Was hoping for some opinions on this before I take it to the TA:

On my paper, I was deducted 13 percent for:
No Page numbers (3%)
Length (2000 word essay was 1825 words... 7%)
and Inconsistant citation (apparently you need to cite 'This does not make headlines' 3%)

Page numbers? Ok, my fault.
Length? Not even 200 words short and 7%? That's my main WTF
Inconsistant citation- wasn't a big issue (just one missing where I didn't think it needed to be, and two in the 'wrong place'...) 3%?

I mean, this took me from an A to a B-... Should I complain, or is this legitimate and I'm just feeling cranky over it?

Citation and Page numbers seem fair, but that 7% deduction is absolutely crazy. I'd go speak to your prof if your T.A. doesn't fix the problem.

The word length deduction is BS. It's about quality, not quantity. I would argue that one particularly.

Page numbers is legitimate... that's an explicit requirment in many of the classes I've taken. The citation one seems weird... I guess I'd have to see the context first (I don't think you could find a reference to how many headlines something created in the media, but maybe I'm wrong).

Originally Posted by Flag

Was hoping for some opinions on this before I take it to the TA:

On my paper, I was deducted 13 percent for:
No Page numbers (3%)
Length (2000 word essay was 1825 words... 7%)
and Inconsistant citation (apparently you need to cite 'This does not make headlines' 3%)

Page numbers? Ok, my fault.
Length? Not even 200 words short and 7%? That's my main WTF
Inconsistant citation- wasn't a big issue (just one missing where I didn't think it needed to be, and two in the 'wrong place'...) 3%?

I mean, this took me from an A to a B-... Should I complain, or is this legitimate and I'm just feeling cranky over it?

Inconsistant citation is okay. I know it seems small and picky, but it's better you lost 3% than received a zero.

I would complain about the length. Generally, when you're given a word count, you are allowed to be 250 words either above or below that, which you were. You shouldn't have lost any marks for that.

I would definately take this to the prof.

I think the general rule of thumb you're supposed to use in regards to length is +/-10%, so in this case 1800-2200.

I would definitely talk to your TA, or the prof.

Anyone know how I could start an email about this? I figure that the worst that will happen is I'll have the same grade as I do now...

Every time I try it sounds like I'm accusing him of giving me a crappy grade or not marking fairly or something.

Dear <TA NAME>,

My name is <Your name>. I'm in the <enter time> tutorial for <class>. I was hoping it might be possible to meet with you to go over my paper, the grade I received and how I can improve my writing in the future. Would you be available in the next few weeks to meet and discuss this? If so, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks and take care!
<your name>




While you are waiting you need to put IN WRITING why you think you deserve a higher grade. Verbal arguments are going to fall flat, a well written explanation of why you think that a 7% deduction might be too high will show that you've A) put thought into this and B) didn't show up just to weasel some marks out of the TA. DO NOT say the grade is unfair, even if it is unfair, it just puts the TA into defensive mode. You want them in co-operative mode. So talk about how you think the deduction might be too high, especially given the quality of the paper (if you have a good quality paper). Stress that you managed to articulate a good argument concisely, and that, perhaps, this should be rewarded since you purposely chose not to pad the paper with filler just to make the word count work.

Where you might get ambushed is if you left out some important information. The TA might say "Well, you never talked about X, which is really important. And you had the room left to talk about it, why didn't you?"

One response might be "If that's the case, then I should have lost marks on the quality of the paper, not the length. And if you did deduct the marks for leaving that out AND being short on words, I'm being double penalized for the same mistake." <- this could be a risky strategy.

If things don't work out with the TA, then you contact the professor. Don't go to the professor first as it undermines the TAs authority and is a good way to piss them off.

Let us know how it goes!