Difficulty Writing an essay at Tertiary Level -- English Writing

Writing an essay at Tertiary level is an extremely difficult process. â€Æ' Introduction The ability to write a quality piece of writing at the tertiary level is a procedure that does not come easily. As mentioned in Marshall and Rowland (2006, p.195).the complexity of developing a style of writing that is personal and academic while processing and developing thoughts and concepts into a presentable piece of academic writing can be a daunting process ( myself included ). This essay will discuss some of the barriers a student may experience during their writing experience. The development of research and reading skills in their approach to learning and difficulties a student may experience due to procrastination and consequently questioning the usefulness of the essay as a learning tool. Motivation and Reasoning â€Å"For many students essay-writing is the bane of their lives. They question the usefulness of essays, make heavy weather of writing them, and generally try to put them off for as long as they can get away with it†(Rowntree,D. 1974, p.65). In this quote from Rowntree the discussion is over the initial process, the assimilation of ideas and knowledge. Most students would agree that the most difficult part of the process is to organise ideas and concepts into words on paper, especially words that they feel to convey their thoughts as Barnett, cited in Marshall and Rowland (2006, p.145).mentions. The question does need to be asked ‘Who (or what) am I writing this essay for?’Marshall and Rowland (2006, p92).argue that we write only for our tutor or lecturer as a means to assess our scholarly efforts. I disagree with this and would side with the view from Rowntree (1974, p65).that the written essay make... ...r Conclusion Essays are not an easy task, but they can be a task over which the student has the most control. Importantly, the written essay teaches a student to think by giving them skills to analyse a topic systematically and communicate their thoughts about the topic in a logical way. Essays are about learning and showing proof of the research effort, your knowledge and your depth of understanding of a topic. References Marshall, L. and Rowland,F. (2006). A Guide to Learning Independently. Malaysia: Pearson Education Australia. Orr, F. (1992). Writing essays. In Study skills for successful students. North Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Pauk, W. (1969). The research paper,Time and technique. Journal of Reading 13. Reprinted as Scholarly writing: A case study. , p.25-32. Rowntree, D. (1974). How to Write Essays. London: MacDonald.