I haven’t been about much for a number of reasons, the principle of which is that I agreed to mark some law exams for a colleague, and they’re due back on Thursday. There’s a tight turn around, so I’m finding I have to average around 10 papers a day to keep up with my schedule. Luckily I only have 12 more papers to mark – hopefully I can knock them off tomorrow. Then on Wednesday, I’ll check through all the papers to make sure I’ve been consistent.
Exam marking is a gruelling process. For one thing, I need to be able to decipher 100 different sets of handwriting. I have had a few exams which literally take me over an hour to mark because I have decipher each word. I really do not know how some people read their own handwriting. Then there’s the frustration of seeing students make the same mistake over and over. It’s particularly disheartening when you’ve told your students not to do a particular thing and they do it nonetheless. You start to wonder sadly whether anyone listened to anything you said. At least I’m not lecturing this year so I haven’t had to suffer that feeling. When I get a good exam paper, I’m so pleased and excited. I put ticks all over it and and write Excellent repeatedly. And occasionally I come across some corking statements (intentionally or unintentionally funny? – sometimes it’s hard to tell).
Anyway, Dave sent me this interesting post from PrawfsBlawg about whether law exam marking is best approached as a marathon or a sprint. The author of the post marks exams as quickly as possible. Personally, I can’t do the sprint. If I do too many papers in a row, I find that I get really jaded and can’t concentrate. So I have to take a break every 4 – 5 papers.
Luckily my two tiny tots force me to take a break. Eaglet No. 2 is walking around now, and has taken to dropping things into the toilet bowl if I’m not careful. Nothing will break your concentration quite like Eaglet No. 1 calling out in horror, “MUMMY! He’s dropped his dummy into the toilet!”
5 Comments
Gee, I disliked marking exams. Teaching was fun (all those years ago) but I sometimes wondered whether I would try the technique of throwing all the papers up in the air. Those that landed on the floor, failed, on the chair pass and on the table credit.
I recall starting off an exam with the resolve to pace myself and write clearly, but alas as I either ran out of time, became engrossed, or suffered writers cramp – this despite the world’s largest collection of big fat ballpoints; my writing deteriorated to being marginally legible. Given that most people’s key board skills exceed their handwriting skills, for law exams and similar which do not require a knowledge of the Greek alphabet, or wierd runic symbols as in the mathematical sciences, the use of word processors, with all other memory locked out, would make everyone’s life easier.
Hugivza, I don’t mind people who obviously start exams with the best intentions but get writers cramp half way through. By then I’m used to their writing and it’s usually no problem. It’s the ones who are illegible from page one. Seriously, I was thinking of scanning in an example from a particular paper. I cannot believe that this person is a law student. The writing looks like that of a barely literate person. My three year old daughter looked at it and said, “That writing is really bad. Mine is better.” (and she’s right).
Hi Legal Eagle
That would be really funny! Also, some examples of the funny things people write if you don’t mind
LE
Given that you are grading papers of students who were in the top one percent of school leavers, imagine what courses where the UAI average is say, 80, must be like. I mean jeesuz, even 90!