate team. We practised every Tuesday and our teacher gave us useful feedback.”
The rule: Pick your tense based on the essay type. Narratives use past tense. Argumentative essays use present tense. Once you choose, stay consistent within each paragraph.
For a complete tense guide, read our article on grammar and sentence structure.
Mistake 3: Direct Translation from Bahasa Malaysia
This is the number one giveaway that a student is thinking in BM and translating word-by-word. The grammar follows Malay sentence patterns instead of English ones.
Before: “I very like to play football.” (Saya sangat suka bermain bola sepak) After: “I really enjoy playing football.”
Before: “We must take serious this problem.” (Kita mesti ambil serius masalah ini) After: “We must take this problem seriously.”
Before: “She always follow her mother go to market.” (Dia selalu ikut mak dia pergi pasar) After: “She always accompanies her mother to the market.”
The fix: After writing each sentence, read it aloud. If it sounds like translated BM, rewrite it using a natural English pattern. Check out our guide on common BM-to-English translation errors for more examples.
Mistake 4: Weak, Generic Introductions
Most students open with variations of “Nowadays, [topic] is very important in our daily lives.” Examiners read this opening hundreds of times. It makes your essay invisible.
Before: “Nowadays, technology is very important in our daily lives. Everyone uses technology every day. In this essay, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of technology.”
After: “Last month, my 8-year-old cousin asked Siri to solve her maths homework. She got the right answer in seconds — and learned nothing. This moment captures everything complicated about technology in education.”
The rule: Start with a specific detail — a scene, a statistic, a question, or a bold statement. Never start with “Nowadays” or “In this modern era.”
Mistake 5: No Paragraph Structure (The Wall of Text)
Some students write their entire essay as one or two massive paragraphs. Even if the ideas are good, the examiner can’t follow them, and Organisation marks suffer badly.
The fix:
- Paragraph 1: Introduction (3-4 sentences)
- Paragraphs 2-4: Body paragraphs, each with one main idea
- Paragraph 5: Conclusion (3-4 sentences)
Each body paragraph should start with a topic sentence that tells the examiner what this paragraph is about. If you can’t summarise your paragraph in one sentence, it’s probably covering too many ideas.
Mistake 6: Going Off-Topic
Students see a topic like “Describe a memorable experience” and write about three different experiences instead of one in depth. Or they see “The importance of education” and spend two paragraphs talking about technology.
Before (for topic “My Most Memorable Day”): Writing about your birthday, a school trip, and a competition — all in one essay. After: Choosing ONE day and describing it in rich detail — what you saw, heard, felt, and why it mattered.
The rule: Re-read the title after every paragraph. Does this paragraph connect directly to the topic? If you have to stretch to explain the connection, cut it.
Mistake 7: Word Count Problems
For Directed Writing, the target is 200-250 words. For Continuous Writing, aim for 350-500 words. Going significantly under suggests you ran out of ideas. Going significantly over suggests you can’t be concise.
Common problems:
- Directed Writing at 120 words: Missing content points and underdeveloped ideas
- Continuous Writing at 200 words: Not enough development to reach Band 4+
- Extended Essay at 700+ words: Repetitive content, no time left for the rest of Paper 2
The fix: Practice with a word counter until you develop a feel for length. In the exam, count the words on your first page to estimate your per-line average, then multiply.
Mistake 8: Spelling Errors on Common Words
Occasional spelling mistakes on difficult words are fine. But misspelling common words signals carelessness and pulls down your Language band.
Frequently misspelled words I see:
goverment→ governmentenviroment→ environmentdefinately→ definitelyoccurence→ occurrencerecieve→ receiveseperate→ separateaccomodation→ accommodationneccessary→ necessary
The fix: Make a personal list of words you always misspell. Review it before every practice essay. Most students only misspell the same 15-20 words repeatedly — fix those and the problem largely disappears.
Mistake 9: Punctuation Errors That Change Meaning
Punctuation isn’t decoration — it controls how your sentences are read. The three most common punctuation errors in SPM essays:
Comma splices: Joining two complete sentences with just a comma.
- Before: “She studied hard, she passed the exam.”
- After: “She studied hard, and she passed the exam.” OR “She studied hard. She passed the exam.”
Missing commas after introductory phrases:
- Before: “However the plan did not work.”
- After: “However, the plan did not work.”
Apostrophe confusion:
- Before: “The students book’s were on the table.” / “Its important to study.”
- After: “The students’ books were on the table.” / “It’s important to study.”
Mistake 10: Using Informal Language in Formal Essays
SPM Continuous Writing requires a formal to semi-formal register. Slang, text-speak abbreviations, and overly casual language cost you marks.
Before: “The government should like totally ban smoking cuz it’s super bad for people lah.” After: “The government should implement a comprehensive smoking ban, as tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death.”
Words to avoid in SPM essays:
- “kids” → use “children” or “young people”
- “a lot of” → use “numerous” or “many”
- “gonna/wanna” → use “going to” / “want to”
- “stuff/things” → use specific nouns
- Any particle like “lah,” “leh,” “meh”
The Quick Pre-Submission Checklist
Before you hand in any essay — practice or exam — run through this 2-minute check:
- ☐ All content points addressed? (Directed Writing)
- ☐ Tenses consistent within each paragraph?
- ☐ At least 4-5 clear paragraphs?
- ☐ Opening line is specific, not generic?
- ☐ Every paragraph connects to the topic?
- ☐ No direct BM translations?
- ☐ Word count in the right range?
- ☐ Spelled common words correctly?
- ☐ Punctuation checked (especially commas and apostrophes)?
- ☐ Formal register maintained throughout?
Fix These and Watch Your Marks Climb
These 10 mistakes account for roughly 80% of the marks students lose unnecessarily. Fix them systematically — tackle 2-3 per month — and you’ll see measurable improvement in your essay scores.
If you want a detailed assessment of which mistakes are costing you the most marks, message us on WhatsApp. Send us a recent essay and we’ll identify your top 3 priority fixes.