Chapter 4 - Essays
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
What are essays for?
So far in this book I have emphasised that a key to becoming a successful English student is the ability to question things, or to no longer take norms for granted. This applies to the processes of studying as well as the texts and issues. In 1993, for example, Peter Womack, a lecturer at the University of East Anglia, decided to no longer take the essay for granted. He wrote a polemic in which he attempted to ‘denaturalize the essay’ for his peers, asking them to think about the reasons for its primacy in higher education.
When we devise and teach English courses, we may have all sorts of educational outcomes in view – increased knowledge of a cultural heritage, enhanced sensitivity in reading, greater self-confidence in the presentation and discussion of ideas, social and cultural empowerment, personal maturity. But on the whole the only outcome we actually insist upon and evaluate is writing. Writing well – however this is defined – is the one thing needful for getting certificated in the subject; it's both the necessary and the sufficient condition.
(Womack 42)Response
What are essays for? Consider Womack's assertion in the light of what you have read in this book so far, and your own experiences of being assessed in compulsory and higher education. Do you think that the focus on essays and writing detracts from the achievement of the other aims that Womack outlines? Should they be given more attention? […]
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- Studying English LiteratureA Practical Guide, pp. 79 - 118Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008