Could any lecturers explain this to me.

eilo1

Hi guys,

Im just wondering if anyone here is a lecturer that could explain to me if I have been wrongfully penalised in an exam.

Basically I got a B+ in one of my exams and it has been bothering me because half the paper was on diabetes. I have diabetes and am very knowledgable on the topic. The other question was also pretty easy.
If there was ever an exam I should get an A on it was this one. I wrote 6 pages in 30 minutes on diabetes alone.

Now I am also dyslexic and as such "the student should be marked for ideas, understanding and knowledge, and should not be penalised for grammar, sentence construction, punctuation and spelling unless they are a course requirement. The student has been given a disability memo to attach to coursework and departmental examinations with your permission."

I contacted my course co ordinator and asked her where I fell down on the exam, here is her response

"You did very well on CR2! You had good knowledge for the end of life question and the diabetes question although there was some information missing on both sections which is where you lost marks


In answering exam questions in general I recommend that you make an answer plan on rough paper. This ensures the answer is comprehensive and relevant information is in the relevant paragraphs so that the answer reads well
If the question is an 'essay-type' question as I said to the class last year have an introduction and conclusion - makes it easier for the examiner to read"

Does this sound to anyone else like I have been penalised for poor construction???

L

eilo1 wrote: »

Does this sound to anyone else like I have been penalised for poor construction???

Not really, it reads like you missed out on mentioning some key pieces of information that had marks allocated to them.

That's why you were being advised to write out a plan (though, yes, making it easy to read/well structured also buys a lot of good will from whatever person corrects it).

Chet T16

eilo1 wrote: »

You did very well on CR2! You had good knowledge for the end of life question and the diabetes question although there was some information missing on both sections which is where you lost marks

Red Alert

Have a look at the grade descriptors - the "B" grades actually cover what many people would consider a fairly expert knowledge of the subject area.

The perceived problems only arise when people start comparing marks and percentages, as there's a strange mapping above 70%.

eilo1

Chet T16 wrote: »

I understand she says there are admissions (although Im at a loss to know were) I probably presumed I didnt need to write some very basic things.

I just think if I'm getting a B in this how the hell does anyone get and A. And by that logic is it in fact my writing style that is letting me down. Which is unfair as I'm supposed to be graded purely on my knowledge and understanding.

There is no way my lecturer knows more about diabetes than me, not by a long shot and that is very frustrating.

L

eilo1 wrote: »

I understand she says there are admissions (although Im at a loss to know were) I probably presumed I didnt need to write some very basic things.

I just think if I'm getting a B in this how the hell does anyone get and A. And by that logic is it in fact my writing style that is letting me down. Which is unfair as I'm supposed to be graded purely on my knowledge and understanding.

If whoever was correcting it was using a marking scheme, you could well have shot yourself in the foot by losing marks allocated to things you considered basic (especially if it's something you're interested in and just something covered in passing in the course).

It's unfortunate, but you can only be marked on knowledge and understanding that makes it to the page. Red Alert's right btw. A B represents much more knowledge than people think.

doly

I had a situation like this and my lecturer very kindly went through my answer with me. It was obvious when I reread it that it was nowhere near as good as I had thought on the day. So, instead of letting it eat away at you, check it out. You can't lose as you will either be reassured that the grade was right or you will have it adjusted.

eilo1

doly wrote: »

I had a situation like this and my lecturer very kindly went through my answer with me. It was obvious when I reread it that it was nowhere near as good as I had thought on the day. So, instead of letting it eat away at you, check it out. You can't lose as you will either be reassured that the grade was right or you will have it adjusted.

Thanks doly, I did email her and had hoped she would go through the paper with me but instead she just emailed me the above quote referring to omissions and introduction/conclusion etc.

Its just annoying me as I have lived with the disease for 15 years, I self medicate, Iv carried out research on it and written reports on it. The level of knowledge required for this subject was minimal to what I know so to come away with a B is just sickening.

WeeBushy

eilo1 wrote: »

Thanks doly, I did email her and had hoped she would go through the paper with me but instead she just emailed me the above quote referring to omissions and introduction/conclusion etc.

Its just annoying me as I have lived with the disease for 15 years, I self medicate, Iv carried out research on it and written reports on it. The level of knowledge required for this subject was minimal to what I know so to come away with a B is just sickening.

Its worth looking at your paper then, if you're able to. If the B is the correct mark then you can see what you should've put in etc. and can learn from it.

parker kent

Yeah I'd agree with the idea of getting a look at your paper. Maybe reply to your lecturer and thank him/her for their reply. Then say that you would be interested in having a look at the paper to see where you specifically went wrong.

Also, "wrong" is not really the word since you got a B+. That is a good grade! I know it is frustrating since you know the area very well, but you might just have missed something that the lecturer had on their grading sheet.

conor.hogan.2

Agree with red alert the grading scheme in UCD is a lot different than would generally be expected.

A B is quite a high mark, the grading gets much harder once you are past the 2.2 level.

Doly made an excellent point, ask to see the paper and see what happens then.

MacieC

No offense but it's actually a good grade.

Did that occur to you for a split second that you might have crossed the limits of the topic or questions in the exam paper ?

It's one thing to know a lot about the topic. It's another thing to confine yourself to the questions limitations and put just the right amount of knowledge RELEVANT to the question. Maybe you went a bit overboard like " off topic " trying to write down all of your knowledge and you completely forgot the limit lines drawn by the questions.

Honestly, I think this is what happened, but that's only my opinion.

Overature

My opinion is that you should ask your lecturer what areas did you leave out and go from there and did you answer the question that was asked. I know it can be really annoying when you do so well but you leave out something.

i had an exam last year in engineering where i was getting 70 to 90% for the calculation style questions but mess up on the theory part of it, i got a B-, but i could have got an A had i studied more. You can always view your scripts after christmas anyways.

Good luck

parker kent

MacieC wrote: »

Honestly, I think this is what happened, but that's only my opinion.

Well we can't actually give our opinions on her answer since we haven't seen it. What you say is entirely possibly of course. There could be all sorts of reasons for getting a B+ and it will only be cleared up for the OP by querying it further with the lecturer.

Plus I'm sure she knows it is a good grade, just that this topic is personal to the OP, so she will have had higher expectations.

MacieC

parker kent wrote: »

Well we can't actually give our opinions on her answer since we haven't seen it. What you say is entirely possibly of course. There could be all sorts of reasons for getting a B+ and it will only be cleared up for the OP by querying it further with the lecturer.

Plus I'm sure she knows it is a good grade, just that this topic is personal to the OP, so she will have had higher expectations.

Couldn't agree more.

I should have used " hypothesis " instead though.

eilo1

Thanks for all the replies guys, Ill bite the bullet tomorrow and query the result further. I hadnt thought about the fact I may have been marked down for going off topic. I was just so happy to see the question that I had an information overload! I was able to give references and varying scientific opinions etc.
As I said its just so frustrating to not get at least an A when I literally could have given the lectures in!
Any ways thanks again for all the replies.