Writing is one of those tasks that students repeatedly face during all their years of studying. Whether it’s essays, papers, presentations, or even dissertations, writing is simply always there. And, just like any other skill, writing too requires regular practicing and a lot of experience to master. That’s why many students struggle with their writing tasks.
But, there are 8 particular things most students find difficult in writing. We’ll break them down below and see how to overcome those issues the easiest way.
1. Finding a Topic
The first thing students find difficult in writing is choosing the right topic to cover. It can be hard to find a topic that is specific, interesting, and unique.
Luckily, students can find inspiration online. Browsing through academic papers and magazines, or looking at essay samples at WritingUniverse is one way to do it. Inspiration will come after looking at some examples.
2. Brainstorming
As fun as it sounds, brainstorming can be such a difficult task for so many students. Digging deep into one’s creativity and letting all the ideas come to the surface is not such an easy task.
The solution is trying out different brainstorming methods, like:
- brainwriting
- rapid ideation
- mind mapping
Once you find the one that suits you, you’ll brainstorm ideas for your writing assignment easily.
3. Outlining
So many students think that outlining is a waste of time and energy, and they just want to start writing. But, without an outline, your paper won’t be nearly as good as it could.
To properly outline your essay, you’ll need to:
- create a list of ideas to cover
- organize them in a logical order
- write short notes about each idea
- start writing
It’s simple but necessary.
4. Losing Focus
Most writing assignments take time and can’t be written in one sitting. But, students who want to finish as quickly as possible try to do it all at once.
This causes loss of focus and mental fatigue.
So, it’s always a better idea to take active breaks and spread out the writing process to at least a couple of days.
5. Meeting the Deadline
Some students fail to estimate how much time they need to finish the writing assignment. So, they miss the deadline for submitting it.
There are services that are writing papers for money. They can save you from missing the deadline. Otherwise, always start a couple of days earlier to make sure you’ll make it on your own.
6. Poor Vocabulary
Writing assignments require a rich vocabulary. But, many students struggle to find the right words. Luckily, there are online dictionaries and Thesaurus.com that can help spice things up and level up the terminology you’re using.
7. Proofreading
Once the writing part is over, students need to check their accuracy. But, not everyone’s a fan of this process.
Still, you can’t have grammar or spelling mistakes in your writing. Fortunately, there are online tools that can quickly scan and analyze your writing, to let you know about the mistakes to correct.
8. Building Arguments
Finally, most students struggle with building arguments in their writing and elaborating on the ideas they’re presenting. This is something that takes practice and dedication.
Plus, your professors will tell you how to make your arguments more convincing with each new task, so always ask for feedback and learn from it.
Final Thoughts
There are many pitfalls and difficulties students experience when handling writing assignments. Some are easy to fix while others take time and practice.
But, all of the 8 problems we’ve listed above are solvable and students can overcome them with the right guidance. Hopefully, the advice shared above will help you improve your writing skills and experience fewer difficulties with each new writing assignment.