An examination of the instruction provided in Australian essay guides for students’ development of a critical viewpoint

Article

Hammer, Sara. 2017. "An examination of the instruction provided in Australian essay guides for students’ development of a critical viewpoint." Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. 42 (7), pp. 1069-1081. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2016.1224998
Article Title

An examination of the instruction provided in Australian essay guides for students’ development of a critical viewpoint

ERA Journal ID19964
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorHammer, Sara
Journal TitleAssessment and Evaluation in Higher Education
Journal Citation42 (7), pp. 1069-1081
Number of Pages13
Year2017
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0260-2938
1469-297X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2016.1224998
Web Address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02602938.2016.1224998
Abstract

The argumentative essay has endured as a popular form of university assessment, yet students still struggle to meet key intended learning outcomes, such as those associated with critical thinking. This paper presents the results of a study that examines the instruction provided by Australian
essay writing guides to support students’ development of a questioning, critical viewpoint. Thirty publically available guides were chosen from a range of university types, and sourced from central student learning units
and humanities disciplines. Findings of this documentary analysis show that some guides provide too little context for essay writing as an academic practice, and conceptualise definitional, instructional and procedural
aspects of the task in ways that may not align with intended outcomes. The conclusion indicates a need for further research about the teaching of argumentative essay writing.

Keywordsargumentative; critical thinking; essay guides; teaching
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390303. Higher education
Byline AffiliationsLearning and Teaching Support Unit
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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