How different are academic essays in university from previous education?

Is there enough guidance for the transition into degree-level writing?

Erin Gilhespie
2nd March 2024
Image Source: Pixabay_nikolayhg
Starting university can be daunting. Not only are you living alone for the first time, potentially far from family, you’re also entering a whole new academic world - you may even be studying a completely new subject.

Further education, whether that be A-Level or B-Tech, requires essays of a certain detail, but they are pretty limited by the curriculum. In English Literature you may study a certain group of texts, or in PE you may focus on a certain sport. When you combine that with relatively small class sizes, these essays feel within reach. They’re not too dissimilar to those you might have completed at GCSE level, and people around you are in the same boat. Upon starting university, you really are thrown in the deep end. 

with that many peers, your lecturer couldn't possibly give you all the same help you received at A-Level

The first university essay seems to have an endless list of criteria. Within the first term, you’ve been introduced to a huge academic field and are being assessed on your knowledge of it. There are core readings set by the lecturer, but then you need to find independent readings to show you’ve read around the topic. You are expected to do consistent referencing that is accurate, but there’s different kinds of referencing - which do you pick? There may even be a choice of essays, which do you choose? Which will get you the best result? All of this combined with the fact you have over a hundred course mates, it's difficult to know where to start. Office hours held by lecturers are certainly useful, but with that many peers, your lecturer couldn’t possibly give you all the same help you received at A-Level. 

if there was more done to bridge the gap between previous education and university essays, perhaps students would be more confident and higher achieving

It cannot be denied that these circumstances illuminate the huge gap between essays in previous education and university, and just how difficult that gap is to navigate. There should be more guidance to show students the way, perhaps sessions held by Stage Two students that answer these specific questions. Maybe Peer Mentors could meet more with their mentees throughout the year - I know the majority lose contact after the first few weeks of term. These sessions could teach them how to search for peer reviewed material or which referencing style they are expected to use for their degree, perhaps even things as simple as how to construct an argument in an essay. There is definitely a lot to be said for the way university education builds independence. Certainly, being thrown into the deep end with essays is a huge part of that. However, if there was more done to bridge the gap between previous education and university essays, perhaps students would be more confident and higher achieving, which would definitely aid them through university and beyond. 

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