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The most helpful grade I ever received on an essay was an 'F'. It was in my first year of university. I knew the course and knew the material but couldn't hav
by tom_rath 18y ago
The most helpful grade I ever received on an essay was an 'F'.
It was in my first year of university. I knew the course and knew the material but couldn't have been arsed to put together a paper which adequately addressed the subject.
The comments the professor wrote were scathing and it was a wonderful full slap on the face that I'd better get my act together and actually deliver what was expected of me if I ever wanted to accomplish something of value.
I did. Thanks for that 'F'.
- josefresco 18y agoI never had a professor shoot down any paper I turned in no matter how half assed it was. I guess I was that good ... Now, it was the papers I never turned in that hurt me the most :)
- cdr 18y agoHah. You must not have been that good - the ones I never turned in didn't really hurt me either.
- pi3832 18y agoDid you go to university in the '70s pr something? All that's "expected" of students anymore is a pulse, AFAICT.
- helveticaman 18y agoDepends where you go.
- edw519 18y agoI went to college to be an English major. My first paper freshman year came back with a "D" on it and the remark, "Sophomoric Ramblings". It didn't seem logical, a bad grade and a compliment. (Since I was a freshman, I thought "sophomoric" meant "advanced".) One week later, I became a math major and I've never looked back.
- tel 18y agoMy favorite putdown ever received on an English paper: "eradicate that word from your vocabulary" stemmed to an arrow pointing at "paradigm". I honestly had only used the word because I thought it was cool to pronounce "-digm".