Challenges of Academic Writing in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria: Issues and Strategies for Improvement

Abstract

Academic writing is an indispensable component of teaching, learning, research, and knowledge dissemination in tertiary institutions. It enhances students' critical thinking, communication skills, and research competence while contributing to institutional and national development. Despite its importance, academic writing in Nigerian tertiary institutions is confronted with numerous challenges that undermine the quality of scholarly outputs. This paper examines the major challenges of academic writing in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Specifically, it discusses inadequate academic writing skills, plagiarism and poor referencing practices, poor reading culture, limited access to scholarly resources, poor information and digital literacy, inadequate supervision and mentorship, and inadequate information and communication technology (ICT) facilities. The paper argues that these challenges have adversely affected the quality of students' projects, dissertations, theses, and scholarly publications. It concludes that strengthening academic writing instruction, improving library and ICT facilities, promoting academic integrity, enhancing supervision, and expanding access to digital scholarly resources are essential for improving academic writing standards in Nigerian tertiary institutions.