What BAD writing looks like...

I'm a native speaker and I really want to help people improve their writing and speaking.  I was at a university the other day, I won't say which country, and I read some of the papers written in English.  They all looked very similar and the mistakes were almost identical.  I noticed a few common things.

1.  Non native speakers try to use too many big words and are way too formal when they write.  It looks really weird to a native speaker.  This is true even if there is no mistake. 

2.  Non native speakers try to write too much information.  I think there is some feeling that "the more I write the better".  It's simply not true.  We learn to be as brief and to the point as possible.  

You need to read the writing of real native speakers.  Take note of the difference.  We don't use big adjectives every chance we get.  Notice the flow of the writing and try to use some of that style in your own work.  

I recommend getting the free PDF Ebooks here as well as learning this growing list of free and common English slang terms.  A good understanding will help your writing, reading, and speaking.  

In my opinion, we could have learned much more if you'd given us an example of each common mistake.

Thanks in advance, eh