The hopeful English student arrives to university with two goals in mind: to refine their core beliefs by discovering other human ideas and, very importantly, to develop enviable writing skills. Personally, my highest hopes have been realised regarding the former – my beliefs have indeed been challenged to their core. However, my writing skills have remained relatively stagnant since arriving at Trinity six months ago. Trinity’s website states that in their first year, English Literature students compose only a limited number of shorter essays so that “you will by your final year be prepared to tackle major independent research projects of up to 12,000 words”. In theory, this sounds like a reasonable system; however, in reality, the lack of writing throughout the first year is ultimately harmful to the English student overall.
With six modules per term, first year English students write two essays between 1,500 to 2,000 words, and four with a 1,000 word limit, totaling only six assignments over the course of a four month long term. As writing and communication are essential aspects of an English major’s skill set, this poses a large problem. If we are not writing, we are not developing writing skills. We are simply taking in the ideas of other people through reading, but not creating our own ideas in response. It is a somewhat shallow English education that does not emphasise written reflection, perhaps the most important part of reading literature in the first place. Instituting more written assignments in earlier years would encourage our writing and reflection skills to be more well-developed and refined by the time we reach the lengthy independent research projects of later years.
In the larger scheme of things, writing skills are an absolutely essential aspect of a well-rounded education in any field. Any job in the real world, from business analyst to author, requires writing skills of some kind, and the English student in particular will assumedy be pursuing a career that requires at least some moderate level of reading and writing. The development of these skills is key in the procurement of a future job. The current lack of assignments throughout the term results in a clear underdevelopment of these skills. A year of infrequent assignments is a year lost in terms of cultivating the necessary writing skills to thrive in a real world environment.
“Having only one essay in a certain module often severely limits the research students do, with only one or two authors studied throughout the course of a 12-week module.”
Besides the obvious unripened writing skills, a number of other issues also flare up as a result of the current method of assignment distribution. Having only one essay in a certain module often severely limits the research students do, with only one or two authors studied throughout the course of a 12-week module. It renders the last few lectures nearly pointless to attend, as students have already selected and are working on their final assignments. Most decide that it is a better use of time to work on their essays, as they are so heavily weighted, rather than spend their precious time at the end of term sitting in a lecture hall.
Having only one or two graded assignments per module is also a very incomprehensive assessment of the student’s abilities to retain knowledge and communicate it clearly and effectively. If a normally intelligent, fluent student performs below average on her essay, her entire grade for the module is skewed, as every essay is either 100% or 50% of the class grade. The student is automatically faced with a potentially failing grade because she was only evaluated on one assignment. Incorporating more assignments would not only help the student attain refined writing skills, but also result in a more accurate and fair mark at the end of the module, as the student would be graded on a range of assignments rather than just one or two.
Perhaps the most tangible effect of having only one or two graded assignments per term is the resulting inordinate amount of time when there is no assignment to be working on, and dangerously high stress levels for a small period of time towards the end of term when every assignment is due. This results in a distinct lack of healthy, motivational stress throughout the term, and a sudden peak at the end, during which many students crumble under pressure. The aforementioned free time throughout most of term is meant for students to develop time management skills and become self-motivated independent learners. However noble this intention, there is a glaring issue for first year students.
“In my experience and observation, first year students across all courses would benefit from concrete deadlines and assignments spread throughout the term to keep them at least partly focused on classes.”
For most first year students, this is their first time living away from home or having any sense of independence. No first year student I know is going to spend this precious new period of independence writing essays and developing academic skills of their own accord; more likely, you’ll find them out with friends or binging on Netflix again. It essentially renders the middle of the term “free time” for students who are not used to the self-motivation encouraged in college, or those who are prone to slacking off. In my experience and observation, first year students across all courses would benefit from concrete deadlines and assignments spread throughout the term to keep them at least partly focused on classes.
Sure, the programme gets harder as the years go on. But shouldn’t students at Ireland’s number one ranked university be challenged throughout their college careers rather than only in the final two years? Shouldn’t English students who are paying to attend an academic institution be getting a more well-rounded education instead of being assessed on a small number of assignments, focusing on one or two of the dozen or so authors studied in a certain module? As Trinity English students, I think we can handle an extra assignment or two throughout the term. Ultimately, it will help us in the long run.
