Monday, October 6, 2008
Is it me or the lecturer?
I just received my third term assignments for one of the courses which I take. For the first time in my life, I got a mark which shocked me beyond words. To protect my dignity, I won’t state it. Suffice to say it was not exactly a pass. And I had never failed an assignment before.
This got me thinking. According to me, that assignment was superbly written. I had researched for days. My grammar was flawless. The referencing was perfect. So was the bibliography. The substance was well researched and well written. I wondered how on earth I managed to fail it. The other two assignments I passed only moderately. I have nothing against lecturers. In fact, I think I’ve missed less than five lectures the whole term. But though I am not an expert, I know when I have written a good essay. How could the lecturer overlook my fine examples and rich substance?
My point is that I think there are time when lecturers are unnecessarily harsh. Some have notorious reputation for giving low marks. Take the one in question for instance. My two previous lecturers used to give me good marks. But when the lecturer in question came along, my marks became low. I mean, is it not the same course? My work ethic was also unchanged.
I have yet another lecturer now. I just submitted my firs assignment to her. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I’ve researched, written well and taken care of the references and bibliography. This time, I have to find out whether the problem is me or the lecturer.
Posted by Anonymous at 8:46 AM