Are Universities Trading Essays for Zines? A Mistaken Gamble with Academic Rigour

Box of San Francisco punk zines, in a collection of Prelinger Library

This week, as I was surfing my news platforms, I came across this story in The Telegraph (28 Dec.2025), The ‘decolonised’ essay alternatives dumbing down Britain’s universities.

Left-wing academics have introduced ‘zines’ to challenge ‘Eurocentric standards’ that reward white, middle-class students 

My first reaction was to google what a ‘zine’ is:  A zine (pronounced "zeen") is a small, self-published booklet or magazine, short for "fanzine," that's non-commercial, often handmade (DIY), and created in small runs for niche audiences, sharing personal stories, art, music, politics, or niche interests using photocopiers or digital tools. They offer a platform for authentic expression outside mainstream media, fostering community around shared passions.

My second reaction was to think, ‘thank goodness, ’ I am no longer in full-time employment at a UK university, and I don’t have to deal with zines.

Then I started thinking about what I thought of this innovation in student assessment.

I imagined a history student turning in a photocopied, hand-illustrated ‘zine’ on the First World War instead of a 3,000-word essay. Across UK universities, it seems this is no longer hypothetical; apparently, in the name of creativity and inclusivity, some lecturers are swapping the traditional essay for DIY-style zines. But while creativity should be celebrated, could this shift be eroding the very foundations of a university education?

If that sounds rather dramatic, during my career, I have observed (and I know I risk appearing to be an old fogey) what has been called the ‘dumbing down’ of degree courses. Here is just one piece of data that shows a significant shift in degree results. In the 1980s, roughly 5% of students in England received First Class degrees; it is now 30%. Over that period, the number of school leavers going to university has gone up from around 9% to over 50%.* You might argue the higher results are due to improved standards, but employers and many academics would, I think, fairly challenge that conclusion. The question has to be asked: has the huge increase in the number of graduates lowered academic standards? Many would say it has.

Back to zines versus essays: it is true (I remember going through this scenario myself) that no one likes writing essays at 2 a.m. to meet a deadline. However, the essay isn’t just academic hazing. At its best, it is a rigorous intellectual workout that forces a student to build a structured argument, engage with scholarly sources, weigh counterarguments, and express complex ideas with precision. Essays teach us how to think, not just what to think. An essay is not just a format it is, in my view, a discipline.

On the other hand, a zine is a personal, visual, informal, ‘presentation’,  rooted in a DIY culture. It might be brilliant for self-expression, but does it train students in evidence over emotion, depth over style? There’s a real risk here of trading analytical rigour for what might be seen as creative flair. Zines thrive on voice and visual impact, but essays should be about evidence and logic. If we prioritise the former, we risk graduates who might be ok presenters but shallow analysts. Can a collage critique a philosophical argument with the same depth as a carefully crafted essay? Unlikely.

Marking essays is hard, and I am glad I don’t have to do much marking anymore – I say 'much' as I will have to mark some on a course I teach, soon -  but at least the rules are clear: thesis, evidence, structure. I am not sure about marking zines? One might be a masterpiece of design but light on research; another might be academically solid but looks like a toddler’s art project. Fair and consistent assessment would appear to be a nightmare, potentially leading to grade inflation and devalued degrees.

I don’t believe employers are asking for zines: they want clear writing, analytical reports, and the ability to synthesise complex information. Postgraduate programmes expect the same. If students haven’t honed these skills through extended writing, they’re at a real disadvantage—no matter how beautiful their zine portfolio. I stated before that an essay is a discipline and it is also a marathon. It teaches patience, resilience, and the ability to sit with complexity. Zines can encourage a “soundbite” approach—impactful, immediate, but often fragmented. Do we really want to graduate students who haven’t struggled through crafting a sustained argument?

Universities should innovate, but not at the cost of core academic skills. The essay remains one of the best tools we have for cultivating disciplined thought. Alright, zines can broaden the toolkit, but they shouldn’t replace the hammer and chisel.

If UK higher education is to maintain its global reputation, it must ensure that new forms of assessment demand the same intellectual rigour as the old ones. Creativity and critical thinking aren’t enemies—they’re allies. But confusing one for the other risks leaving graduates with plenty of style, and not enough substance.

My fear is that the menu across universities is now so focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that standards are collapsing in favour of social engineering. And I haven't even started on the impact of AI, especially on essay writing, but that is for another time.

*It was Mrs Thatcher, with her eye on the US higher education system, who promoted university education as the 'gold standard'. Tony Blair then made a speech at the Labour Party conference in September 1999 that he wanted over 50% of school leavers to enter universities (it was not in the Labour manifesto as policy). I believe this was a significant mistake as it meant the neglect and financial starvation of further education. I was chair of an FE College at the time, and we were struggling financially, operating with outdated equipment, and when we lobbed Parliament (I was part of a delegation) we were blown aside by the Minister, Margaret Hodge, who treated us with contempt. The consequences have been a huge lack of skilled technicians and tradespeople, and university graduates struggling to find suitable employment (and, of course, stacking shelves in supermarkets).