

Ask HN: If you got this assignment back, what would you do? - drewcrawford

Hey HN, I just got back this homework assignment:
http://bayimg.com/image/danjkaabg.jpg<p>It would have been a 150%, but the grander marked me down to a 70% because I typed it instead of writing it by hand.  I showed all my work.  A friend of mine literally wrote down everything I did in pen and got full credit.  I'm a computer science major, and my handwriting is illegible.<p>Do I:<p>* Talk to the prof, who marks me as a troublemaker for the next ~7 months I'll be in his class?<p>* Print out all my homework in a font of my handwriting (almost legible, few points knocked off for neatness, somewhat "dishonest")<p>* Actually write everything out (quality varies greatly, points knocked off for neatness)<p>* Appeal to some higher power<p>As a reference point, I have about a 95% average in the non-homework grades in this class.  This type of homework is worth about 15% of the final grade, which would push me down a letter grade.
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spydez
Talk to the grader. Tell him your handwriting sucks and that's why you typed
it. (Show him your handwriting sucks, if you want.) Tell him you've talked to
classmates with similar work who got full credit. See what he says.

If the grader gives you a reasonable answer, accept it. If not, go to the
professor and repeat what you explained to the grader.

You won't be labeled a "troublemaker" unless you make trouble, usually... so
just be honest and courteous. Profs and graders get students _all the time_
that have questions about their grades.

Lastly, in the grand scheme of things, an A vs a B doesn't matter all that
much when you're getting a job. All the companies I interviewed with at my
college's job fair were more interested in my projects and extra-curricular
stuff than my GPA. I wish I had been on some open-source project that I
could've put on my resume, because that would have opened many more doors than
a 0.01 GPA bump.

~~~
drewcrawford
The grader for this class is anonymous (otherwise he would probably be getting
death threats from some of the students), so my only recourse is to the prof.

I try not to care too much about grades, but a B in this class runs me a
serious risk of losing a sweet scholarship (much more than I make interning in
the summer). Sucks, but that's the way the world works.

~~~
gabriel
Good advice from the person above. Since the grader was anonymous, then you
must appeal to your professor. Don't go in angry. Learn to work within the
system (greatest hack of all) and let your professor know this.

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RiderOfGiraffes
The fact that you have things like "In[5]" and "Out[8]" makes it look like
you've used the computer to perform your calculations. Whether you did or not
is moot - you are giving the wrong impression. (Unless you _did_ use the
computer, in which case you are giving the _right_ impression and the grader
is right anyway).

It's not going to be the typing of your solutions, it's the impression that
you've used something other than paper and approved calculator. And now you've
created that impression, it may be too late to correct it.

It's your responsibility to make it absolutely obvious.

------
cschneid
Tip: learn to write well. Don't do it for this class, do it for yourself.

My handwriting use to be atrociously bad. I worked on it a little and it got
to the point where what I write is legible (though, not neat).

It's a useful skill to have, writing on paper.

In the short term, just talk to the professor.... what's hard about this?
Also, DO NOT "appeal to a higher power". The prof will find out about it, and
the higher power will say "talk to your damn professor". Now you ARE the
troublemaker.

~~~
eatenbyagrue
This is so true. I find it a little shocking that this poster isn't capable of
writing with a pen.

------
TrevorJ
It seems that the prof finds some value in the type of thinking that going
back to pen-and-paper can help engender.

I would comply with his wishes even if you don't see value in it. I've
_forced_ myself to work on paper even though I am a computer nut and I
absolutely beleive it is a good habit to have. It engages a different part of
your mind, and is very valuable even when you do go back to computer-based
work.

The best you can hope for when paying through the nose for college is that
some prof you run into will have some subtle but deep insight that you
couldn't, or wouldn't have stumbled on through self-directed learning. Those
gems are rarely intuitive and never make sense on face value. True, this guy
may turn out to be just a kook, but to me, it seems worth humoring him because
who knows, you may find out there is real value in it.

~~~
joshuarr
Follow directions. When you're the one establishing them you'll appreciate
compliance.

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tjic
Were the instructions "do not use a computer solution" specified ahead of
time?

If this was either in the syllabus or otherwise discussed, then it's your bad,
and you have to eat it.

Otherwise, it's outrageous that rules are made up on the fly, and you should
appeal to the professor.

Appeal to the professor first; don't go over his head.

Your argument should emphasize fairness: rules are being made up on the fly.

Don't print out your homework in a font of your handwriting. You won't fool
anyone, and you'll be rightfully nailed for quibbling.

------
rscott
Take your time and do your homework written on paper. Say what you want about
it being the "same thing." It isn't, and you should get prepared for the tests
using the methods you will have available then - and that isn't MATLAB (or
Python, or whatever you used).

