Unclear Writing Instructions?

Hello everyone. My name's Chris, and I'm new to these forums. While I had only planned on posting this one question here in search of help, after seeing the resources this forum has for a college writer, I plan on making this one of the websites I frequent.

On to the problem: I finished writing my final exam/essay for my English Composition 300 class a few weeks ago, and just got the grade back. It was not what I expected, to say the least. The low grade was largely caused, in my opinion, by vague instructions, and I'd like to know if this opinion is justified or not.

The instructions for our essay outlined that we should state whether we agreed or disagreed with an authors opinion (Of using negative reinforcement to motivate students to excel), and support our position. The author did not mention possible alternative teaching methods, but rather reinforced her own with her life's experiences. The "position" I had, was that I disagreed, and I supported that with previous examples of why her method for motivation would not have worked with me, or with others I have observed over the years.

The problem arose, however, when the professor docked me (at minimum) 20% because I didn't propose alternatives to the assigned reading's mentioned methods (Such as "While the writer proposes that to inspire success in students we must threaten them with failure, I would rather submit that a more positive method, such as offering them extra credit, may be more effective for the following reasons"). Note, however, that the instruction did not mention proposing alternatives, or any variation of the sort.

Note also that the instructions did not state something along the lines of "Would you use negative reinforcement or positive reinforcement to motivate students? Support your position". This statement of cause would have, in my opinion, justified the writer, me, mentioning and weighing several methods of motivation and their possible alternatives. The instructions, however, simply said "Do you agree or disagree with this author's opinion? Support your position". That doesn't seem to warrant mentioning alternatives at all, as I can disagree with someone, and legitimately support that position without actually forming a countering opinion of my own. If, for instance, I was watching "Mad Money", or some other hyperactive economy show, wherein they propose that success can be achieved by saving your money, I can disagree because after saving money all my life, the crashing economy hurt me and my efforts badly. If the question was, "Does saving money help or hurt people?", listing alternatives to saving money would be vital. If instead, however, the question was, "Do you agree or disagree that saving money helps people?", listing reasons for disagreeing would take vast precedence over listing alternatives to saving money.

Furthermore, in the past our class has gotten many (many many many) points deducted for straying off topic in the least. Don't these instructions place the writer in a kind of catch 22? He can assume the instructions only want him to support why he disagrees, and risk getting dinged major points for not mentioning vital alternatives, or he can assume the instructions are hinting at a more general question, which subsequently wants him to mention and weigh alternatives, and risk straying far off topic.

Thanks for reading,
Chris

This is a complex issue, not least because we have no way of knowing what the professor might have said in class, beyond what was written on the assignment sheet. It could be that the professor was treating the prompt as a way to get you to talk about how best to motivate students, for instance. Certainly, it seems clear that at least some students need to be motivated, so if you are not going to motivate them with threats, it behooves you to say what you would motivate them with. That said, only you know exactly what the professor has said to you, and what precisely was written on the instruction sheet. If you feel that the deduction to your mark was unfair, then you should certainly broach the issue with him (her?). No need to be confrontational -- just explain your point of view, and ask how you can avoid having this happen to you again in the future. Most professors will be happy to clarify their marking scheme for theirs students when asked to do so politely.

Thanks for the response. I actually just contacted the professor and asked to schedule a meeting, though my justification for doing so is still hazy.

For future reader's references, I'd like to clarify the situation. The author's opinion was that "threatening students with failure motivates them to succeed", so when she asked "Do you agree or disagree with the author's opinion?", I interpreted the question to be "Do you agree or disagree that threatening students with failure motivates them to succeed". I took the position of "It does not motivate them to succeed", and I supported that position with different experiences and facts.

Even after rewording it to you and to myself, it seems unclear. As for now, though, I'm leaning more toward the possibility that the instructions were, in fact, asking a different question than the one she wanted us to address, in that apparently she wanted a key speaking point to be about alternative methods for motivating students.

Well, what course was this for? What exactly did the instruction sheet say? Was it just "Read ____ by ______. Do you agree or disagree with the author's opinion?" That seems awfully vague for this sort of essay. Did she say anything in class about her expectations for the assignment? Sometimes, professors add, alter or elaborate on their instructions in-class, or give strong hints about what they would like to see in the papers they have assigned.

The class is English Writing Composition 300. She didn't include any additional info besides the instruction page. The title of the reference essay was "The F-Word" by (I think) Merry Sherry, and the final exam instructions were very close to, "What does 'The F-Word' mean? Do you agree or disagree with the author's opinion? Support your position using personal experiences, observed experiences, and/or the assigned reading 'The F-Word'".

The "F-Word" was "failure", and it (and the whole reference essay) eluded to the author successfully motivating her students by threatening to fail them. I therefore interpreted the assignment to be "Do you agree or disagree that motivating students with the threat of failure is effective", or something to that extent.That would mean the essay would have to be about a single type of motivation, and whether or not that kind of motivation is effective.

My paper was about how I believed threatening students with failure is ineffective, and as per the instructions, I used personal, observed, and referenced facts to support that opinion ("It didn't work with me, it didn't work with my peers, and Sherry herself experienced only limited success with it") . The basic format I used thoughout the paper was:

1. Basic Intro

2. The author thinks "this"
2a. I disagree for "this" reason
2b. Some may think my perspective isn't legitimate for "this" reason
2c. They're wrong because of "this" reason.

(repeat 2 for all topics that compose body paragraphs)

3. Basic Closing

Again though, the professor marked me more than 20% off because I didn't make alternative, positive motivational methods a key speaking point. If my interpretation of the assignment was correct, though, doing so, at least to such a large extent (I did touch on it occasionally), would have gone far off topic of the main point (How motivating people with failure does not work), so I'm at a loss.

Thanks again,
Chris

Let me give you some advice for your meeting with your instructor. If you want to have any hope of gaining a higher grade, do not go into the meeting with an aggrieved attitude and the charge that the instructions were unclear. Go in with a questioning attitude, stating that you are confused by the scoring, given that you thought you had followed the instructions. After the instructor explains that s/he wanted you to list alternatives, say something like, "Oh, that was not clear to me. Was that in the instructions?" Listen to what your teacher says in response. (Teachers hate it when students come in demanding higher grades and then do not listen.)

If you are polite and respectful while still firm in explaining why you feel that the essay did meet the stated criteria, you are more likely to obtain a revised grade. The main thing to avoid is coming in on the offensive, charging the teacher with giving unclear instructions, as this will just put him/her on the defensive. Listen just as closely to the teacher as you hope that the teacher will listen to you, and the meeting will end on a positive note whether or not you get the improved grade you desire.

Chris, I wrote my last post while you were writing yours. I know that essay very well, and your description of it is very simplistic. That may be the problem. You may have done what's called setting up a straw man and knocking him down (or burning a paper tiger) -- giving an inaccurate summary of someone else's position and then arguing against that. It's good that you will meet with the teacher so that she can explain to you the grading while you are both looking over the essay. Again, listen to what she says. It's fine to advocate for yourself, but you will get nowhere if the teacher feels you are only arguing and not listening.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll make sure to heed them during my meeting.

Ah, the essay sounds very interesting. Is there an online version of it I could read? If not, does anyone here have the name of a book that the essay appears in? A Google search of the essay title and author name didn't even get me that far, which makes tracking down a hard copy at the library near to impossible. I'm guessing that after reading the essay, I will be in a much better position to offer advice on how you should handle your professor's reaction to your response to it. In the meantime, I'd say Simone's advice was excellent -- you should never put someone whose goodwill you need on the offensive if you can avoid it. Politeness and tact should be the order of the day throughout your meeting. Even if the professor does not agree with you after you have explained your point of view, you should graciously accept her decision and do everything possible to ensure that you remain on good terms with her.

"In Praise of the 'F' Word" by Mary Sherry is anthologized in The Longman Writer (7th Edition). It was originally a Newsweek My Turn column. It's not so much about scaring students by threatening to fail them as it is about the disservice done to students by passing them when they have not gained the requisite skills.

Having the correct name for both the article and the author helps. The article is actually available online after all: library.spscc.ctc.edu/electronicreserve/read9697/dunsmore/InPraiseoftheFWord.pdf.

And, after reading it, I see what you mean. The article states only that passing students who don't deserve to devalues education for all. That failure can motivate some people to do better is a secondary concern. So, nukewarm, you sort of got off on the wrong track at step 1, where you summarized what the author was saying.

Instructions how to fill up SI Motivation letter

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