Reassessing the essay: Relevance, realism, and resilience in the age of AI
Given how much HE is changing with more focus on vocational relevance, widening participation, and technological disruption, is the traditional essay still pulling its weight?
Reassessing the essay: Relevance, realism, and resilience in the age of AI
Authors
Andy McNicholl
Lecturer, Liverpool Business School
The essay has, for decades, occupied a central place in academic assessment. It’s long been viewed as a reliable way of measuring student learning – encouraging critical thinking, structured reasoning, and academic discipline. But, given how much higher education is changing – with more focus on vocational relevance, widening participation, and technological disruption – it’s time to ask a hard question: is the traditional essay still pulling its weight?
This line of thought came into sharp focus while teaching a Level 5 module – Human Resource Management for Events – on an undergraduate Events Management programme. The module requires students to give a presentation and write a 2,250-word academic essay exploring some aspect of volunteer management. But, as I watched students engage (and sometimes disengage) with the task, I found myself questioning whether this was still the best way to assess what they’d learned – or how ready they were for industry.
Three reasons to reconsider the essay
1. It’s not always aligned with vocational practice
Essays have their place. But when preparing students for practice-based careers – like planning and delivering live events – it’s fair to ask how useful academic essay writing really is. As Kashef (2015) notes, many employers in the events sector remain sceptical about graduates’ practical readiness. Writing an essay on volunteer motivation might prove theoretical understanding, but it doesn’t necessarily test whether a student can recruit, brief, or retain volunteers in the pressure cooker of a real event.
2. It can unintentionally exclude
Another concern is accessibility. A rising number of students declare a disability each year – in fact, HESA (2021) reported a 47% increase in just five years. Yet, writing-intensive assignments like essays may disproportionately disadvantage students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning differences. SEDA (2014) stress the importance of designing assessments that include, rather than exclude. If we’re assessing HRM knowledge, we shouldn’t allow writing ability alone to skew the results.
3. AI has changed the rules
This is the most urgent issue. The rise of tools like ChatGPT has made it alarmingly easy for students to generate passable academic essays in seconds. Of course, plagiarism isn’t a new problem (Baker, 2019), but AI has amplified it to an entirely new level. As Simpson (2023) notes, ‘ask ChatGPT’ is becoming as commonplace as ‘Google it’. That’s not just a technological shift – it’s a cultural one.
A moment from The Wire (2004) comes to mind. In a conversation about the drug trade, one character says: ‘Game the same. Just get more fierce.’ It’s a line that rings uncomfortably true in education. We’ve always had to guard against plagiarism. But now, the tools students can use – and the quality of the output they can produce – are far more sophisticated. If assessments don’t adapt, the credibility of academic achievement is at risk.
What’s the alternative?
To be clear, I’m not suggesting we scrap essays entirely. When tied to real-world scenarios, they can still be highly effective. Villaroel et al. (2018) argue that essays can function as ‘authentic assessments’ when based on realistic briefs – something like a volunteer strategy for a festival or a staff management plan for a large-scale event. Zavhorodnia et al. (2021) also highlight the motivational impact of practice-based tasks, which help students connect theory with the real world.
What we need is more diversity in our assessment approaches. That could mean moving towards case study reports, simulated HR interventions, or collaborative briefs with industry input. These methods still promote critical thinking, but through more applied, inclusive, and AI-resilient means.
In short
The academic essay needs to be re-evaluated in vocational contexts where other methods may offer greater relevance
Real-world, practice-based assessments are not only more engaging but also harder to fake
Inclusivity must be built into assessment design, ensuring that all students can show what they know in ways that work for them
If we want to produce graduates who can thrive in fast-moving industries, we need assessments that move just as fast. The game has changed – and our priorities need to change with it.
References
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