Common Mistakes Made in English B Paper 2

General Mistakes

1. Not reading the question carefully (Key and Bold Words)

2. Writing an introduction that does not relate to the specific question (Hook not relevant to
question)
3. Writing incomplete thesis statements or making them too general
4. Not using the key words from the question throughout your essay
5. Being too general in your response to the question (dialogue, point of view, diction)
6. Not using the formula PEE (Point, Example, Explanation)
7. Not paraphrasing or quoting OR quoting incorrectly
8. Not writing enough to score full marks especially for the second and third body
paragraphs (No development)
9. Not underlining or using quotations marks where needed.
10. Writing an inadequate conclusion or one that is too general
11. Not doing what the specific verbs in the question ask for (describe, comment on,
discuss, examine)
12. Introduction not ending with the thesis statement
13. Too detailed introduction
14. Conclusion too long or too short
15. Not giving enough attention to spelling, grammar and expression
16. Poor use of the given time

Drama Mistakes

1. Same as above
2. Writing the incorrect character’s name (for example, Antonio for Alonso)
3. Using the wrong dramatic technique to answer the third body paragraph

Poetry Mistakes

1. Choosing the wrong poems for the generic question

2. Writing a ‘lopsided’ essay
3. Hook/Opening Sentence not relevant to both poems
4. Selecting poetic devices that do not answer the question
5. Naming a poem but writing about another (confused student) or naming the incorrect
poet as the writer of a poem

Prose Mistakes

1. Being very general regarding the themes

2. Writing about point of view, dialogue and diction but giving a general answer
3. Selecting a narrative technique that does not relate to the question.