Essays revisited: How effective are essays as a genre of student writing?

Anthony Haynes writes: In our previous episode, How effective are essays as an academic genre?, we examined essays specifically as a tool for assessment in academic contexts. In this episode we return to the genre of essays but consider their use on courses outside examinations. Engy Moussa and I debate the strengths and weaknesses of the genre - and try to remain polite without holding back on our disagreements!Further listeningWe hope you found this episode rewarding. If so, you might find the following of particular interest:Dissertations and books: how are they related?On line lectures: Bart Hallmark on pitfalls and good practiceCreditsSound production: Bart Hallmark (who on this episode struggled nobly with poor recording quality!)Music: from Handel's Water Music, courtesy of the United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber OrchestraSupport the showAbout the publisherThis episode is published by Frontinus Ltd. We're a communications consultancy that helps organisations and individuals to communicate scientific, professional, and technical content to non-specialist audiences. We provide consultancy mentoringediting and writingtrainingand work on presentations, bids and proposals, and publications (for example, reports and papers).To learn more about services or explore ways of working together, please contact us via our website, http://frontinus.org.uk/.