I'm asking because last year, while I was in third year, I was taking a first year history class as an elective. We had to write short essays every other week. When I saw that I wasn't getting very good grades on my essay, I asked my TA. She said it's because I was in third year and I should be writing essays at the level of a third year student.

I wasn't slacking off or anything. My essays weren't GREAT. But shouldn't she have been marking me based on what a first year essay looks like, and not a third year essay?


I only ask because, while I thought it was fine, I was just talking to my brother about it and he said that's not right. It's obviously too late now but I'm curious what others think.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

I'm asking because last year, while I was in third year, I was taking a first year history class as an elective. We had to write short essays every other week. When I saw that I wasn't getting very good grades on my essay, I asked my TA. She said it's because I was in third year and I should be writing essays at the level of a third year student.

I wasn't slacking off or anything. My essays weren't GREAT. But shouldn't she have been marking me based on what a first year essay looks like, and not a third year essay?


I only ask because, while I thought it was fine, I was just talking to my brother about it and he said that's not right. It's obviously too late now but I'm curious what others think.

I'm not sure what the guidelines are but it doesn't make sense if the TA marks you differently from all the other students in the course. Even though marks are a personal thing, it's still used in relation to other people in your class. If you essay is a 10 compared to other essays in the same course then that is what you should be getting, not a 6 because you're in third year.

You should definitively inquire about this with your professor...

Originally Posted by jhan523

I'm not sure what the guidelines are but it doesn't make sense if the TA marks you differently from all the other students in the course. Even though marks are a personal thing, it's still used in relation to other people in your class. If you essay is a 10 compared to other essays in the same course then that is what you should be getting, not a 6 because you're in third year.

You should definitively inquire about this with your professor...

Thanks. I might go to the prof to give him a heads up. Though I don't think that TA is at McMaster anymore and it's too late to change my grade.

They should be consistent and mark everyone like a first year. You should always appeal a mark to the professor/dean as soon as possible.

But, from a learning perspective, it would be better if they marked you as a third year so that you'd improve.

When I TA'ed a second year course (Bio 2A03), I marked all the lab reports under the same marking scheme regardless of what year you're in... You should talk to the prof, or the instructional assistant about how the TA's are instructed to mark.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

I'm asking because last year, while I was in third year, I was taking a first year history class as an elective. We had to write short essays every other week. When I saw that I wasn't getting very good grades on my essay, I asked my TA. She said it's because I was in third year and I should be writing essays at the level of a third year student.

I wasn't slacking off or anything. My essays weren't GREAT. But shouldn't she have been marking me based on what a first year essay looks like, and not a third year essay?


I only ask because, while I thought it was fine, I was just talking to my brother about it and he said that's not right. It's obviously too late now but I'm curious what others think.

I don't like the sound of it. The grades in each class are supposed to be relative. If every student is being graded independently (which from a learning perspective is actually fantastic), then the competitive nature of university is rendered moot.

Whether people like it or not is for another debate, but each class is supposed to finish the year with a certain average, and the markers are supposed to mark easier or harder depending on how far above or below the class average is around the target average.

I'm actually concerned about this at the moment.

I'm in a first year class with I prof I've had twice before in second year classes. So I wonder if he's going to mark me a lot harder than the rest of my peers...

Its never to late to get a grade changed. My math prof was talking to us about a student who came to him a few years after he completed the course to get a grade change. Just make sure you have some proof haha. Anyways if the TA did infact tell you that you should be writing essays at a 3rd year level and thats the reason for your mark than thats just wrong. It should be the same marking scheme for everyone regardless of your year.

I'm a TA for a first year course and most of the students aren't in first year. I don't mark them based on what year they are in (how am i supposed to know what that is anyway?!) we just mark them based on the marking scheme we're given and relative to the other people in the lab. that TA was definitely not marking you properly.

Exactly, they should mark each assignment based on the criteria and expectations set out for the assignment by the Prof, not arbitrary expectations they make up for you based on what year you're in.

If they personally think you're writing should better for your level and want to let you know so you can work on it for your upper level courses they should feel free to tell you, but not mark you down on a Level 1 course assignment because of it.

A first year course is recorded as a first year course on your transcript, and as such you should be evaluated as if you had 'first year knowledge' in the subject.

Think about it, if you took a first year course in a completely unrelated faculty, would they be like "Oh, you're in third year you should already know two years of subject matter" ? Certainly not.

If I could (theoretically) take a first year math course and destroy it because the expectations are first year expectations (I'm in Math), then so should you.

Just to add, just because someone is in "first year" or "second year" doesn't mean anything. I mean, you could be a 30-year-old "first year" who has worked for years and have superior writing skills, and still be marked easier because you are in first year.

haha let's hunt this TA down.

Originally Posted by Mowicz

A first year course is recorded as a first year course on your transcript, and as such you should be evaluated as if you had 'first year knowledge' in the subject.

Think about it, if you took a first year course in a completely unrelated faculty, would they be like "Oh, you're in third year you should already know two years of subject matter" ? Certainly not.

If I could (theoretically) take a first year math course and destroy it because the expectations are first year expectations (I'm in Math), then so should you.

Please feel free to take my Math course

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

Please feel free to take my Math course

I can't figure out the subtle humour in this one Bushra. lol.

Care to explain?