About Grading and Writing
In a previous post (11/16/05), I outlined the essence of the grading scale used by many professors:
A: The professor did not hate evaluating the item,
B: You have made an intelligible point- almost any intelligible point will do,
C: You have followed directions,
D: You have failed to follow directions,
F: You are speaking in tongues.
Professors complain incessantly and invariably about the quality of students' writing. We share the most comical and frustrating examples with each other, grouse about it in hallways and meetings, and lament the perceived shortcomings as symptomatic of the decline of student quality and civilization in general. You have no idea how much poor writing bothers us.
Probably the most important direction, requisite to receive a "C" or better, is to write properly. Whether explicitly stated or not, this direction is an expectation that constitutes the sine quo non of your grade. You may think that it is content that is critical, with form a secondary concern. Guess again, Paco. Not only is proper writing required to express yourself and allow your thoughts to be comprehended by the reader, the quality of the writing itself signals the reader as to the quality of your thoughts. "Halo" and "Pitchfork" effects are alive and well in academia, and like it or not most professers will infer your grasp of the subject, if not your general intelligence, from the quality of your communication, a large part of which is the propriety of your writing.
If you care about your grade, and sadly some of you care about little else, don't insult the professor or yourself by turning in a shoddily scribed work; the professor will hate evaluating the item, will not be able to discover an intelligible point, and will recognize (and be annoyed by the fact) that you did not follow directions, leaving the grading options as "D" or "F," the distinction often determined by the professor's level of patience and compassion. Of course, if you are at a tuition-driven private college or in graduate school, the grading scale essentially omits the "D" and "F" options, leaving the "gentleman's C" for the private school, and the "failing C" for the graduate program (which often allows two or so of these Mulligans).
In preparing your work for submission (and do as I say, not as I do here), start by hitting the spellcheck now and then. Next, when you see those red and green underlines generated by your word processing program, at least consider why they're there. Finally, when you think you're done, check it one more time to proof it. And don't be afraid to tap into your resources for help.
Beyond the mechanics of correcting mistakes, there are the more crucial issues of the process and attitude of composition. I just erased a couple of paragraphs describing the writing process, not only because this is a blog and not a training manual, but because your college doubtlessly has many fine resources to help you with writing that far exceed my paltry expertise. Rather, let me close with a word on attitude. Your assignments, exams, et al. are in effect professional submissions. Treat them as such. We do.
A: The professor did not hate evaluating the item,
B: You have made an intelligible point- almost any intelligible point will do,
C: You have followed directions,
D: You have failed to follow directions,
F: You are speaking in tongues.
Professors complain incessantly and invariably about the quality of students' writing. We share the most comical and frustrating examples with each other, grouse about it in hallways and meetings, and lament the perceived shortcomings as symptomatic of the decline of student quality and civilization in general. You have no idea how much poor writing bothers us.
Probably the most important direction, requisite to receive a "C" or better, is to write properly. Whether explicitly stated or not, this direction is an expectation that constitutes the sine quo non of your grade. You may think that it is content that is critical, with form a secondary concern. Guess again, Paco. Not only is proper writing required to express yourself and allow your thoughts to be comprehended by the reader, the quality of the writing itself signals the reader as to the quality of your thoughts. "Halo" and "Pitchfork" effects are alive and well in academia, and like it or not most professers will infer your grasp of the subject, if not your general intelligence, from the quality of your communication, a large part of which is the propriety of your writing.
If you care about your grade, and sadly some of you care about little else, don't insult the professor or yourself by turning in a shoddily scribed work; the professor will hate evaluating the item, will not be able to discover an intelligible point, and will recognize (and be annoyed by the fact) that you did not follow directions, leaving the grading options as "D" or "F," the distinction often determined by the professor's level of patience and compassion. Of course, if you are at a tuition-driven private college or in graduate school, the grading scale essentially omits the "D" and "F" options, leaving the "gentleman's C" for the private school, and the "failing C" for the graduate program (which often allows two or so of these Mulligans).
In preparing your work for submission (and do as I say, not as I do here), start by hitting the spellcheck now and then. Next, when you see those red and green underlines generated by your word processing program, at least consider why they're there. Finally, when you think you're done, check it one more time to proof it. And don't be afraid to tap into your resources for help.
Beyond the mechanics of correcting mistakes, there are the more crucial issues of the process and attitude of composition. I just erased a couple of paragraphs describing the writing process, not only because this is a blog and not a training manual, but because your college doubtlessly has many fine resources to help you with writing that far exceed my paltry expertise. Rather, let me close with a word on attitude. Your assignments, exams, et al. are in effect professional submissions. Treat them as such. We do.
posted by Dead Man Blogging at
10:03 PM
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