Why universities must offer writing courses

Remember our school years when we memorised essays (both in Bangla and English) to secure nine out of ten or ten out of ten in exams? At that time, no one taught us how to write an essay or, for that matter, respond to a narrative question. 

It wasn't just Bangla and English; we also had to write narratives in other subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology, history, and geography.

We faced the same challenge at the college level – no one guided us on how to write or learn the languages we would use. We even memorised Bangla and English grammar.

Upon entering university life, no one, not even in the literature departments, taught us how to write. However, students from all departments in the university were (and still are) required to write during exams, from tutorial tests to semester finals. 

Our only foundation was the primary-level knowledge of 'write a letter to your father,' 'write a paragraph on the following subject' and 'write an essay on the following topic.'

It might sound acceptable at the school and college levels, and we could successfully graduate from those public exams by memorising what to write. Photographs were published in newspapers of those who made it to the merit list and, these days, of those who scored Golden GPA 5s.

The challenge of not knowing how to write becomes neurotic when we enter the professional arena. Our workplaces, both public and private, demand high-level writing skills. 

Every step, from writing letters to emails and memos to connecting with stakeholders and foreign buyers to communicating with customers, requires extensive exercises in communicative writing. Many workplace newcomers learn from their seniors, who, in turn, learned from their seniors when they started as professionals.

As this author experienced, the writing abilities of professionals, including himself, were and are linguistically challenged. This skill of ours has quite a lot of room for improvement. When we enter the professional arena, many communicate with overseas stakeholders in written words. This is precisely when we realise we were not taught how to write—not in schools, colleges, or even our universities.

Having said that, the thought of introducing university writing courses pops up in our minds. Exactly. Why did they not teach us writing when we were studying various subjects at the university? They presumed we learned writing in our schools and colleges. 

But have we? Do we know how to write a research paper? Yes, we do, but much later in life. When do we know about it? When we face the challenge of writing it. I learned it in my late 30s.

So, teaching how to write is not a thought-of and sought-after chapter in our educational realm. No one is thinking about it – not our teachers, education ministers, policymakers, or lawmakers.

Teaching writing is a mammoth task for teachers at Bangladesh's school and college levels. It is only possible when we have the intent to teach this skill. I heard our medical colleges and engineering universities have English language courses, but none of the students are eager to learn the language. 

Is it possible to aim at the university level, where all students must go through a language and a writing course? 

Those who want to become educators at that level must also have these skills. Learning to write is far more critical in our lives than we think.

Ekram Kabir is a storyteller and a communications professional.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.