Introduction
Writing essays at tertiary level is basically not an easy task especially for undergraduate students who join tertiary institutions. This is because the essays they were writing at undergraduate level are totally different from essays at tertiary level. Such students usually have difficulties in planning and writing essays according to the required standards (Fowler, 2007, p.19). Actually, some of them are usually confused on how to develop their essays in a logical approach. At undergraduate level, these students are more conversant with writing essays that are not based on analytical research work. Writing essays at this level does not require students to give out evidence of their research work like in the case of tertiary level. Most of them are used to writing essays without supplying any research evidence or attributing a particular work of an author (Ehrenhaft, 2001, p. 83). For this reason, these students may not be in a position to develop their own ideas and reflect them on paper work. Adjusting to the tertiary writing standards is normally difficult for many undergraduates who can not have their own independent thinking. On the other hand, there are few teachers who are able to help students to learn much of the essay writing skills (Tanner, 2004, p. 45). Thus, not all of them spend their time in explaining to students on how they are supposed to handle essay writings. The objective of this paper therefore is to discuss why writing an essay at tertiary level is extremely a complex process.
Reasons why writing essays is a complex process
Reading widely
One of the reasons why writing essays at tertiary level is a complex process is because students are usually expected to read widely. Reading widely is very essential as it enables students to have a critical analysis of a particular field of literature. Unfortunately most undergraduate students do not like the idea of reading widely and so they fail to come up with a well researched essay paper (Shields, 2008, p. 55). Without a thorough research, it becomes more complex to write essays at tertiary level. When students are at their tertiary level, they tend to be lazy and may not take their time to do a proper research work (Tanner, 2004, p. 90). As a matter of fact, most of them prefer copying information from books rather than interpreting in their own words. This is a trend that is common at undergraduate level although it really affects students as they join tertiary level. With such a trend, student will always have difficulties in writing essay since they were previously used to copying information from books (Cornford, 2003, p. 81).
According to Fowler, writing essays is complex at tertiary level because students lacy independent thinking (Fowler, 2007, p.112). Further more he says, “The reason for this is because independent thinking is not compulsory at the undergraduate level.” By the time these students join tertiary institutions, they can not write essays that are based on original work. All they ever want to do is to duplicate information since that was the trend during undergraduate level. Having an original work is a primary factor whenever a person is writing essays at tertiary level. Consequently, an essay can lack credibility and proper flow if the whole work was a duplication of information. Through wide reading, students are usually required to write essays of very many words. Unlike undergraduate level, students in tertiary level are expected to read widely and write words which may range from 2000 and above. A sum of 2000 words and above has proven to be complex for students who were previously at undergraduate level.
Use of theories
Writing essays at tertiary level is also complex because it involves the use of theories. Applying theories may sometimes prove impossible especially if they can not be easily conceptualized (Shields, 2008, p. 95). Many students at tertiary level end up getting low marks in essays as they can not apply specific theories in their writing. For instance, a given theory may involve complex procedures that may be hard to comprehend (Ehrenhaft, 2001, p. 27). As such, it is difficult to come up with analytical essays that can be presented through theories. Assuming these theories is also not a good idea since the research work would not be complete (Cornford, 2003, p. 59). However there are some people who mail understand a theory though they may not know how to use it in their theories. In exceptional cases, there are some authors who do not give detailed information on specific theories that they used. As such, it becomes complex for students to understand the theories and write comprehensive essays. In addition, this may result to writing of an essay that is not clear or one that is completely out of context (Ready, 2004, p. 75). Apparently, an essay can be disqualified if a student did not use the right theory. Because of this reason, many students are forced to repeat their essays or else they get poor scores. Repeating an essay is a devastating experience and so students usually try to do their best and avoid making mistakes. However, many students experience difficulties while using scientific and mathematical theories that are often complex. Depending on an author’s research, there are theories that may have elaborate examples while others may have no explanations. It happens that there are few instances whereby theories can also challenge teachers who are supposed to assist their students. This means that theories can prove to be difficult to anyone else apart from students. Even out of school work, many writers find problems as they use different kind of theories.
Supplying evidence
Giving out evidence is another reason why writing an essay at tertiary level becomes complex for most students (Fowler, 2007, p.101). Fundamentally, writing a well researched essay requires a writer to give out clear evidence of his/her findings. A writer may have good ideas although writing an essay can be difficult without vital evidence. For instance, when writing about scientific work, writers are expected to provide verifications of their various findings (Cornford, 2003, p. 42). If there are no research materials to supply evidence for a research work, it may be complex to write essays at tertiary level. Research materials may include online sites, books and journals which usually assist writers to provide evidence of their findings (Ready, 2004, p. 22). Ready in his book talk’s of tertiary students who experience difficulty in writing essay since they do not know how to connect materials in a logical manner. During his visits at one of the tertiary institutions in London, Ready says that several students were complaining about writing essays. He recalls one particular student, who said, “I don’t like writing essays since I often make mistakes while using different kind materials” (Ready, 2004, p. 134). In relation to this statement, Ready drew out a conclusion that there are many students who do not know how to present their materials in a clear essay structure. As a result of this, they always have hard time while writing their essays.
Providing referencing for sources
Students at tertiary level can find difficulties in writing essays because they are unable to provide credible references for their sources. This is because students do not provide references at undergraduate level so they face difficulties when they join tertiary institutions. Providing a reference is quite a big challenge to students hence they may not be in a position to write elaborate essays (Cornford, 2003, p. 54). Some of them even develop negative attitude towards references which often affect their essay writings (Shields, 2008, p. 97). Some students argue that providing sources for essays is normally time consuming. In his book, Ehrenhaft, says, “I know quite a number of student who write essays yet they ignore giving out references” (Ehrenhaft, 2001, p. 115). Providing references can be time consuming because they involve certain rules that must be followed while writing essays. Normally, references can make no sense at all if a student does not use them appropriately. At undergraduate level, students are taught how to write essays that do not have references. As such, they never waste their time by looking for references. Once they get to the tertiary level, they have to provide references which complicate their writing.
Conclusion
Ultimately, writing essays at tertiary level is still a big challenge to many writers who normally experience difficulties. Writing at tertiary level is more complex because students are not introduced to some basic concepts while at undergraduate level. Undergraduate students should therefore be taught about essential ideas before they join tertiary level since this can help them write essays without having much difficulty. The moment undergraduate students are introduced to writing essays according to the standards on tertiary level, most of they may not have difficulties. Commonly, undergraduate students are more familiar with writing short essays which never exceeds 2000 words (Fowler, 2007, p.89). When they join tertiary institutions, they experience complexity in writing essays that have very many words. Writing very many words can be tedious especially when students do not read widely. Thus, by reading widely, tertiary students will enough information to reflect on their essays. For instance, if a student does not read widely, he/she may lack continuation in the essay which may lead to few words. Essentially, wide reading can also help in understanding certain theories that are not easy to comprehend. Application of theories makes writing difficult at tertiary level since some of them are complicated. In this case, students should always consult from their teachers regarding particular theories. Apart from teachers, students can equally get assistance from their fellow colleagues or materials with enough information (Shields, 2008, p. 34). On the other hand, student must never write essays without providing credible evidence. Proper research work is very is paramount for student who write essays at their tertiary level. Achieving a proper research work require students to have sufficient materials that would supply evidence of any findings. Writing essays is usually complex when a writer does not have enough realistic evidence to support their essays. Advisably, students need to have research materials before they can start writing any kind of essay. Ideally, students should always refer to reference guides which would help them learn some basic procedures. As a way of avoiding difficulty in writing, students should be taught fundamental essay skills right from undergraduate level.
References
- Cornford L. (2003). Essay writing for schools. US: Harvard University.
- Ehrenhaft, G. (2001). Writing a successful college application essay. NY: Hauppauge.
- Fowler, J. (2007). A manual of essay – writing. London: A. and C. Black, 1899.
- Ready, A. (2004). Essays and essay writing for public examination. US: Harvard University
- Shields, M. (2008). Essay Writing: A student’s guide. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
- Tanner W. (2004). Essays and Essay – Writing: Based on Atlantic Monthly Models. London: BiblioBazaar, LLC.