The joys of writing

As an introduction, today, I will be discussing, the joys of researching and writing. But before that, I will like to write about the motivation for starting this platform.

My desire is to reach out to mostly undergraduate students, especially in universities. Although there is a huge gap between what we expect and what we get from university graduates, (expectation gap) university students are also missing out on a very important skill that should distinguish them from other graduates. I mean no offence, yet it is true that universities should produce graduates with pervasive skills including technical skills, critical thinking, analytical skills, communication skills and others which distinguish a university graduate as a universal being. The pursuit of university graduates should be professional competence, which according to the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) is

“…the ability to perform a role to a defined standard. Professional competence goes beyond knowledge of principles, standards, concepts, facts, and procedures; it is the integration and application of (a) technical competence, (b) professional skills, and © professional values, ethics, and attitudes.”

Permit me to make allusion and draw inferences from my field. Today, I want us to think about “critical thinking” as we go along.

There is a joy that comes with researching, which fuelled legislations towards intellectual property rights. The main reason for this agitation is the fact that “I am impressed with my work, it is special; so I should protect it”. Many times, when we refuse to accept this, we end up losing a lot.

When I was an undergraduate, I always looked forward to assignments and class works that required some level of innovativeness and creativity and even for those, which did not require any distinction, I tried to factor a creative approach, because I felt, it is an assessment of my critical thinking ability and when it comes out well or not well, I just bask in the joy of fulfillment.

Many undergraduates may not feel so excited about being personally involved in especially assignments that require some writing, such that they turn to Google and/or other search engines to “copy and paste”. It is quite unfortunate that many of our institutions in Nigeria do not have nor use plagiarism checker applications, while many lecturers will even ask for handwritten submissions. These notwithstanding, students should look ahead and embrace “smart work”. I must emphasize here that any promise of reward without work is a sham and a scam; it will eventually ruin lives. This is a truth many young people do not want to accept these days, especially with the proliferation of Ponzi schemes and betting services across the nation.

The same way we want to enjoy the care of our parents is the same way we should give our assignments good care. Stop yourself from cheating, plagiarism and step up. You can feel very happy doing your work by yourself in a hard way or a smart way.

In my next post, I will continue, because I do not want to bore you with long essay.