The important qualities of a good roommate

[PhuongDu]

Would you mind helping me correct the essay about the topic below? Thank you very much.

Topic: Many students have to live with roommates while going to school or university. What are some of the important qualities of a good roommate? Use specific reasons and examples to explain why these qualities are important.

In our life, it is the one of the most important issue that where you stay and whom you stay with. If you decided to stay in a hostel, possibly, you would have no chance to choose your roommate. However, mutual life is different from living alone and it is much better to choose your roommate. There are several factors to shape student’s mutual life. Additionally, in my opinion there are several qualities to be a good roommate. I would like to mention some of the prominent ones.

First and foremost, respect is the most important qualities of a good roommate. Your roommate will inevitably have access to many of your belongings. Rooming with someone you don’t feel will care for your things can be stressful, and living with someone you think might steal from you is even worse. You may have differing opinions on what it means to borrow carefully or to respect the others’ time and space. Work out what sort of borrowing and privacy arrangements you’re comfortable with before moving in together.

Secondly, a good roommate is a person does not have bad habit or addiction such as smoking or drinking. Smoking will pollute the indoor air and contaminate clothes and bedding. With a smoker in the same apartment, you cannot breathe health air and have a good rest, let alone concentrating on studying. Even worse, you may become a victim of passive smoking. In a word, a roommate`s bad habit can seriously impact your life and studying.

Thirdly, cleanliness is the quality of a good roommate. In other words, you need to have general consideration for each other’s space. A good rule of thumb is to talk about what kind of messes stress each other out and figure out a way to compromise. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make your bed every single day, but do learn what cleaning habits bring peace to your roommate’s life and do them joyfully.

To sum up briefly, as long as you enjoy your dormitory life, get well with your friends, so you should be a good roommate. Whatever what you experiences, those of them will be a beautiful memorial of your rest of life.

[Luschen]

Hi Phuong Du, I thought your essay was pretty good. You have addressed the prompt correctly.
Your observations are relevant, but I think adding some more specific examples would have been a good addition. Your writing is fairly clear, but some of your sentences were vague or awkward. Here are some additional suggestions:

@PhuongDu

In our life, it is the one of the most important [issues is] where you stay and whom you stay with. {this still sounds a little odd - maybe “In college, many students experience for the first time sharing a room with someone who is not their relative.”} If you decided to stay in a hostel, [this is odd, because it sounds like you think staying in a hostel is a possibility when you are going to college, but this is not really true. Hostels are really just for short term vacations. So maybe, “If you have ever stayed in a hostel, you know that you do not get to pick your roommate.”} possibly, you would have no chance to choose your roommate. However, mutual life {“mutual life” sounds pretty odd} is different from living alone and it is much better [when you have the chance to] choose your roommate. There are several factors [that] shape [a ]student’s mutual life. {what does this sentence mean? It is not very clear to me} Additionally, in my opinion there are several qualities [necessary] to be a good roommate. I would like to mention some of the prominent ones. {I would leave out this sentence - it is best to end with your thesis sentence}

First and foremost, respect is the most important [quality] of a good roommate. Your roommate will inevitably have access to many of your belongings. Rooming with someone you don’t feel will care for your things can be stressful, and living with someone you think might steal from you is even worse. You may have differing opinions on what it means to borrow carefully or to respect the others’ time and space. Work out what sort of borrowing and privacy arrangements you’re {avoid contractions in formal essays} comfortable with before moving in together. {wow, this is a great paragraph - very clear! A specific example would have been great if you have time to add it}

Secondly, a good roommate is a person [who] does not have bad habit or addiction such as smoking or drinking. Smoking will pollute the indoor air and contaminate clothes and bedding. With a smoker in the same apartment, you cannot breathe [healthy] air and have a good rest, let alone [concentrate] {this needs to match the “breathe” and “have” simple present tense} on studying. Even worse, you may become a victim of passive smoking. In a word, a roommate`s bad habit can seriously impact your life and studying.

Thirdly, cleanliness is [a necessary] quality of a good roommate. In other words, [all the people sharing a residence] {try to avoid second person in formal essays like this, plus, be more specific} need to have general consideration for each other’s space. A good rule of thumb is to talk about what kind of messes stress each other out and figure out a way to compromise. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make your bed every single day, but do learn what cleaning habits bring peace to your roommate’s life and do them joyfully.

To sum up briefly, as long as you enjoy your dormitory life[ and] get [along] well with your friends, so you should be a good roommate. Whatever what you experiences, {this sounds very odd} those of them will be a beautiful memorial of your rest of life. {I like the fact that you added a call to action, but this one is pretty awkward - maybe “Whatever you experience, being a good roommate will pay off by making your university years pleasant and fulfilling.”}

[Torsten]

Hi @PhuongDu, do you know what we call a person who shares a flat or apartment with another person? I mean, a roommate usually shares a room with another person. What if each of the people have their own room?

[Luschen]

Torsten, one option is “housemate”, but to be honest, when I hear “roommate”, I don’t assume they share a single room At least here in the US, “roommate” is the general term for people who share an apartment or house.

[Torsten]

I think my German way of thinking gets in the way here