College students often have stress during the college years. Stress occurs for many reasons. Loneliness, isolation, lack of support, and being away from home are stress factors in adapting to college life. In addition to the stress experienced from parent independence, college students express stress academically when writing essays and term papers. The stress associated with the task of writing essays and terms paper occurs for many reasons. Writing stress is caused by lack of time management skills, poor reading skills, inconsistent note taking, writing, and minimum knowledge of test taking strategies. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the stress college students experience when writing essays and term papers.
Writing is critical to school success at any level and is essential for college success. “Many students find the mere thought of writing makes them anxious and make choices designed to minimize their anxiety, often having writing apprehension” (Atkinson, 2011). “Writing apprehension is defined as the measure of anxiety about writing that outweighs the projected gain from the situation” (Atkinson, 2011). By the time many students arrive at college, they “have been browbeaten by a series of punitive teachers, subjected to a torturous medley of unsound and discredited pedagogical practices and taught not to write, but fear and hate the act of writing (Kreuter, 2012). Writing has become an anchor with fear and anxiety. When this fear and anxiety mix with the stress of writing essays and term papers, productivity is hindered and students “fear negative feedback about writing and avoid turning in written work” (Atkinson, 2011). According to Atkinson, writing apprehension is a communication issue that affects approximately 10-25% of people and students in higher education settings often make choices to minimize this issue in the selection of both their academic coursework and career goals” (2011).
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Writing stress associated with essays and term papers are the result of the “fear of judgment” (Kreuter, 2012). For college students, the fear of judgment is demonstrated with poor grades. “Fear of success” is another writing stress because we fear what is to follow” (Kreuter, 2012). This factor causes our minds to wonder what is next. Writing essays and term papers become difficult to start and finish. The length and needed high grade on these writing assignments are often critical to get the grade expected of a class. Challenges and expectations must be balanced with the ability to complete the assignment. “Fear of process is another effect of writing stress because writing is work both mentally and physically” (Kreuter, 2012). Completing assignments require time management and writing skills to gain the rewards of excellent grades. Writing on a regular basis in a journal can balance this issue. The more essays and term papers a college student writes will help the writing process to become more productive with less stress and anxieties.
Making the connection between writing more essays and term papers is important for academic success in higher education. Confidence is developed as skills and grades improve. College students must confront the fears and anxiety related to writing stress by acknowledging the issues, managing time to complete the project, and dealing with the assignment. Short-term goals include taking workshops and courses to improve writing skills, discussing concerns with instructors and mentors, and managing procrastination. Courses include learning how to make outlines, grammar skills, and specific courses about how to write essays and term papers.
Long-term goals consist of making the decision that writing is critical to college success and finding a way to manage writing requirements will be ongoing. It is also important to establish an environment, time and a writing ritual to reduce stress, increase writing ability, and have power and control to perform the writing task (O’Shaughnessy et al., 2002). The environment sets the tone for a writing space and establishes a writer’s “nest” which allows the student to work in the same place regularly (O’Shaughnessy et al., 2002). The space must be comfortable and complete with tools. Surroundings are familiar, allow assignment focus, and establish a routine. Time is setting an hour to accomplish the task and identifying a timeframe for completion. College students benefit from writing schedules. The writing ritual is anything from looking out the window to listening to music, or taking a walk, “all circumstances that can be manipulated to help make the writing happen” and reduce stress, as well as create familiarity, automation, and a dreamlike state of productivity (O’Shaughnessy et al., 2002). Rituals indirectly related to writing “take advantage of an open, receptive mental circumstance known as hypnogogic state, where the mind cannot reject ideas to quickly (O’Shaughnessy et al., 2002). Rituals also have the ability to increase power and control for a student because historically they know what works best for them when completing essays and term papers. Favorite writing tools and activities can start the writing process, reduce stress and promote writing fluency.
College students can reduce the stress of writing essays and term papers by having a familiar space to work in, working on assignments in a consistent and timely manner, and establishing a routine for tackling writing assignments. Success on previous essays and term papers must be acknowledged by the student to build confidence for future writing assignments. The determination to complete writing assignments is a challenge mastered daily. Routine patterns can enhance writing skills and understanding individual writing weaknesses are opportunities to learn techniques for improvement. College students must learn to cope and manage demands and stressful situations to promote writing success with essays and term papers.
- Atkinson, P. B. (2012, April 16). Exploring Correlations between Writing Apprehension, Academic Rational Beliefs, and Stress and Coping behaviors in College Students. Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association, 2010(1), 1-24.
- Kreuter, N. (2012, October 10). Conquering Writing Anxiety. Retrieved November 24, 2013
- O’Shaughnessy, K., McDonald, C., Maher, H., & Dobie , A. (2002, Fall). Who, What, When, and Where of Writing Rituals. The Quarterly, 24(4)
