Essay writing is an academic activity that aims to hone students’ writing skills. With its complex process, writing essays enables the writer to explore a topic in depth. It also helps the students develop important academic abilities such as interpreting facts, constructing clear arguments, and locating relevant data.

Most essays are assessed through markings. This is to evaluate if the writer demonstrates a good understanding of the topic and if the research, thinking and communication skills are all acquired.

A lot of students fear getting low or failing marks. In essay writing, getting failing grades is the main fear of students but it is just an instigator of other apprehensions - as the writing process progresses, the main concern branches out to more precise fears. Here are some:

Fear of lacking bright ideas

Many students fear that they might not have brilliant ideas to work on. That’s why writing essays becomes an activity that a lot of students find dreadful. This fear is brought about by insufficient reading and deficient researching. Bright ideas don’t just come along without adequate learning means. Essay writing requires ideas that are fresh and innovative. To prevent unnecessary fear of idea blank out, essay writers must be equipped with diverse knowledge to draw on to.

Fear of inability to choose a good topic

This fear is the consequence of having idea block out. Having a good topic says a lot about the essay writing quality. The inability to come up with an interesting and relevant topic weakens the value of the essay. This fear is best battled through in-depth researching and keen observing. Having a vague topic in searching for potential arguments can be frustrating and time consuming.

Fear of inability to gather relevant evidence

Gathering relevant evidence in essay writing is critical because it determines how weak or how strong the supporting arguments are. This fear of incapability to collect relevant sources is due to lack of knowledge where and how to get research materials. A student needs to be exposed to the different research methods and resources.

Fear of inability to formulate a sound thesis question

The basis of good essay writing is a clear understanding of what it tries to achieve. The thesis question embodies the statement that the essay wants to achieve. The inability to formulate a sound thesis question originates in research deficiency.

Fear of incapability to write in a logical manner

This anxiety springs out from lack of organization of thoughts. It is best combated through doing an outline. Creating a draft or outline organizes the flow of the essay. Set of thoughts and tons of details need to be arranged logically to produce a cohesive piece of writing.

Fear of incapacity to analyze and interpret results

Essay writing demands a skillful analysis and interpretation of the gathered evidences. Without this skill, all the hard work invested in data gathering remains futile. Students fear data analysis because of experience inadequacy. Results are best interpreted if the writer has a good grasp of what the topic is and is exposed enough to similar data.

Fear of having grammatical errors and poorly constructed sentences

It is common for essay writers to be conscious of the proper grammar and accurate sentence construction. It is healthy to be cautious when it comes to the basic rules of composition but fearing to commit such errors is unnecessary. This fear is normal and best battled through reading reference books.

Essay writing is a quite challenging activity that stimulates the mental capabilities and hone research skills. Although there are difficulties to encounter along the process, fearing them is definitely not needed.