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I was given almost the opposite advice by a math teacher. Considering that speed was very important during exams, he urged us to spend no time with pretty calli

by ridaj 7y ago

I was given almost the opposite advice by a math teacher. Considering that speed was very important during exams, he urged us to spend no time with pretty calligraphy or presentation when turning in papers. Basically anything that could be read was good, but we needed to be fast. For example, if I'd turned in a paper with underlined text where the line is interrupted to avoid crossing the descenders of p's and g's, I'd probably have been told that it would be a good idea to let the flourishes go and be faster, since there were no points awarded for presentation. To date, I still use this advice when taking notes for myself.

astrobe_ 7y ago
There are many things wrong with that. Speed is not the most important thing during exams. If it does, it means one of two wrong things (sometimes both): - Poorly designed exam: Too many questions and not enough time to complete it for the average student, - Poor student skills: the student takes too much time on each question. Solving speed is part of the skills, but one should not "cheat" by sacrificing calligraphy or presentation. Being able to write something that is readable for others (do whatever you want when writing for yourself) is part of basic skills just like being able to read a text in a reasonable amount of time. Your teacher was terribly wrong, they should have awarded points for presentation, spelling and grammar (assuming they can evaluate that too; in my country the culture of "good science people can have terrible spelling" is a scourge).
- GuB-42 7y ago
  I thing the exams GP are talking about are more like competitions, absolute grade doesn't matter, rank does. Common in France and probably many other countries if you want to enter a prestigious school. During these exams, candidates typically won't be given enough time. This is by design, and candidates will be ranked by how far they got in addition to correctness. Also, in order to promote fairness, grading is standardized. And teachers will tell you the corners you can cut and the ones you can't.
- ridaj 7y ago
  You make it sound like he told us it was ok to be unreadable and make spelling mistakes... No, we needed to be readable, always. And attentive to presentation, on occasion, but only when it mattered. I'm very grateful now for the ability to take notes quickly in meetings where things go really fast and I don't have a chance to ask people to repeat what they said. But of course if I'm sending those notes out later, I'll take the time to format them properly.
neves 7y ago
I teach my children that a lot of times their work will be evaluated more from the form than from the substance. It is bad news. It is unfair. But that's how the world works.
- posterboy 7y ago
  Form begets function, so this is a given. Some may be hypocritical, overly critical, etc., but still, if anything, good form exposds flaws in the content, while bad form not just obscures but potentially destroys the content. Well, you are talking about judging a book by its cover? That's what you have done right there!

by ridaj 7y ago

astrobe_ 7y ago

There are many things wrong with that. Speed is not the most important thing during exams. If it does, it means one of two wrong things (sometimes both): - Poorly designed exam: Too many questions and not enough time to complete it for the average student, - Poor student skills: the student takes too much time on each question. Solving speed is part of the skills, but one should not "cheat" by sacrificing calligraphy or presentation. Being able to write something that is readable for others (do whatever you want when writing for yourself) is part of basic skills just like being able to read a text in a reasonable amount of time. Your teacher was terribly wrong, they should have awarded points for presentation, spelling and grammar (assuming they can evaluate that too; in my country the culture of "good science people can have terrible spelling" is a scourge).

GuB-42 7y ago
I thing the exams GP are talking about are more like competitions, absolute grade doesn't matter, rank does. Common in France and probably many other countries if you want to enter a prestigious school. During these exams, candidates typically won't be given enough time. This is by design, and candidates will be ranked by how far they got in addition to correctness. Also, in order to promote fairness, grading is standardized. And teachers will tell you the corners you can cut and the ones you can't.
ridaj 7y ago
You make it sound like he told us it was ok to be unreadable and make spelling mistakes... No, we needed to be readable, always. And attentive to presentation, on occasion, but only when it mattered. I'm very grateful now for the ability to take notes quickly in meetings where things go really fast and I don't have a chance to ask people to repeat what they said. But of course if I'm sending those notes out later, I'll take the time to format them properly.

neves 7y ago

I teach my children that a lot of times their work will be evaluated more from the form than from the substance. It is bad news. It is unfair. But that's how the world works.

posterboy 7y ago
Form begets function, so this is a given. Some may be hypocritical, overly critical, etc., but still, if anything, good form exposds flaws in the content, while bad form not just obscures but potentially destroys the content. Well, you are talking about judging a book by its cover? That's what you have done right there!