Re-viewing undergraduate writing: tutors' perceptions of essay qualities according to gender

Academic assessment of their coursework is of great importance to undergraduate students. Yet little attention has been paid to the perceptions of undergraduate writing that academics draw on in their assessment practices and the ways in which these perceptions may be gendered. This article reports findings from a study that asked lecturers about their opinions concerning the characteristics of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ essays, and analysed the results according to gender. It is argued that, although there were many points on which male and female academics were in agreement, there were some gender differences in the prioritisation of certain (gendered) characteristics of undergraduate writing. Female academics were slightly more concerned with presentational aspects and effort, and male academics more concerned with argument. We discuss the implications of these findings for undergraduate students, arguing that work to improve parity in assessment must involve a challenge to (masculinised) academic culture and values.