Every marker is subject to bias, even with the best intentions. Reading sixty essays on a demanding novel such as It's Raining in Mango, it is easy for fatigue, handwriting, or expectations about particular students to influence the marks. Understanding these influences is the first step toward reducing them.

One of the most documented effects is the halo effect, where a strong first impression colors the rest of the reading. A neatly presented essay with a polished opening may receive more generous marks for later sections that are actually weaker. Similarly, a student known as a strong writer may receive the benefit of the doubt that a less familiar student would not.

Drift is a related problem. As the marking session progresses, standards can quietly rise or fall, so that an essay read at the start is judged differently from an identical one read at the end. This effect is hard to notice from the inside, which is why external checks are so valuable.

Practical techniques for fairer marking

Several simple habits can reduce bias significantly. Marking anonymously, when possible, removes the influence of reputation. Using a rubric with clear descriptors anchors decisions in observable features of the writing, and revisiting anchor essays during the session checks for drift.

• Mark anonymously where school systems allow it
• Use a rubric with specific, observable descriptors
• Revisit two or three anchor essays during long marking sessions
• Shuffle the order of scripts to spread fatigue effects evenly
• Mark one criterion across all essays before moving on to the next

Presentation and handwriting effects

Research on marking has long shown that neat handwriting and tidy presentation can inflate grades. For handwritten exam responses, a marker may unconsciously reward legibility rather than the quality of ideas. Awareness of this tendency, along with a deliberate focus on the rubric criteria, helps counteract it.

Typed submissions reduce this effect but introduce others, such as length bias, where longer essays seem more substantial regardless of content. A word count should not be mistaken for depth. Reading with the rubric in mind, rather than the page count, keeps attention on what the essay actually accomplishes.

Using a second reader to check consistency

A second reader is the most reliable check on individual bias. Even sampling a small proportion of essays for independent marking can reveal systematic differences between markers. Departments that schedule this routinely tend to build more consistent standards over time.

A criterion-based grading tool can function as an additional consistent reader. Because it applies the same descriptors to every essay without fatigue, it provides a useful comparison point for the teacher's own marks. Where the two diverge, the teacher can look again and decide which judgment is more accurate.