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Policy on Second-Reading of Essays and Continuous Assessment Work: Information for Students

(Updated September 2018)

  1. Where coursework is single marked, students may request formal re-reading of an individual formal assessment if it counts for more than 20% of the module grade. The request must relate to a component grade, not the overall grade for the module. 
  2. Second Reading of examination scripts is not possible. Students may view their examination scripts after the release of final results. If students wish to appeal the result of an examination component of a module, they must go through the university’s Assessment Appeals procedure, available after the publication of final results for each semester.
  3. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that they have accessed written feedback on their essays or continuous assessment work prior to applying for a second reading. They may do this by contacting the School Office.
  4. In order to request a Second Reading, the student must fill out a Second Reading Application form, to be collected and returned to the School Office, which includes a self-assessment of the piece of work and a rationale for the request. This rationale should be a minimum of 150 words and must include a response to the marker’s comments. It should not include comments about the marker, but only about his or her comments on this particular piece of work.
  5. For core and co-core modules, the module coordinator will normally act as second reader, unless he or she has been the marker; otherwise the Assessment Officer or the Chair of the School Teaching and Learning Committee will identify an appropriate second reader. This latter course of action also applies to seminar essays.
  6. Requests for second reading of mid-semester assessments must normally be made by the end of Week 13 in each semester
  7. Requests for second reading of end-of-semester assessments must be made by five calendar days after the publication of provisional results. After these deadlines in each case, the student must use the university Assessment Appeals system.
  8. As an outcome of the process of Second Reading, students’ results may stay the same, go down, or go up.
  9. The student will be informed of the outcome through the School Office. No further discussion will take place with the student; the student may, of course, submit a formal Assessment Appeal if he or she is still unhappy with the result.