October 24, 2007
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Fonts, fonts, fonts. UGH.
So, I thought that having papers submitted electronically was a GREAT idea. A green idea, even. But now I am running into font problems. No, they aren’t trying to submit papers with WingDings, but rather, they are using a bigger-than-average font like Trebuchet… and when their paper still isn’t 3+ pages, then they tell me to switch it to an even larger font, like Tahoma. How about you make sure it’s 3+ with ANY FONT!The purpose of writing the memoir/profile is getting lost… they just want it to be the right length, no matter what stupid font. They don’t aim for quality. And when I say “they,” I don’t mean all my students, just some of them. I detest Times New Roman, I’ll be honest. But if I require Georgia or Arial, someone is going to forget and then their paper will be longer or shorter and life won’t be FAIR. Ugh. I wish I could just say that I’ll grade on quality… but then the A students will still write 3+ pages, and the rest will write the BARE minimum and argue with me about the quality. That’s why I stick to my 3+. Yes, kids, there’s a reason for the BIG THREE. For one, it’s not THAT long of a paper. Secondly, within three pages, they cover the basics and give details. Two pages is a little short for a narrative (especially when it’s double-spaced) and, yea, 4 or 5 may be pushing it for many. Thirdly (hee hee), I love the number 3.
See… the font I blog in, Verdana, is nice. Maybe that’ll be my required font?
p.s. Some still aren’t getting the MLA required 1″ programmed into their brains either. Why doesn’t Microsoft Word just default to that? Another = UGH.
Comments (4)
Do you do review on MS Word as well, with comments and/or track changes?
If not, I might suggest you require that they email you a PDF so that their fonts don’t get lost and they can’t ask you to change their fonts.
Additionally, I wonder about design and readability and the importance of adhering to certain discourse communities’ design requirements — and having that be the central topic for a discussion with students when it comes to fonts, font sizes, and margins.
I have inserted comments & still do with papers that weren’t conferenced but handed in… some just don’t go through the Submission step of the Writing Process which is talked about in our book & in class = making sure the correct format is used.
And a lecture on discourse communities (just the thought of using those terms) would fly over my students’ heads. No offense to them.
I’m assessing Paper 2 right now, and some haven’t changed their margins as I requested after Paper 1 was handed in. I appreciate your advice, but I think no matter what, some students are just going to do the bare minimum to pass. And I think that happens with General courses at any college.
My venting is mostly just to get out my frustration with the fact that I can’t change everyone.
I just need to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to the format of papers because the complexity should be in the content.
Yeah, the venting makes sense. I’ve been enjoying reading your blog for quite some time (though this is the first time I’ve commented) because I can sympathize with your venting.
You’re definitely right that some students are always going to do the bare minimum (such as the two students who have skipped their conferences with me as I write this).
I too get incredibly frustrated at times with my business writing students who don’t follow the directs that (at least I thought) were clear on the assignment sheet. Ugh.
Thanks for reading. I keep this bugger of a blog to record my thoughts; it’s nice to have conversations, however.
And, yea… I used to not use assignment sheets or rubrics (grading charts, as I call them with students) & the quality was the same as now when I do use those items. I thought “laying it all out there” would improve the quality, etc. Not so much…