NationStates Jolt Archive

what merits an A in undergraduate course essays in college now?
have these standards gone down? or up? are we as a society allowing these standards to go down (exp. giving a C essay a A, in high school if a student fails twice allowing him to go to the next level knowing that he/she is not capable of it)?

please reply and give me some ideas, opinions and why?

It depends on the school and the professor. A big difference w/ universities is that it's much more subjective than HS. I've been in some classes where if you showed up, you got an A, others where you had to parrot the teacher, and others where I busted my ass to get the only A in the class.

Depends: private school or public?

private university

I went to a private university, and to some extent the grading really depended on the professor/TA and the course. For the most part though, you had to work hard for an A on a paper; had to know the subject, show careful analysis and research, be well organized, etc.

I'm at a state university, specifically The Ohio State University, and I find that grades depend upon the professor.

private university

Oh, in that case, the general rule is that if you show up, you'll get a B. If you're at an Ivy League school, you'll probably get an A. At a non-Ivy League school, though, the difference between an A and a B is huge. You can show up and get your B, or you can bust your arse to get the A.

Oh, in that case, the general rule is that if you show up, you'll get a B. If you're at an Ivy League school, you'll probably get an A. At a non-Ivy League school, though, the difference between an A and a B is huge. You can show up and get your B, or you can bust your arse to get the A.

Or, you could use the time to learn to write a proper paper, regardless of the grade inflation in place, and learn a usable skill for later.

what merits an A in undergraduate course essays in college now?
have these standards gone down? or up? are we as a society allowing these standards to go down (exp. giving a C essay a A, in high school if a student fails twice allowing him to go to the next level knowing that he/she is not capable of it)?

please reply and give me some ideas, opinions and why?

Hmmm... this stinks of a HW assignment to my nose...

Hmmm... this stinks of a HW assignment to my nose...

That's the "lame" you're smelling there....

i know how to write a paper, i just want to do some research and see what people think about this.

Or, you could use the time to learn to write a proper paper, regardless of the grade inflation in place, and learn a usable skill for later.

Well, yeah, there's that, too. And that's why I barely bothered to attend my classes at uni. I was too involved with practical things, like the school paper, magazines, and radio.

I'm at a state university, specifically The Ohio State University, and I find that grades depend upon the professor.

no, just Ohio State University:p but seriously it does depend on the professor.

Actually, the proper name is The Ohio State University, much like my alma mater is The Johns Hopkins University. :p

Actually, the proper name is The Ohio State University, much like my alma mater is The Johns Hopkins University. :p

I know its the proper name but they're the only one's who call themselves that. The rest of us just think that makes them silly when they add the "The" :p

I know its the proper name but they're the only one's who call themselves that. The rest of us just think that makes them silly when they add the "The" :p

Nah, only when they emphasise it, like when they introduce guys on Monday Night Football, and they say "THE Ohio State University." That's retarded.

what merits an A in undergraduate course essays in college now?


Mastery of basic grammar, spelling, and such tends to help.

My university requires completion of a series of writing courses in order to graduate. The class I took essentially consisted of writing a 15-20 page literature review-like paper over the course of 16 weeks. From what I saw in that class, even at the university/college level people tend to have poor basic writing skills. These classes are some of the more dreaded, but I thought mine was an easy A. But then, I took three writing classes at community college, two with a professor known for being very tough and/or mean, with A's in each. Of course, to the high school kiddies taking a real writing class for the very first time, "tough" and "mean" means having one's incompetence found, exposed, and fixed in expert fashion, while being required to actually work and earn a grade in the process; I've heard students complain about having to read a whole 100 pages in one week, for Jebus' sake. :rolleyes:

So, the basic rundown:


"A" students aren't lazy
"A" students want the grade
Non-"A" students wouldn't know the basic rules of grammar and spelling if you tied each to an anvil and dropped it on said students' foot.


After that, it's just a matter of collecting information during research, answering the question/prompt/etc., and not plagiarizing. Busy work, nothing more.

**sits back and waits for the unholy horde of grammar nazis to ruthlessly savage this post**

Having taught at different colleges over the years, I would say that generally standards are going down but it depends on the goals and culture of the institution.

i've taught at both public and private small colleges where numbers of students justified their existance. They spent a lot of money getting numbers and if you gave a bad grade they felt that student might drop out and they would have to recruit another to keep the numbers up. I had students in one of these that couldn't write their own name but could hit a basket from anywhere on the court. I was told that if I flunked them it would ruin their lives as this was their last chance. If I gave any student a C or less they would go to the Dean of Instruction and I would be asked to "reconsider" the grade. 60% at one college graduated with "honors".

At larger institutions the pressure on the instructor is less. I once gave a D to the quarterback of the football team at a mid sized college. The coach called and I thought I was in for it. But he explained that the odds of any of his players going pro was about nil and they needed their degrees. He said that since I was new I didn't know the policy that if any player began to fall in their studies I was to call the coaches and they would make sure the student was doing the work.

Then at a large institution, no one cared. Give them what you feel is right.

Now this isn't exactly cut along size, but is generally. The baby bust means we are overbuilt in the area of colleges back in the 60's and 70's. For a small college to survive they need numbers. Some get numbers by a reputation of quality, others get numbers by a reputation of easy A.

Having taught at different colleges over the years, I would say that generally standards are going down but it depends on the goals and culture of the institution.

i've taught at both public and private small colleges where numbers of students justified their existance. They spent a lot of money getting numbers and if you gave a bad grade they felt that student might drop out and they would have to recruit another to keep the numbers up. I had students in one of these that couldn't write their own name but could hit a basket from anywhere on the court. I was told that if I flunked them it would ruin their lives as this was their last chance. If I gave any student a C or less they would go to the Dean of Instruction and I would be asked to "reconsider" the grade. 60% at one college graduated with "honors".

At larger institutions the pressure on the instructor is less. I once gave a D to the quarterback of the football team at a mid sized college. The coach called and I thought I was in for it. But he explained that the odds of any of his players going pro was about nil and they needed their degrees. He said that since I was new I didn't know the policy that if any player began to fall in their studies I was to call the coaches and they would make sure the student was doing the work.

Then at a large institution, no one cared. Give them what you feel is right.

Now this isn't exactly cut along size, but is generally. The baby bust means we are overbuilt in the area of colleges back in the 60's and 70's. For a small college to survive they need numbers. Some get numbers by a reputation of quality, others get numbers by a reputation of easy A.

I wonder what happened to the idea that a student goes to college to actually learn something (as opposed to being a grade generator)?