If your feedback says "awkward or cumbersome expression" or, in short, 'awk.':
Your tutor would like you to express your ideas in a simpler, clearer or more concise way. An "awkward" expression is a statement that is difficult to understand because it is either grammatically incorrect or unnecessarily complicated. In your assignments, you often deal with complex ideas, but you should aim for clarity in your explanations.
To avoid 'awkward expressions' in your writing, try spending more time editing and proof reading your work:
Answer
1) Focus on the meaning of your text
Have you written what you actually wanted to say?
Read your text aloud, or highlight it, looking for any missing words or punctuation that could lead another reader to interpret your points in a different way. Check also if there are any words that you do not need. If possible, ask someone who is not familiar with your discipline to read your work and let you know if there are any specific points that you could explain better. Alternatively, you can use the one-to-one Academic Writing support available from CLaSS.
2) Check your sentence structure:
Is your sentence too long (over three lines) or too complex, with many different points?
Read the sentence aloud or highlight it and try to rewrite it as two or more sentences, or add punctuation to indicate a break. For each sentence, check also if it is clear who or what you are talking about and what is the main point you want to make about it. To find out more about these and other strategies to improve your sentence structure, check our Proof Reading for Grammar Toolkit.
3) Check your word choice:
Have you used any words whose meaning you are not sure of?
Highlight any words new to you and check their meaning in a dictionary; look for sample sentences to gain a better understanding of how those words can be used in context. For example, resources you could use include Oxford Learner's Dictionary or Collins English Dictionary