Comments on: Marking time

By: Jayjee

Jayjee — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:32:35 +0000

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!

By: andrew

andrew — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:03:09 +0000

Hi Legal Eagle

That would be really funny! Also, some examples of the funny things people write if you don’t mind

By: Legal Eagle

Legal Eagle — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:28:20 +0000

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).

By: Hugivza

Hugivza — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:30:08 +0000

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.

By: Ken N

Ken N — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:36:07 +0000

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.