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Despite growing concerns over AI usage and evidence of widespread plagiarism, the traditional research essay remains a staple of many undergraduate courses. Some instructors may feel compelled to assign the traditional essay because that’s the industry standard and what people are most familiar with from their own learning experiences.
The traditional research essay makes sense as a final project format: it requires students to synthesize knowledge, demonstrate a wider grasp on the material, and model academic research methods. On the other hand, research essays prioritize an extensive skill set and highly specific training to which not all students have equal access.
In her presentation on “Creative Assignments and Alternative Assessments,” Meredith Martin notes that “taming the beast” of a large research paper is nearly impossible for many students, and the strict structure often prevents nonlinear and creative thinking about a topic. Essay assignment prompts are particularly susceptible to AI usage and plagiarism, and let’s be honest — they are rarely fun to grade.
If you currently assign a research essay and are interested in trying something new for your final assignment, read on to learn about four alternative project formats, along with some assessment considerations for nontraditional research outputs.
Alternative 1: Portfolio
The final portfolio is one alternative to the research essay that’s probably familiar to many instructors. Usually including a combination of collecting, revising, and reflecting on work from earlier in the term, portfolios encourage holistic thinking about course material and help students become more aware of their own learning processes.
While you might associate the portfolio most closely with English composition classes, this format can be adapted to a variety of subjects and class types. Consider the various kinds of course material that can be collected in a portfolio: lecture or lab notes, reading response journals, study guides, discussion posts, annotated bibliographies, etc. Customize your portfolio assignment to best suit your course design and learning objectives. Make sure to give students specific prompts for reflection, as they often need guidance in practices of metacognition. If you’re feeling fun, offer “bonus” opportunities to get creative in the portfolio presentation.
Alternative 2: Video Essay
For a creative alternative that lets students utilize and sharpen a variety of technical skills, the video essay is a compelling final project format. Many students are familiar with the basics of editing, and there are a variety of free web-based editing tools (or check to see what applications your institution makes available to students). Other students are keen to learn simple editing skills and may feel more motivated to pursue a creative format compared to a traditional written essay.
One advantage of the video essay is that it can be presented as an alternative option to the traditional research essay assignment since the format allows for easy transferability of learning objectives. If you do decide to make it the primary project format, ensure that your students have the technical guidance they need — either by presenting tutorials during class time or providing detailed instructions with links to troubleshooting resources.
Alternative 3: Infographic
If the idea of a visual format appeals to you, but you’re worried about the technological barriers of the video essay, an infographic could be a good fit for your classroom. Students can use a variety of tools to create infographics, depending on their level of tech savvy, and the format is customizable to suit the learning objectives of courses in any discipline.
Like the video essay, the infographic format gives students the opportunity to create something that is easy to share with an audience beyond the classroom. Students are generally excited by the idea of public-facing scholarship, where they can make meaningful connections between the course material and their daily lives. While the traditional essay typically has an audience of one (the instructor), infographics get students thinking about what it means to share their knowledge with their communities.
Alternative 4: The “Unessay”
The last alternative we will cover here is the “unessay,” a concept developed by Daniel Paul O’Donnell in 2012 to describe an assignment that challenges students to use any project format they desire besides the traditional essay. Some examples include zines, podcasts, short stories, syllabi, meme sets, scripts, case studies, and board games, among others. The openness allows students to choose a medium that makes sense for their interests and skill sets, so they tend to feel more confident working on their projects.
Some instructors may shy away from the unessay due to its unruly nature, which can be difficult to manage in larger classes and tricky to assess in a standardized way. However, the flexibility of this approach can be liberating for both students and professors, opening up course material to a variety of real-world applications and connections.
What About Grading?
One reason instructors might feel more comfortable assigning research essays is that such assignments are relatively straightforward to grade, even with the complications presented by AI and other forms of plagiarism. Most academics have spent years, if not decades, reading research essays, and they know exactly what an “A” paper looks like. Meanwhile, assessing nontraditional research outputs can be less cut-and-dry and potentially more time-consuming, but it can also be refreshing — and often even fun!
Emily Suzanne Clark, associate professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University, has written about her use of the unessay on her blog and provides an outline for grading these projects.
According to Martin, the two most important aspects of assessing creative work are to “be realistic” about your expectations of students and to let go of the “implicit messages” many academics internalize about what constitutes academic rigor. When instructors are able to refocus assignment expectations towards the actual learning goals of the course, it allows for “more authentic choices” about what the class spends their time doing. It means that feedback can be less nitpicky and more meaningful, engaging with ideas rather than comma splices. Alternative assessments are also great candidates for ungrading practices, which challenge conventional grading methods and structures altogether.
There is No “Perfect” Format
When it comes to course design, we can sometimes find ourselves in a cycle of trialing and tweaking assignments, perhaps leading to frustration or a desire to fall back on familiar assessment methods. But it’s important to remember that there is no “perfect” project format, assignment description, or assessment strategy. Every pedagogical choice will have its pros and cons, so acknowledge and embrace that fact. There are plenty of good reasons why the research essay became a mainstay of the college classroom, and there are also lots of reasons to try something different. Whatever approach you take, be clear and intentional with your assignment materials, be explicit about expectations, and give students (and yourself!) plenty of leeway when navigating new terrain.
