Many students have problems with spelling and grammar. This problem does not magically go away when students go to college; in fact, many college professors report frustration with students who lack elementary spelling and grammar skills. In grade school, particularly the lower grades, students may have simply not learned spelling and grammar rules yet. At the college level, students typically encounter spelling problems when dealing with similar sounding words with different spellings, such as "lead" and "led" or "principle" and "principal."
People of all ages may have problems with diction. Younger students often do not know how to use simple words properly, while older students may have problem with academic terminology and jargon. A common problem seen in college students is the misuse of large words. Some students try to impress their professors by putting a lot of impressive sounding -- but unnecessary and uneconomical -- jargon in their papers. This problem may begin to develop during high school, when students begin to encounter large words in their readings and think that they should write like the authors they read.
Every writer has his own personal style, and some writers focus on style more than others do. However, all writers should have a writing style that, at the bare minimum, does not interfere with clear communication of ideas. Students who fail to divide content into paragraphs or fail to use sentences that vary in length often submit papers that cannot be understood properly by the teacher. This has a negative effect on the students grades for two reasons. First, in the language arts classroom, style counts for points; and second, in any classroom, clear communication of ideas is necessary for the grader to understand what's being said.
Academic writing needs to be well organized in order to be understood effectively. Students should give their papers a clear introduction with a one-sentence thesis, several body paragraphs with distinct points and a conclusion that summarizes the contents of the paper. If students do not follow the organizational style for essays, then their papers may be difficult to follow logically and structurally. Lack of organization can cause problems when the student gets to college since college papers are typically long. The more unstructured a paper is, the harder it will be for the professor or other reader to follow it for several thousand words.