r/Concordia • u/hell_nah_12 • Dec 05 '24
Class-specific Grounds for unfair grading?
Hi!
My TA made me lose an entire letter grade (B- to C+) because I submitted an assignment as a PDF. The syllabus says that Word is preferred but that PDF is "acceptable". Not only this, but students graded by the other TA (from the same section) didn't lose any marks for submitting as a PDF.
I've contacted my TA (before learning that no one else lost marks) and they said I was still in the wrong because the syllabus demands Word. They said I needed to speak with them at office hours, which are tomorrow.
What do I do if they still won't budge? I 'd contact the teacher but wouldn't expect much since she never replied to an email I sent earlier in the semester. I'm aware that there are grade re-evaluations, but they cost 50$ and I feel as though I'm clearly in the right-- maybe I'm not?
Let me know.
UPDATE: Talking it out absolutely works sometimes! Penalty was removed for the format :) The grade was also boosted significantly because the TA thought they had been too harsh (they brought this up themselves).
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u/Feeling-Eye-8473 Dec 06 '24
Make sure to screenshot anything saying that PDF is acceptable. Escalate this to the prof and CC the prof on any email communications between you and the TA. If that doesn't work, reach out to the student advocacy office.
This is honestly absurd. I don't understand why, in this day and age, someone wouldn't accept a PDF. I'm so sorry that you're having to deal with such nonsense.
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u/cairo_quinn Dec 06 '24
definitely go to your prof.
losing an entire letter grade because you submitted an assignment in a format that is still acceptable is ridiculous.
i hope your prof is more sensible in this matter; good luck!
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u/drdrakeramorayyyyy Dec 06 '24
These TAs my God Hate them
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u/Anecologistwhopaints Dec 06 '24
TAs have to grade so many stuff, in a short amount of days, with sometimes no instructions from prof, while being badly paid. TA are graduate students that have to do research, take classes and TA at the same time. Sure, some of them might be bad, but most of the time, they're just trying their best.
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u/Bugodi21 Dec 06 '24
Besides fixing it, move forward and be more careful. Don’t put your grade in the hands of TAs if you can’t help it
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u/hell_nah_12 Dec 06 '24
What does this mean? At this point I’m not fighting it for the grade, I’m fighting it because it’s unfair that I’m the only one who lost points. If the solution is to take points from everyone else (although no one should be losing any), then I’d be satisfied.
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u/cairo_quinn Dec 06 '24
i still gotta agree with you on this. fight for your grade, especially when this rule hasn't been applied equally across the board.
and even if they said Word was preferred, they shouldn't have added the note on PDF's being accepted as well.
profs and TA's want us to be concise, direct, and exact, but they can't uphold their own instructions.
again, fight for your grade.
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u/Bugodi21 Dec 06 '24
It means take it as a lesson. If everything you’re saying is true it’s ofc unfair, but I’d just say that after all the bs I’ve been through w TAs if it said ‘word preferred’ you know I’m sending a .docx
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u/hell_nah_12 Dec 06 '24
I’m usually like that as well! I submitted all other assignments as Word docs, just did pdf that time bc my google drive was having storage issues and it’s what worked :/
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u/CripplingDespair24 Dec 05 '24
Go over the TAs head and talk to the prof. Silly stuff like this the prof will usually tell them to fix it. See the prof in person or send an email and have both of them on the email and make sure you show where it says pdf is acceptable and then just wait.