Recent reports indicate a troubling trend among the incoming class of 2024 at Seoul National University (SNU): approximately one-third of students failed to meet the minimum required score on a writing exam. Despite focused training in essay writing during their high school years, students seem poorly prepared for the rigors of academic writing. This gap raises critical questions about the efficacy of current educational practices and the overall literacy of students entering one of Korea's top universities.

It is important to note that while students have attended schools and private academies that emphasized essay-writing skills, their training often focused narrowly on examination strategies rather than fostering a genuine passion for reading and writing. Many students seem to lack the ability to construct coherent, thoughtful arguments and instead rely on superficial knowledge gained exclusively for test........

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