My only real fault is that I'm just too much of a perfectionist. Oh, and all of these other things.
I think my biggest hurdle when I started writing these essays was formulating thesis statements and introductory paragraph sentences. While I've gradually improved at doing this, I still need to put more effort in linking paragraphs together thematically. This will also help eliminate random points that have little relevance to the topic and that I've just crowbarred in to try and sound clever (like my Heart Of Darkness references in my Tempest essay, which didn't really add anything). I need to spend more time before actually writing my essay thinking about the grand scheme of it, and whether an apparent 'overarching' topic/idea I have is strong enough to support an entire essay. Apparently my "insightful arguments" are my strong point, I just need to work at putting every single one of those strong points together in a way that clearly supports my thesis.
Another area that I think needs work is properly expanding on points (for example, Antigone and her supposedly 'ambiguous' morals, as well as her relation to a Knight Of Faith), as well as citing evidence from the text whenever the opportunity arises. So many times I've said a conclusion to a point without properly explaining how I came to it. I can help reduce this by getting other people to read my essay before it's submitted; if they are confused, then the marker probably will be as well.
I seem to always mention the same topics: personal freedom, oppression, power. These topics must come easier to me, so I should probably keep on writing about these whenever I get the chance. My essay's concluding sentences have also been consistently praised. I'm hoping this is not due to an unconscious feeling of relief for having finally finished my essay! Sadly, I cannot make my essay consist of only concluding sentences, which is a shame.
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