If the structure and grammar of your term paper is not up to standard, then regardless of what you’ve written, your whole assignment will be frowned upon. Follow these seven steps to ridding your paper of bad syntax:

Is that slang?

The way we write and the way we speak should often be separated. If you’re accustomed to using slang in your speech, don’t bring that to your paper. To be a good writing student you need to be a good reader. Adopt the style of your text books and sources and avoid slang at all costs.

Punctuation doesn’t mean being on time

Bad punctuation is just as bad. When we speak, we often say things like, “You not going to eat that are you?” when in fact the proper word to start with is “You’re”, and not “You”. Get to know your commas, apostrophes and semi-colons before you take on writing assignments.

Where are you going with this?

Take the time to think about your format. There has to be a direction with your writing. A term paper containing mixed up ideas within paragraphs is not fun to read and your professor will mark you down for it.

More time equals higher grades

Don’t short change yourself with time when it comes to your assignment. If you know that checking and revising your paper will take more time for you than others, then budget that time in with your writing. Inevitably, the more time you spend on a project, the more you’ll get out of it. There's only one exception from this rule: only when you buy research papers you save time.