o3o If you haven't been taught properly, or you know shit then your marks should reflect this... A student had 5 years to come up with the incentive to search for other alternatives to conventional teachers... idk c:
To be frank, to assume that all high school students will have initiative is a poor assumption. At the end of the day, they are still teenagers who are maturing and even in university, students lack initiative. With that said, if a student hasn't been taught properly in their teenage years how to write an essay, I can completely understand how it could be difficult for them to learn. It is the responsibility of a teacher to inform students of these essential skills anyway.
Not to mention I don't know what "other alternatives" there could be. Sure, there is tutoring, but not every student can afford tutoring or is benefited by it. Furthermore, looking on the internet or searching through books is not the same as being able to have a teacher go through it with you. I have been privileged enough to go to a selective school where my skills have been enriched, however it would be silly of me to think everyone else has the same opportunities as I did.
Moreover, there is a lot more to essays than knowing your content. You have to be able to articulate your ideas in essays and for many students expression does happen to be a problem. There is also the issue of originality and being able to appropriately select textual evidence to support your ideas.