The essay is fixed within the 'mind-set' of university teachers and students alike, and continues to form the hub of the writing programme at higher levels of attainment. The academic essay is well practised throughout school education, and has an easily recognizable, tri-partite format (introduction, main body and conclusion). However, it is a deceptively challenging activity, even for students at high levels.

There are a number of obvious problems with asking FL students to write essays:

• students struggle to generate ideas and put them on paper;
• their language may not be advanced enough to express their ideas;
• students find essay writing demotivating;
• an essay lacks a clear audience;
• an essay has no clear communicative purpose;
• an essay places emphasis on form rather than communication.

In this light, it is useful to look at Eagleton's remark (1983) in his seminal work Literary Theory: An Introduction, namely that study in literature departments in HE consists essentially in 'manipulating a particular language in acceptable ways'. He goes further, claiming: 'Those employed to teach will remember whether or not you were able to speak the language proficiently long after they have forgotten what you said.' Perhaps the same can be said of the essay tasks we set our students. Are we really interested in the students' ideas, or is it just the students' ability to manipulate language which concerns us? It is useful to reflect for a moment on how Eagleton's comment relates to your own learning and teaching experience.

If you have tried to 'teach' students to write essays yourself, you will probably have found this quite a difficult proposition. Creme and Lea (2000) observe that the stages of the essay (introduction, middle and conclusion) are very broad, and this does not help students to organize their texts efficiently. It is quite straightforward to specify what is required in an introduction and conclusion. However, little research has been conducted into the main body of the essay, and students may flounder when it comes to constructing their own piece. You may also have found that tutors disagree about whether, and how to teach essay writing. Bowen and Marks (1996) observe that essay writing generates conflicts among tutors with regard to teaching methodology:

1. Some tutors feel that improving all-round language proficiency itself is the best way to ensure that students will write better essays. In a sense, writing good essays takes care of itself, assuming that the structures of the language have been well taught and assimilated.
2. Other tutors believe that work on essay structure can be helpful in developing the ability to tackle this kind of exercise.

Compare and contrast the following tutors' views:

Which view seems to represent best your approach to essay writing?

Now have a look at some essay titles that have actually been set in the FL classroom in HE:

What sort of assistance would your students need when tackling these questions?