A common mistake made by students is writing incomplete sentences. Doing homework completely means writing in complete sentences. The teacher may unconsciously equate sloppy work with sloppy thinking. If she must struggle to read the paper she may lose patience with it and mark it with an inferior grade due to her overall poor impression. When judging for neatness be sure that your child's handwriting is legible.
Many students fail to plan enough time to complete their homework with quality.
Too often, students who have a week to work on an assignment will wait to do it until the night before it is due. If your child has this problem she may need your help in dividing the work into shorter steps and being disciplined to complete each one. On a separate paper, list the steps that must be done to complete the homework. As she completes each step you can check it off. If she has trouble sticking with the schedule you may want to devise a system of modest rewards for her such as television privileges or time with friends.