Write on a topic that is of importance to you and reflects who you are. Maximum 500 words

I dont know if this answers the prompt. I had problems crafting these essays. Strong criticisms would be appreciated.

Write on a topic that is of importance to you and reflects who you are.

education in nigeria

The attitude towards higher education in Nigeria especially among the poor, has evolved immensely over the last few years. Education, once considered a key to growth, development and a way of eliminating poverty is considered a waste of time to many who still live in adverse poverty despite getting a college degree. This trend continues to grow and so does the number of individuals unwilling to transit into institutions of higher learning. Many individuals now prefer to settle for a petty trade that enables them to earn regular income enough to feed themselves and their families rather than spend those years getting a degree.

I once discussed with one of my mom's customers who had exclaimed that her degree in nursing was useless since she was just a housewife with no job prospects. Few weeks later, I heard a similar comment from my elder brother who could not complete a two-year pre-university program because of finances. He had exclaimed out of frustration he wasn't as interested in education as he was and that education wasn't a guarantee for success. I felt hurt to hear this from him because he was someone I once admired so much due to his passion for education.

I still think education is vital for success and is needed to gain the skills one needed to pursue his dreams and passions. Sadly, this isn't the case with most people who have long lost interest in education. The effect of this is that loss of interest in education leads to high rate of unemployment which leads to increased poverty and the cycle continues.

Growing up with parents who have no college degrees and struggled each day to cater for the family, I have always had an ardent interest in education. I have always wanted to know how the economic system worked and how I could be a vital part if this process. Yet I have been told by many people that focusing on education would do me no good. To these people, a college degree provided prestige but not self accomplishment. It wasn't as if education was a bad idea but the belief in it was almost absent in a society like this.

If this trend continues, I fear for the future of generations to come. It isn't enough to provide individuals with financial help to go to college, the government and everyone have to look into the background and address the causes of this behavior such as unemployment. I personally think the answers to these problems lies in a deep understanding of the various economic principles. This, I hope to achieve this as an economist.

What is the essence of education if it cannot be used to better one's life?. I hope to address this problem.

Please tell us ...

Elizabeth, you are in violation of the forum rules. You can only post one complete essay per thread. Posting 2 essays in a single thread is not only frowned upon, it is an offense for which you can be suspended. I urge you to delete the second essay in order to avoid that problem. In the meantime, I will advice you only on the first essay as that is all that is allowed per thread. You will need to post the second essay as a separate and new thread instead.

The topic that you chose to discuss is important but does not really show me a reflection of who you are. What you wrote is an opinion paper based on facts. What you should have written, is a personal analysis of who you are. For example, if you consider education important to you, then discuss why that is without involving your mother's customer or your brother's point of view. Focus only on the reason why your concern about education reflects who you are. In this essay, I get the sense that you are more concerned about the overall negative effects of people being disheartened by the lack of opportunity to complete their education. That is a general discussion. You need to be focused only on yourself and try to reflect a character of yours in relation to education.

In my opinion, the essay that you wrote doesn't work for the prompt requirement. I would be best if you simply replaced the whole essay with one that better reflects the prompt instructions rather than trying to make this presentation work. It will be extremely difficult to do. In such instances, simply changing the essay would be a lot easier to accomplish since you can write a totally new essay that will have you focusing on a fresh perspective in response to the prompt.

Please make this thread Urgent for a subsequent reply, thank you!
Please I don't really understand your response. How do I write this essay to reflect who I am as an individual. I plan to write education is important to me.. But I don't know how to make this essay be about me. I look forward to your response.