Academic Writing Problems Faced by Today’s Students in the UK

essay writing

Although essay writing is a common assignment in academia, students still report facing problems completing such tasks.

Some work part-time to cover their tuition fees and other expenses, while others have lots on their plate and can’t devote enough time composing an essay. These aren’t the only reasons that make learners seek online assignment help. For an affordable price, students get professional assistance, allowing them to pass courses with flying colors.

However, turning to such companies doesn’t solve an issue. Therefore, it is essential to learn the most typical academic writing problems English students encounter. Knowing them might help school principals review their curricula and put a stronger emphasis on improving students’ essay writing abilities.

Lack of mechanical skills

Academic writing tasks require having solid knowledge of punctuation and spelling. Sadly enough, but teachers don’t draw students’ attention to such mechanical skills. This non-acquaintance, in turn, leads to learners’ indignation when they don’t score an anticipated mark because of spelling errors.

Indubitably, there are effective workarounds that let writers produce crystal-clear content. These are AI-based Grammarly and Ginger Software, to name a few. Such apps analyze texts and highlight any grammar, lexical, and punctuation errors, providing effective solutions. However, using such apps causes another host of problems. One of the gravest things is users’ addiction to rely on Artificial Intelligence rather than personal expertise.

Treatment of content

Another academic writing problem is solely on students. Students frequently experience the inability to think creatively and develop thoughts, excluding all irrelevant information. Essay writing isn’t effortless. Nor is it often pleasant. The writer must understand the topic, brainstorm solid concepts, and stick to the course without deviating from it.

Although it might sound straightforward and doable, it remains so until the work begins. Once students kick off the paper, writer’s block frequently sneaks up, hampering the entire writing procedure. This phenomenon isn’t new, and it doesn’t solely affect students. Even the most prolific and successful writers face writer’s block. But while well-established authors have learned how to fight such an occurrence, the majority of students stress out and get demoralized by their insufficient writing skills.

Stylistic skills

Being eloquent and a master of words are students’ ultimate goals. They strive to generate extraordinary essays full of outside-the-box ideas. However, the lack of practice and educators’ guidelines makes such aspirations unattainable. Students can’t use language effectively, which results in numerous repetitions in word choice and grammar structures.

Judgment abilities

Each and every student must rely on authoritative and verified sources when writing academic essays. These are textbooks, scholarly journals, articles, case studies, etc. A common problem among students is to determine whether a source is credible and, if yes, whether it pertains to the paper’s topic. Also, students state that writing an essay and tying it to a particular audience and its interests is challenging. Indeed, it is easy to include information that the reader already knows or doesn’t need to know. That is why a more in-depth analysis is needed to assess the reader and their knowledge area.

Plagiarism problems

Finally, students often face issues with plagiarism. In the U.K., plagiarism is severely penalized. Not only can students fail the course because of using the intellectual property without appropriately referring to it, but they can also be expelled from an educational institution. Students are well aware of that. But even if they try referring to sources, they often miscite information, which leads to plagiarism. Some teachers realize that and double-check plagiarism reports. Others, in turn, don’t delve into deeper examinations, instantly putting unsatisfactory marks.

The mentioned list is only a drop in the ocean. There are undoubtedly way more problems students experience when writing academic essays. Either way, a complex approach is required to solve the problem and make sure students are confident of their writing abilities to compose an academic paper on any topic.