106 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 107

CHAPTER SEVEN These two purposes of learning and assessment co-exist uneasily. The potential
for conflict was first shown in the classic American study Making the Grade
(Becker et al., 1968) which has already been referred to in Chapter 1. As one of
Contrasting Conceptions of Essay-writing the students interviewed observed:
There’s an awful lot of work being done up here for the wrong reason....
DAI HOUNSELL There are a lot of courses where you can learn what’s necessary to get the
grade and when you come out of the class you don’t know anything at all.
You haven’t learned a damn thing really. In fact, if you try to really learn
In every work regard the writer’s end something, it would handicap you as far as getting a grade goes ....
Since none can compass more than they intend (Becker et al., 1968, p. 59).
Alexander Pope, Essay on Criticism This comment illustrates one of the main findings of Becker and his colleagues.
The ways in which students went about learning were influenced by their pursuit
Introduction of grades, and this could lead to a conflict between the requirements of grade-
In the arts and social sciences, essay-writing is the undergraduate’s Amazon. getting and students’ desires to learn in a personally satisfying way. As Chapter
Throughout a degree course, the processes of studying often proceed along a 13, “The Context of Learning”, will show, these tensions between learning and
river of coursework essays – the equivalent of one essay every ten days in some assessment seem to be a persistent phenomenon which has been found in many
universities (Nimmo, 1977). Essay-writing occupies this central place within other studies.
higher education because it serves two fundamental purposes: it is both a tool of A further source of tension has been less widely recognised. In discussing
assessment and an avenue to learning. essay-writing, it is tempting to make inferences from other domains of written
The coursework essay has not always had a part to play in assessment. Until expression, but the parallels are sometimes too easily taken for granted. There is
the 1960s, the only essays which directly determined degree results were generally a gulf between, say, the specialist author and the undergraduate essay-writer which
those written in final examinations where students wrote from memory under extends far beyond differences in knowledge or experience. The nub of the problem
severe time constraints. Over the last two decades, however, formal recognition is the idiosyncrasy of essay-writing, which arises from the setting in which the
has increasingly been given to the ‘coursework’ essays which students write as activity takes place. Firstly, the knowledge of students is generally, though not
part of their everyday studying. Compared to the exam answer, coursework essays invariably, inferior to that of their tutors. They may be hard pressed to communicate
give students an opportunity to draw upon a wide range of sources and allow time anything which the tutor does not already know. While the success of the specialist
for sustained reflection. Collectively, therefore, they can play a part in assessment author comes from prompting readers to see some aspect of the world in a fresh
by providing a reliable record of the student’s achievements over a substantial way, the success of students may lie in the degree to which they can articulate and
span of time. The adoption of coursework assessment has also been seen as a validate views of the world which are already familiar to the tutor. Secondly,
counter to the debilitating anxiety of ‘sudden-death’ examinations, although the specialist authors generally choose their own theme and write because they have
consequences may be to redistribute stress throughout a course rather than to
something they want to communicate. For students, however, the initial stimulus
remove it altogether (see for example Heywood, 1969; Baumgart and Johnstone,
comes from outside, not within. They are required to say something on a given
1974).
As a learning activity, essay-writing makes particularly exacting demands of theme whether or not they feel drawn to the topic and whether or not they feel
the student. The student must not only apprehend and make sense of a topic, but they have something to say. Indeed, essay assignments are what Shaughnessy
go further and communicate what he or she knows within the framework of a (1977) calls stipulative: not only topic but mode of expression, depth of treatment,
formal, ordered statement. Essay-writing thus involves putting learning on display. sources, length and preparation time may all be specified in advance. These
But the task of constructing meaning is made doubly difficult because the student contextual features determine the conditions of studying in a formal educational
usually has to venture beyond the comparative security of lecture and seminar setting, but they do not necessarily create an ideal medium in which learning can
notes. Other sources have to be tracked down, digested, their relevance to the flourish. The student’s concern to make sense of a problem may come into conflict
topic weighed in relation to all of the material at the student’s disposal. Finally, with the obligations of the task as assigned. Britton and his colleagues have
what the student chooses to make use of has to be marshalled and deployed sketched out the consequences of conflict:
within a discussion of the topic. As a learning activity therefore, the process of The strategies a writer uses must be the outcome of a series of interlocking
essay-writing is inherently more complex than reading and listening, and its product choices that arise from the context within which he writes and the resources
may reflect even more strongly the personal sense which the student has made of of experience, linguistic and non-linguistic, that he brings to the occasion.
what he or she has learnt. He is an individual with both unique and socially determined experience,
108 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 109
attitudes and expectations; he may be writing voluntarily or, as is almost This lean harvest of findings reinforces rather than removes the impression of
universally the case in the school situation, he may be writing within the neglect. How students experience essay-writing, what the demands posed by
constraints of a prescribed task. This he either accepts and makes his own essay-writing tasks might be, and what significant variations might exist between
in the process of writing, or he perfunctorily fulfils his notion of what is one discipline and another – all these are unexamined questions. As a learning
demanded; and his choices are likely to vary from occasion to occasion and
activity, essay-writing remains virtually uncharted territory.
from task to task. (Britton et al., 1975, p.9, my italics.)
So far we have looked at the incidence and purposes of essay-writing and the Background to the Study
potential for conflict within it between learning and assessment and learning and
studying. Viewed in any of these ways, essay-writing would seem to be a crucial In the remainder of this chapter, we begin to explore this territory, drawing upon
area for discussion and investigation, yet what we find instead is a puzzling neglect. the findings of a study of 17 second-year History undergraduates and 16 second-
In some books on undergraduate teaching, essay-writing is hardly mentioned at year Psychology undergraduates (Hounsell, 1984b). The students took part in
all, while in others it has been consigned to the corner cupboards of “private two sets of semi-structured interviews, each focusing upon a recent essay prepared
study” or “marking problems”. Even in study skills manuals, where essays are for a specific course module. The students were invited to describe both the content
normally a prime concern, there is a preoccupation with form rather than substance. of the essay and how they went about preparing it, to draw comparisons and
Accomplishment in essay-writing is often seen in terms of style or bibliographic contrasts with other essays written for the course unit concerned, and to discuss
finesse or as a matter of systematic planning and organisation. Amidst the flurry various aspects of the activity of essay-writing and the course setting within which
of technical tips, it is hard to get a sense of the student as a “maker of meaning” it took place. The students were invited to bring to the interviews copies of their
(Perry, 1977) or of writing as “a struggle to give meaning to experience” (Berger, essays and other associated notes and materials. In analysing the interview
1979). transcripts, the aim was to examine the students’ experience of essay-writing as a
learning activity against the backcloth of the two course settings. For reasons of
Previous Research space, the discussion which follows deals in the main with the findings for the
History students. It outlines essay-practice within the course module concerned
The neglect extends also to research (Hartley, 1980, p. 64). Most studies of and the students’ perceptions of the context in which they prepare their essays, as
undergraduate essay-writing derive from an interest in the reliability of essay- a preliminary to exploring the main findings of the study, which concern differences
grading rather than in student learning (see Rowntree, 1977, pp. 188 ff.; and in the students’ conceptions of what an essay is and what essay-writing involves.
more recently Byrne, 1980). There are two notable exceptions. The first is a study
by Hughes-Jones (1980) of students’ perceptions of the reasons for success and Essay-Writing in a History Course
failure in exams and essay work. Interest was a prominent factor in accounting
for both successful and unsuccessful essays – a finding which echoes an earlier The History students are prolific essay-writers, spending on average almost two-
distinction between “involved” and “perfunctory” approaches to written work by thirds of their working time writing essays. Overall essay workloads vary as a
secondary school pupils (Britton et al., 1975). The second is a questionnaire study function of different combinations of the five course modules taken by second
of the essay-writing procedures of 80 Psychology students (Branthwaite et al., year students, but some of the students say that they have to write a total of between
1980). The main findings of the study focus upon dimensions associated with 18 and 20 essays over the year as a whole. Within the particular course module
academic success in general: one dimension involved “confidence, self- investigated, students submit three essays of 2,000-2,500 words in the first two
assertiveness and being in control, as opposed to being pessimistic, unenterprising terms and an extended essay of 3,000-3,500 words in the final term. The average
and being externally constrained”, while the other was typified by “the presence time spent on a History essay is 13-15 hours, but individual estimates range from
(or absence) of concentrated, individual hard work” (Branthwaite et al., 1980, pp. eight hours in the case of one student to nearly 30 hours for another. Students
103-4). Other findings, however, are more specific to essay-writing. One of these normally have four weeks in which to prepare the essay, and the tutor for the
concerns a difference between first- and second-year students: the second-years course module usually recommends books to be consulted. Then, as one student
appeared to be “more product-orientated and more aware of the variety of ways says, “You go away and get on with it”. The first three essays are linked to
in which one could go about essay-writing” (p. 104), and they were more likely to fortnightly seminars, where students submitting an essay summarise its contents
go beyond the recommended texts and to share their ideas with others. A marked and respond to questions. The fourth, ‘extended’ essay is prepared during the
mismatch was also found between what students felt tutors were looking for in final term and draws on primary sources – for example, edited collections of
essays and tutors’ own criteria. While originality and understanding were high documents such as correspondence and Acts of Parliament. Teaching during the
amongst the criteria advanced by students, none of the seven tutors who also took term consists of four lectures, each of which introduces and comments upon one
part in the study mentioned originality and only one mentioned understanding. of the four topics assigned and relevant source documents.
110 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 111
The context in which essay-writing takes place is outwardly exceptionally had distinctive meanings for the students which extended beyond the particularities
well-organised. Essays are woven into the structure of the course module, titles of any one essay assignment and which lent a broadly consistent character to their
are announced well in advance and allow some measure of choice, sources of essay-writing. In other words, the most fundamental difference to emerge from
reading are well-signposted and the tutor’s written comments on essays are the interview analysis lay in the students’ conceptions of what an essay was and
acknowledged as consistently thorough. In the students’ perception, however, this what essay-writing involved in the discipline concerned. In the case of the History
is a less than ideal context for essay-writing. Most of the students not only comment students, three qualitatively distinct conceptions were identified, and these can be
on what they see as a heavy essay workload but feel this has unfortunate summed up as argument, viewpoint and arrangement. At the core of each
consequences for how their time is allocated. For example, (using fictitious names, conception is a global or overall definition of an essay, and it is this definition
here and elsewhere): which gives the conception its distinctive character.
Tom: I mean, basically I’m a full-time essay-writer. The essay as argument
Edward: [The School of History emphasises] that you shouldn’t concentrate This, the most sophisticated of the three conceptions, is represented in the following
on essays, because they’re very narrowly focused, and you don’t do yourself examples:
any good by concentrating on them. But everyone finds that, I mean, you’ve
just got to do your essays. And they’re the ones that get marked.... And that Chris: Being able to construct an argument, that’s where for me, this plan
certainly doesn’t give you enough time for general reading. sheet here is, like, the key to that because, I get everything in a logical order
where everything’s building up, you know, and point 1, boom, boom, boom,
Moreover, there is a widespread feeling that the essay workload leaves little time boom, like that. And so I try to aim that, come the end of the essay, that no
to dwell on any one essay or to spend much time subsequently reflecting on the matter what they thought before that, the logic of the argument and the
tutor’s written comments. As Chris puts it: evidence produced is such that, even if they don’t agree with my
interpretation, they’ve got to say it’s reasonable, reasonably argued. And I
I’ve got so many other things to do, (laughs), essays to do, I just sort of think that’s one of the things I’m good at, is argument, and constructing an
churn them out.... You know, think of something else, get on to something argument.... Tutors aren’t looking for sort of, eloquence of style and so on,
else. it’s more the argument you present providing it’s fairly clear.
In addition to this source of tension between learning and the requirements of
studying and assessment, there is a further contextual feature which is striking. Tom: [The tutor] will be looking for a very well-structured essay, very well-
balanced. [The tutor] likes you to, you know, weigh the evidence up and
Although students may discuss an essay with the tutor individually if they wish, come to some sort of conclusion.
this is an opportunity which is only very seldom taken up. Equally, the students
say either that they do not discuss their essays with one another or that if they do Will: ... Whereas in an essay you really have to think about something, and
so, discussion is never about content or how one might approach a particular then... well, just keep thinking about it as regards to all the reading and the
essay: evidence you’re going to use.
Martin: It’s all centred around marks, really. Interviewer: So it stimulates you to think in a way you don’t get from other
things?
Graham: They talk to each other about how they haven’t finished it on time,
and, oh, ‘I have to get an extension [to the deadline]’, and this kind of thing. Will: Well, you have to follow a coherent argument, basically. And that’s the
But they don’t actually discuss essays. only time you have to – like in a lecture you don’t and in a seminar you just
usually state your point of view on a certain point. You don’t form an actual,
Essay-writing seems therefore an essentially private activity. There is evidently coherent argument, along a broad theme, really.
little or no discussion amongst students of the problems or processes it entails.
Each of these students seems to share a common definition of an essay, seen as an
Conceptions of Essay-Writing ordered presentation of an argument well-supported by evidence. And if we
penetrate beyond this global characterisation, three sub-components of the
In analysing the interviews, the unit of analysis initially adopted was that of the definition can be disentangled. The most important of these is an interpretive
individual essay task. The aim was to look for evidence of differences in how sub-component:
students went about essays which might parallel the well-established distinction
between deep and surface approaches to academic reading (see Chapter 3). As the Graham: [Essays] crystallise your ideas on a topic. You learn to put forward
analysis proceeded, however, it became apparent that essay-writing, as an activity, a logical argument.
112 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 113
Edward: You’ve got to look for arguments, and prove yourself. I wrote an towards each core element forms a sub-component of the global definition. And
essay last term in English, and I didn’t even use a textbook for it, I just used secondly, the character of the definition is also determined by the interrelationship
a text. And I got as good a mark for that, or as good comments, as I would of these sub-components. In the global definition we have just examined,
for any History essay. And yet for me it was just reading a text and putting organisation and data are hierarchically related to interpretation, since decisions
my own opinion forward. Whereas in History I mean you’ve got to take other
people’s ideas, and mould them into your own argument.
on how the essay is to be organised and what evidence is to be marshalled are
dependent on the distinctive point of view to be adopted; but this is not always
Essays are thus seen as concerned with the presentation of an argument in which the case, as we shall see.
ideas have been “moulded” or “crystallised”, as these students put it, into a single
entity. An argument therefore pivots upon a distinctive position or point of view The essay as viewpoint
on a problem or issue. Within this global definition, the interpretive sub-component
is superordinate, subsuming the other two sub-components. The first of these is At first glance the conceptions of argument and viewpoint might seem to entail
an organisational one. A distinctive point of view is not merely advanced but the same definition of an essay:
presented in a way which is “coherent” or “logical”: Alan: There must be a technique to writing the perfect essay. Um, I
suppose you’ve got to have a clearly defined argument and a plan of what
Edward: Conclusions are just, you’ve really got to just tie everything
you’re going to do, already written down, so you can always refer back to it,
together then, you’ve got all your strands of argument. But then
and then start from there.
conclusions, since I’ve come to University they’ve become less important, I
think, ‘cos your argument should be developing all the way through the
Rick: It’s a discipline to getting it, to getting your argument down on paper in
essay anyway.
a constructive and in a literate sort of fashion . . . If you didn’t do an essay at
This sub-component therefore reflects a concern with an essay as an integrated all and just had tutorials, instead of essays, you’d then learn more but you
whole, in which the point of view to be presented underpins and informs the wouldn’t be able to express it so well.
structural conventions of introduction, main text and conclusion. Indeed, both definitions share a concern to present a distinctive point of view and
The second of the two subordinate sub-components of the definition is a concern with essays as integral wholes. What sets them apart, however, is the
concerned with data in the form of evidence substantiating or refuting a particular sub-component of data. In the case of two of the five students associated with
position or point of view. For an argument to be authentic, it must be demonstrated this conception, the role of data in essays is not explicitly considered. References
and buttressed by supporting evidence: to data are very sparse and take the most indirect of forms. For the remaining
Kate: ... I think I’ve got a balanced argument, a convincing argument, three students, there are some indications that the function of data as evidence has
putting in enough facts, and reference points, to back up what you’re been acknowledged, but the general impression is one of a lack of concern with
saying... I suppose I could’ve written the essay saying that the court and this sub-component. In this conception, therefore, the global definition reflects
country divisions were very pronounced by this time, and if I’d been able to only the alliance of interpretation to organisation: an essay is seen as the ordered
back it well enough, then logically I should get the same mark, but I don’t presentation of a distinctive viewpoint on a problem or issue.
really think that that view is convincing enough to be able ... to present it.
This global definition, therefore, can be seen as comprising three sub- The essay as arrangement
components, representing specific stances towards three elements of essay-writing: Within the conception arrangement, an essay is defined as an ordered presentation
Data The subject-matter which provides the raw material or embracing facts and ideas. This definition is largely tacit rather than made explicit
bedrock of essays. by the students concerned. It is strongly implied in the students’ accounts of their
Organisation The structuring of essay material into a discussion of the essay-writing procedures (analysed below), and it can be gleaned too from an
topic which follows a particular sequence or order. examination of its sub-components. In the stance taken towards interpretation,
ideas are viewed disjunctively, as collections of essentially discrete thoughts. It
Interpretation The meaning or meanings given to essay material by the
is considered useful or important in an essay to express whatever ideas or opinions
student. one might have, but there is no concomitant concern to marry related ideas to
These three elements, which emerged from intensive analysis of the interview form a unified position or point of view:
transcripts of both the History and the Psychology students, may be considered as Donna: I think [tutors] are asking us to look at secondary sources and just
core elements of essay-writing. They are crucial to an understanding of any given see what we think about them. But – they do want our own ideas, but I think
global definition of an essay in two ways. Firstly, the particular stance adopted it’s limited when you’ve only got secondary sources.
114 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 115
Sue: What’s distinctive is that I’m here expressing myself, and what I differences in the students’ essay-writing procedures. We look firstly at essay
thought, and what my ideas are, in certain subjects, on paper. It’s very preparation — the initial stages of reading, taking notes, and clarifying what will
important to know, it’s a gauge how well the course is going. Obviously if be said in the essay.
you’re not coming up with the right ideas, or certain ideas, and aren’t able to
When a student conceives of essays as arguments, as in the following example,
express yourself, then I think that obviously you’ve got problems.
the elements of interpretation (“his argument”, “you make a case”) and data
The references to organisation are characteristically flat, expressing a commitment (“you’ve got to back it up with actual facts”) are seen in interrelation:
to essay structure which is apparently devoid of any consideration of what
organising principles might be appropriate: Interviewer: What are you looking out for in individual chapters? What will
you be getting from them?
Pattie: I usually start off with a quote, and then finish with a quote. I find
that’s the easiest way to start it. But I think the worst thing is starting an Chris: Well, really things that are relevant to the question in hand. I try to
essay. Once you get halfway through you’re alright. The first few pages . . . find the author’s own particular view, his argument, and also really just to
And where there is a concern with data, the standpoint is at base a quantitative really plunder it for facts. Whether the facts that he gives, you know,
whether I agree with his argument or not, I think that the main thing in an
one, displaying a conscientious coverage of sources rather than a regard for
historical essay anyway is that you make a case and back it up with actual
evidence supporting a point of view: facts of what happened, and evidence. Sometimes I just go through a book
Interviewer: What do you see as your strengths as an essay-writer? very quickly and just jot down fact after fact after fact, and, you know,
events, what people said, or sometimes I write out quotes, from the time.
Pattie: ... I think, the um, the presentation: I tend to put quite a few quotes What people actually did and said. And then I have a good body of things
in, and put them down as references. that actually happened that I can then . . . use to support what I want to say.
So in a book I’m looking for A, his argument, and then B, facts and evidence.
Interviewer: What’s studying History at University about?
Preparing an essay therefore entails being attentive both to arguments and to
Donna: I’m not quite sure what it is. I don’t know. I don’t think we get a lot of evidence, and the essay emerges out of the interplay between these.
our own ideas into it. I know we’re supposed to but we seem to be reading
books, and criticising what people think, more than actually — it’s In a conception of essays as viewpoints, however, the element of data is much
sometimes annoying when you’re doing an essay, and you don’t really know less in focus, and there may be indications that reading is directed by a preconceived
enough facts, but what you’re doing is sorting out other people’s view of the line the essay will take:
interpretations, and you feel that you can’t really criticise them yourself
Martin: Well, I must admit, I had a set idea on the question. And so I went in
because you don’t know the source material. And so, um . . . I don’t know. It
with that attitude, I got the books, um, again, the same process of going
just seems to me as though you’re reading about a period, and trying to fit
through them, doing the reading, taking notes, analysing, condensing the
your reading into an essay. It just seems like a lot of facts more than
notes down and then writing the essay out. I mean, it’s much the same
anything else.
process, and I knew that it was what [the tutor] had thought as well... It was
Finally, what also typifies this global definition is the lack of integration between exactly what [the tutor] thought, but I believed in it myself as well.
the three sub-components. In the first two contrasting conceptions, it is the
or even that the interplay of interpretive stance and supporting data is deliberately
articulation of a distinctive point of view or position which gives an essay its
overridden:
fundamental meaning: the sub-components of organisation (in the viewpoint
conception) or of organisation and data (in the argument conception) are the Rick: Usually, on the whole, I try and make the facts fit my argument
vehicles upon which this interpretive stance is conveyed. A decisive characteristic anyway, sort of, or I try and start with the argument in my head anyway. I’ll
of essay-writing as arrangement, however, is that the three sub-components are change it, you know, the facts they say...
not hierarchically related. Indeed, interpretation, in the form of whatever ideas Where essays are seen as arrangements on the other hand, the procedures described
and thoughts one has, assumes an almost incidental status relative to the other seem uninformed by an interpretive focus. Material is assembled in relation to
two sub-components of organisation and data. the topic assigned rather than a point of view to be advanced, as in the following
account of an essay entitled ‘How greatly did English government and
Essay-Writing Procedures administration differ at the end of Henry VIII’s reign from the beginning?’:
Thus far we have looked at differences in conception in relation to how History Frank: [I chose this question because] it was one that I could deal with
essays are defined by the students. But we can also find evidence of such systematically, in a way. I could deal with you know, Privy Council, financial
116 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 117
administration, Parliament, all these things in turn. It’s reasonably easy for Government wasn’t a despotism because these particular characteristics of
research, that sort of thing.... I already knew a bit about the subject from despotism weren’t fulfilled.
lectures, so I had a good idea of what I was going to do in the first place. So
Striving for a unity of essay structure and interpretive stance also entails attention
basically I was collecting the different things I was going to deal with; just put
them down on a piece of paper, used the indexes of books, looked it up, and
to the parts which make up the whole:
then I dealt with each in turn, collecting material from the different books. I Kate: Every paragraph, I sort of make sure I’m making a relevant point. Is it
did that ... in rough, and then, when I copied it up, like this, you know, ironed clear what point I’m making or am I just waffling?
it out a bit, and reorganised it, and put it how I wanted it. There is an obvious parallel here with what Laurillard (1978) and Ramsden (1981)
The absence of an explicit interpretive focus is similarly evident in the construction in their descriptions of a deep approach have called, respectively, “keeping the
of essay answers, where the students’ accounts appear flat and mechanical. There end-point in mind throughout the solution process” and “integrating the parts into
is no apparent criterion underpinning the arrangement of the material: a whole”.
Pattie: You don’t put any waffle in, you don’t put anything in that’s not
Essay Content
necessary, not needed, ‘cos you just . . . you just try and let it flow.
If the differences identified in the students’ conceptions of essay-writing are valid,
Donna: I read through my notes and try to split it up into sections, so that I then we should also expect indications of these differences in their accounts of
can get an essay plan. And then I number the sections. It’ll just be usually essay content. These accounts could not be analysed in their entirety because of
1, 2, 3, 4, and sort of, how I argue the name to the group, whatever it is, say, the large number of essay topics tackled and the almost limitless range of library
religious conflict, and go down like that. It might not necessarily be in the sources upon which the students could draw, but it was feasible to adopt the
right order, but then I’ll mark it through, and then I’ll decide what order it’s in. stratagem of focusing upon essay conclusions as the key criterion. This analysis
I usually get – probably not in the right order, but it’s hard sometimes
showed that, generally speaking, when asked about their conclusions, in the
because various topics merge into each other and you never know how to
separate it. Sometimes there’s no distinct line, and you get, put bits in the argument conception the students stated what their conclusion to an essay was,
wrong bits, and things like that. while in the viewpoint conception the conclusion was stated or students said they
had arrived at a conclusion but did not specify what this was. Where the students
Alternatively, the problem of organisation is side-stepped, either by resorting to a held the arrangement conception, on the other hand, they either did not refer to
chronological sequence or, as in the example below, through reliance on an external any conclusion, said the essay was not concluded, or outlined a conclusion which
source: merely reiterated the substance of the essay title.
Sue: If I haven’t formulated a very definite plan, and if I’m not quite sure how The analysis of essay content was also taken a stage further, however, by
my essay’s going to go, then I’ll probably take a main theme in a book and scrutinising the students’ ‘extended’ essays, which were confined to four topics.
work through that way. I mean in History you might have a problem about The overriding aim was to look at the extent to which the essays mirrored
whether to deal with ideas, sort of, a chronology, which approach to use.... conceptions, regardless — it should be stressed — of the historical plausibility of
And if I have got a problem like that, then I’ll use the authority, you know, the the content or its accuracy. Here only two examples are discussed, both of which
book, and work through their way. are essays on the topic ‘What were the main sources of friction between Charles
Where by contrast the conception is of essays as arguments or viewpoints, questions II and the Cavalier Parliament, and how far were they inherent in the Restoration
of organisation and interpretation are seen as interrelated. The structure of the Settlement?’. The essays are respectively by Chris and Frank. As a result of the
essay is determined by and subservient to the distinctive position or point of view analysis of the interview data, Chris was ascribed to the argument and Frank to
advanced, as in an account of an essay entitled ‘Was Tudor Government at any the arrangement conception.
time a despotism?’: Chris’s essay
Alan: Well first of all I did an introduction, ‘What is a despotism?’ And then Chris’s essay comprises 17 paragraphs totalling 4,200 words. It begins with what
sort of blasted down a few characteristics, then I discussed these . . ., like,
he subsequently describes as a “brief overview of the constitutional arrangements
that uh, that Tudor Government wasn’t based upon Divine Right, it was
based upon the law. Then I went on to discuss the argument for Tudor of the Restoration Settlement”.
despotism, and then try and take, uh, the elements of those who argued for, The opening paragraph outlines events from Charles’ arrival in Dover in May
and argued against them. I tried to keep to the argument, keep the 1660 to the election of the Cavalier Parliament twelve months later. Paragraph 2
argument very trimmed and streamlined.... My conclusion was, the Tudor suggests that the “underlying premiss” of the Restoration Settlement was “the
118 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 119
PANEL 7.1 Chris’s essay, 5th paragraph PANEL 7.2 Chris’s essay, concluding paragraph

This brief overview of the constitutional arrangements of the Restoration We have identified five principal sources of friction between Charles and
Settlement gives the impression that the future should be promising enough, the Cavalier Parliament that we have also seen were to some extent inherent
but by the middle of the decade the honeymoon euphoria had evaporated in the Restoration Settlement. The areas of ambiguity in the settlement,
and sharp conflicts between crown and parliament had emerged, despite that is: finance, the armed forces and the prerogative rights of suspending
the amelioration and promise of the Restoration. Nevertheless, it is and dispensing power and of determining foreign policy were areas that
misleading to think of the relations between Charles and the Cavalier left room for a considerable development of royal power. However, when
Parliament as one of constant friction, because there were many issues that the Crown attempted to enhance its power by exploiting these ambiguities
caused no friction and long periods of give and take and relaxed relations and by exercising its prerogative rights, which though not formally
in which the process of government functioned quite well. But for the confirmed by the Restoration were assumed to have been maintained,
purposes of this discussion I shall concentrate on areas of conflict, even Parliament rose to the challenge, attacked and usually prevailed. Religion
though this may give a distorted impression of relations between King and was the one area w[h]ere specific Restoration legislation directly led to
Parliament. As we shall see, all but one of the sources of these conflict conflict since the overwhelming Anglican resurgence represented by the
areas were inherent in the Restoration Settlement. There were areas of Act of Uniformity and the Clarendon Code was committed to fighting any
ambiguity in the Settlement which led to friction over finance, the use of Pro-Catholic and Pro-French policies of the King even though it involved
suspending and dispensing power, and the armed forces. Then there were an unprecedented invasion of the royal prerogative. This reveals the
two main areas of out-and-out conflict; the religious controversy and foreign shallowness of the Restoration’s upholding of royal supremacy in the
policy. I shall deal with each issue in turn by considering its relation to the constitution. Nevertheless, the conflicts of the 1660s and 1670s did not
Restoration Settlement and by tracing its development during the life-time spark off another civil war since they were all kept at the political level and
of the Cavalier Parliament, although it will quickly be seen that all these the Restoration Settlement held together despite two changes of dynasty in
issues overlapped and affected one another. 1689 and in 1714 because Parliament had become the lynch-pin of
government.

belief that historical events were cyclical” and a widespread belief that the country
had returned to its situation prior to the 1641-2 crisis. The legislation of the one of the five areas where specific Restoration legislation directly led to conflict.
intervening years had thus been nullified or its status clarified “in an attempt to Chris ends with some general observations about the constitutional maintenance
construct a lasting settlement”. Paragraphs 3 and 4 go on to outline the principal of the royal supremacy and the containment of the conflicts of the period.
legislative measures of the Restoration Settlement enacted by the Cavalier Having summarised this essay, we can analyse it by trying to assess how far it
Parliament. reflects a conception of essays as argument in relation to the three sub-components
Paragraph 5 (see Panel 7.1) sets the previous discussion in context and indicates of the global definition.
the course which the remainder of the essay will follow. While “this brief
overview”, Chris says, might give the impression of a “promising enough” future, Interpretation. Chris clearly takes up a distinctive position or point of view
sharp conflicts had emerged by the middle of the decade. Chris goes on to sketch on the essay question. He responds to the first part of the question by identifying
out his view of the essay question, identifying five sources of friction categorised five main sources of friction which he categorises in two groups, and he responds
in two groupings. This framework explicitly maps out the sequence adhered to in to the second part of the essay question by seeing all five areas as to some extent
the remainder of the essay. First, Chris discusses areas of conflict which arose inherent in the Restoration Settlement, but with the area of religion seen as a
from ambiguities in the Settlement: finance (paras 6, 7 and 8), the armed forces special case.
(paras 9, 10 and 11) and suspending and dispensing powers (para. 12). Second, Organisation. The essay is underpinned by an explicit interpretive framework,
he deals with areas of out-and-out conflict: the religious controversy (paras 13- announced in advance as a preliminary to a more detailed examination, and
15), and foreign policy (para. 16). reiterated in the essay’s concluding paragraph. The essay thus mirrors a concern
The concluding paragraph of Chris’s essay is shown in Panel 7.2, and with essays as integral wholes. Introduction, main text and conclusion share the
recapitulates the five principal sources of friction discussed. Furthermore, returning same organising principle, which is founded upon the interpretive position which
to a distinction he had made in paragraph 5, Chris states that religion was the only Chris advances.
120 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 121
Data. Similarly the bulk of the factual references which appear in the essay PANEL 7.4 Frank’s essay, concluding paragraph
are aligned to Chris’s interpretive framework. References to relevant data are
subsumed within each point raised, and thus become the evidence which
substantiates each of these points. The opening four paragraphs are the single The years of the Cavalier Parliament saw much friction between Parliament
exception, but since they are described as providing the background to the and the King’s government in such fundamental and inter-related issues as
constitutional arrangements of the Restoration Settlement, their evidential status religion, the political settlement, finance and foreign policy. The result, by
and their relation to the main concerns of the essay are clearly specified. 1678, was a strongly Anglican, anti-Catholic religious settlement with a
uniform Anglican Church based on the Book of Common Prayer, and the
Frank’s essay end of religious toleration. A strongly royalist political settlement was
Frank’s essay comprises 33 paragraphs totalling 3,700 words. The opening initially introduced although this was partly eroded by Parliament’s increased
paragraph, shown in Panel 7.3, can be seen as the introduction to the essay. use of their power of the purse to control the government’s policies,
particularly in the raising of armies and hence in war and peace, and their
use of statue to scotch the King’s tolerant and pro-Catholic policies. The
PANEL 7.3 Frank’s essay, opening paragraph outcome of the Restoration Settlement, therefore, reflects the friction
between King and Parliament in these years, particularly over religious
toleration and the closely connected Catholic problem.

The years of the Cavalier Parliament, which opened in 1661 and was not
dissolved until 1679, were marked by increasing points of friction between He suggests that this resulted in “a strongly Anglican, anti-Catholic religious
King Charles ll and Parliament on such crucial matters as the political and settlement” and that the initially strongly royalist political settlement became
religious settlements, foreign policy and the royal finances, many of which eroded by increasing intervention by Parliament. The outcome of the Restoration
were related to the question of the balance of power between King and Settlement therefore “reflects the friction between King and Parliament in these
Parliament. years”, particularly on questions of religion.
Interpretation. There is little to indicate that Frank has taken up the distinctive
position or point of view characteristic of a conception of essays as argument.
Four areas of friction are suggested in both the introductory and concluding
Frank notes the growing friction between sovereign and Parliament on “such crucial paragraphs of the essay, but these are tagged on each occasion with the phrase
matters as the political and religious settlements, foreign policy and the royal “such as” rather than explicitly identified as the main sources of friction. Similarly,
finances”, and comments that many of these were linked “to the question of the the second part of the essay question is only touched upon in the final sentence of
balance of power between King and Parliament”. The paragraphs which succeed the essay, where a connection is posited between one area of friction and the
it represent an implicit structure which is adhered to throughout the essay. Settlement, but no assessment is made of how far the former was inherent in the
Paragraphs 2-32 follow a clear chronological order beginning with the Convention latter. In sum, then, the interpretative component seems closest to the incidental
Parliament in 1660 and ending with the dissolution of the Cavalier Parliament in thoughts and ideas characteristic of a conception of essay-writing as arrangement.
1679. The majority of these paragraphs start from or are focused upon one or Organisation. There are intermittent references throughout the essay to areas
more Acts of Parliament, Parliamentary measures, Treaties, or Declarations by of friction (religious toleration, for example, and foreign policy) but these do not
the Crown, (17 paragraphs in total); or they deal with a series of events such as provide a framework underpinning the essay. The structure followed is a
those surrounding the impeachments of Charles’ First Minister, Clarendon, in chronological one in which specific parliamentary measures or sets of events
1667 (4 paragraphs) and of Danby in 1678-79 (2 paragraphs). At intervals mark out the route the discussion follows. In sharp contrast to Chris’s essay,
throughout the essay, a small number of paragraphs (paras 3, 18, 27) set earlier or therefore, the organising principle adopted is not determined by the essay’s
later paragraphs within a broader context. Paragraph 18, for example, foreshadows interpretative stance. A concern with essays as integrated wholes would not, of
the topics of foreign policy, religion and money which are prominent in succeeding course, be invalidated by a chronological sequence if there were also an attempt
paragraphs. to relate the chronological account to the focal issue of the main sources of friction
Panel 7.4 shows the final paragraph. Frank concludes that the period saw and their degree of inherence in the Restoration Settlement. However, Frank’s
“much friction [between King and Parliament] in such fundamental and interrelated stance towards the focal issue is unclear and the links between introduction, main
issues as religion, the political settlement, finance and foreign policy”. text and conclusion are not clarified.
122 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 123
Data. For similar reasons, the use of data seems informed by quantitative The quest for meaning is also characteristic of a conception of essays as
considerations rather than selected as evidence confirming or refuting an viewpoints, but the holistic focus of a deep approach is here only partly manifested.
identifiable position or point of view. Ideas are interrelated and integrated but interconnections between interpretation
and data tend to be unplumbed or overridden. The completed essay may constitute
Conceptions and Approaches an ordered argument underpinned by evidence, but has not grown out of a
consideration of the range of interpretive options open. This conception also
Amongst this group of seventeen History students, three distinct conceptions of shares the defining features of the multistructural level in the SOLO taxonomy
essay-writing were identified. These differences in conception were apparent in referred to in Chapter 2. At this level, as applied to examples of learning tasks in
how an essay was defined, in the students’ essay-writing procedures, and in the History, inconsistencies or conflicts encountered in data are ignored or discounted
content of their essays. The criteria adopted in the interview analysis have also so that a firm conclusion can be reached (Biggs and Collis, 1982, pp. 36 ff.).
been validated by two independent judges 1 . Similar differences in conception Contrasting observations can be made concerning the arrangement conception
have been found amongst the group of Psychology students who took part in the where the definition of an essay tends to be tacit and implied, and where essay-
larger investigation, and both sets of findings are discussed elsewhere – in relation writing seems to involve passively restating and regurgitating what has been
to essay planning (Hounsell, 1984a), the quality of feedback (Hounsell, 1987), gleaned from source materials rather than attempting to make coherent sense of
and the notion of academic discourse (Hounsell, 1988). them. This closely parallels Säljö’s first and second conceptions in which learning
The differences in the History students’ conceptions are reflected in their has an essentially factual and reproductive character and is, as Säljö has noted
combined coursework essay mark for the History course module concerned. elsewhere, largely “taken-for-granted” (Säljö, 1982, pp. 76-82). Furthermore, in
Taking only the fourteen students who can be ascribed without qualification to both the arrangement conception and a surface approach, the activity is seen
one of the three conceptions, four of the five students with an arrangement unreflectively and mechanically. Material is collected, ideas are advanced, and
conception have marks below 60 per cent, while all four students ascribed to the the discussion is given a structure; but these subsist as a collection of discrete
viewpoint conception have marks in the range 60–64 per cent. Only two students procedures which lack a unifying purpose. The meaning of an essay lies less in
have marks of 65 per cent or more, and both are students assigned to the argument what it says than in what the completed essay represents: outward stipulations
conception. There is no striking relationship with final degree results, but any met, a course requirement fulfilled. This constitutes learning as studying but not
such link would inevitably be tenuous, since the course module investigated forms learning-as-understanding.
only a part of each student’s scheme of studies and assessment is strongly weighted
towards examination performance. What, then, of the relationships between these Conceptions and the Study of History
and other findings on student learning? Of the three conceptions identified, it is the conception of essay-writing as argument
The conceptions which have been identified are of essay-writing as an activity which is espoused by the School of History. First-year students are advised that
embracing more than a single essay task. As descriptions of students’ experience, “Writing an essay is an exercise in handling historical evidence and building it
therefore, they occupy conceptual ground between, on the one hand, the generic into a convincing argument”, and in our own investigation this same concern was
conceptions of learning described by Säljö (see Chapters 3 and 6), and on the expressed in comments by the tutor on individual essays. How is it, then, that
other, the contrasting conceptions of a specific learning task represented in a deep two other conceptions apparently persist, especially when the students are such
and surface approach. And as we might in consequence expect, there are conceptual prolific essay-writers?
links which span this spectrum of constructs. In the case of the students who see essay-writing as arrangement, the very
Firstly, the most sophisticated conceptions of learning and of essay-writing frequency with which essays are prepared may help to account for the persistence
entail definitions which are made explicit. The students can readily articulate of the conception. As the earlier discussion of context showed, the History students’
and discuss the activity as they conceive of it. The activity has therefore become opportunities for reflection seem limited: essay-writing is an essentially private
an “object of reflection” (Säljö, 1982) which can be appraised and tackled activity and the need to “churn the essays out”, as one student puts it, leaves little
purposively. Secondly, to conceive of essays as arguments is to see oneself as a room to dwell on the merits or demerits of any one assignment. The consequences
“maker of meaning”. An essay offers a way of understanding or making sense of may be especially acute as far as this particular sub-group is concerned, for what
a problem or issue which is interpretatively distinct, logically coherent, and firmly also distinguishes these students is a perceived gap between their aspirations and
rooted in the available evidence. In this argument conception, then, as in both a what they achieve in their essays, combined with uncertainty about what essay-
deep approach and a thematic conception of learning, there is a concern to abstract writing entails. And since the School and the tutor explicitly indicate what is
and construct meaning through an active engagement with the subject-matter. required in a History essay, the uncertainty these students feel cannot evidently
124 THE EXPERIENCE OF LEARNING CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF ESSAY-WRITING 125
be resolved by information-giving, but represents a more fundamental problem. Note
Indeed, there is an echo here of Säljö’s analysis in Chapter 6. The students do not
1. In deciding the appropriate category to assign an essay, each judge was
share the premisses of their teachers, and so fail to grasp the messages the teachers
given a set of coding instructions and a sample of uncoded interview extracts.
convey about the nature of essay-writing (Hounsell, 1987), as the following
The level of agreement reached, without consultation, was 84 per cent in both
comment seems to illustrate:
cases.
Interviewer: What do you think the tutor was looking for in this essay?
Sue: He’s obviously looking for a much more sort of, detailed approach, I
would say. Although on my last essay he did say that I spent too much time
explaining things, and I ought to be arguing and interpreting more, and so I
was trying to argue and interpret all the way through this, as well as
obviously having to bring in details. And I just wondered if by doing that I
haven’t tended to generalise a bit. Because when I start to argue and
interpret I generalise a little bit.... I think he’s looking for argument and
interpretation, I just think he’s expecting a lot of, uh, more detail perhaps as
well.
In the case of the students who see essays as viewpoints, however, the persistence
of the conception may be indicative of a more general orientation to academic
studies of the kind discussed in Chapter 5. These students tend to place a premium
on originality and to see essay-writing as a medium for self-expression. To Alan,
for example, writing an essay can be fulfilling because “It’s a work of art.
[Ironically]. Your latest album’s coming out next week”. For these students,
interpretation is closely bound up with their own ideas, thoughts and feelings.
Interpretation is also given pride of place by the students who conceive of
essay-writing as argument, but the latter talk not simply of “what I argued” or
“my argument” but of “the argument” and of “having an argument”. It is as if
their interpretive stance has taken on an objective existence: it is no longer “my
argument” but something which might be argued by any individual on the basis
of the evidence presented. Equally strikingly, this seems linked to a further
characteristic of these students, summed up in Graham’s comment that learning
to put forward a logical argument in an essay is very important because “it’s what
History’s all about”. These students seem to share the view of Bennett (1974)
that:
The difference between the scholar’s book and the candidate’s answer is, in
History at any rate, almost entirely one of degree and hardly at all one of
kind, for both are products of the same type of thought and both are judged
in the same way. (Bennett, 1974, p. 1)
This perspective upon essay-writing can be seen as a way of coming to terms
with the tensions between learning and studying and learning and assessment
outlined at the beginning of this chapter. Whatever reservations these particular
students may have about their essay workload and its consequences, they see
themselves as practitioners, in their essay-writing, of the discipline of History.
And perhaps too, in mastering the fundamentals of argument, the students have
transcended the discipline; for argument is a universal of academic discourse and
the currency of reasoned debate in society at large.