The assignment that you will be most familiar with as you progress from middle school to high school and then through to college is, without a doubt, the traditional essay. No matter what classes you take, you are always required, at some point, to display your learning in the form of a written assignment. Have you ever stopped to ask the question of exactly why the essay is the preferred form of testing for so many subjects? We hold the strong belief that the answer to this question can be found in the fact that essay writing, whether you recognise it at the time or not, is extremely helpful and beneficial in equipping you with the right mind tools and skills to be better prepared to participate in the ‘real world’ after graduating from college. To help demonstrate this argument, here are some of the key benefits that essay writing can have, both at college and after graduation.
1. Broadens Your Vocabulary
One of the best elements of essay writing that can extend out of your education in to other aspects of your life is the fact that the process works to expand and broaden your vocabulary. When searching for the right word to make a point in an essay, you are forced to turn to a dictionary or a thesaurus. When you have learned these new words once, you will remember them forever and be able to use them in many different situations throughout life. This expanded vocabulary can be helpful when it comes to making a good first impression in job interviews or in communicating in all aspects of your working life and career.
2. The Value Of Deadlines
It would be fair to say that everything in the ‘adult world’ revolves around deadlines. This process begins much earlier in life, in the form of essays and the strict time restraints that teachers place upon you to complete them. By learning to micro-manage your time in the classroom, your mind will begin to become accustomed to getting the important things done on time and to deadlines. As an adult, not being able to meet deadlines is a very disappointing quality. Completing essays in a given time frame when you’re a student is great practise for being a more responsible and organised professional later in life.
3. Makes You More Logical
When you sit down to plan an essay, you must always have the outlines of a beginning, middle and end in mind. This way of thinking can help you to be much more economical and sensible with your planning in all other areas of your adult life too. The ability to be able to think ahead and highlight possible twists and turns on the page is essentially the same skill as being perceptive in real life. Mastering it will help to make you a much more astute and intelligent person. You’ll be able to plan your path with a little foresight rather than just diving straight in.
4. Puts You At Ease With Writing
Quite simply, the more essays you write in college, the more comfortable you become with writing in all forms. For example, somebody who has displayed and sharpened their vocabulary, as well as their ability to structure sentences, will be much more confident in writing letters in official capacities than people who haven’t had as much experience. This ease of writing will come in handy when it comes to things like job applications, letters to government officials, and even letters of complaint to any kind of company or organisation. The more experienced you are, the more official and assured you will sound on the page.
5. Sharpens Your Research Skills
The majority of jobs you will have in adult life require research or problem solving of one kind or another. The skills you need to achieve these things can start to be gained when writing essays in school and college. The very best essays always contain multiple secondary sources that you will have had to search for and identify as a fitting accompaniment for your argument. This notion is the very same notion that will help you to be a more proactive and effective co-worker in your post-graduate life.
