Dear Students,
After evaluating your Assignments, as part of your internals, I thought I would share with you a few thoughts of mine on the same.
First of all, assignments have been made a part of Internal assessment to substitute for one Internal test, mainly to provide you an opportunity to get high marks by doing well using your creative potential. I normally give a good assignment a score of even 90 when i am convinced that the student has done some original work.
While some students are excited about the concept of Assignments, trying to do their assignments to the best of their abilities, there are some others who are quite lackadaisical about it."After all...", "it doesn't require the serious preparation that is required for an Internal test" they seem to say in a lethargic fashion.
There are students who have submitted two-page assignments which are, interestingly "bound" in a thick blue or green jacket!
And there are many students who fail to include 'Works Cited' list in your assignments. You cannot just like that quote from sources without acknowledging them. An Undergraduate student of English literature is expected to give a minimum of ten citations (abiding by the MLA Handbook), while students doing their Postgraduation are expected to read extensively before compiling a working bibliography of at least ten to fifteen print sources.
Plagiarism in Academic assignments is a strict NO. It's rather a shame to lift from the works of other scholars without having the guts to acknowledge them, and my students, I hope do not indulge in it.
Secondly, reading through your assignments should give your teacher the happiness that the student has done (or has strived to do) original, meaningful research work. Otherwise, the whole purpose behind writing Academic assignments is not served at all. It will be just a sham and nothing more!!!
I strongly feel that, a student's tryst with creativity in College rightly starts with the way one does his/her assignment. To put it simply, the way you tackle your assignment speaks volumes of your enthusiasm and passion towards your subject. Also, the way you tackle your assignments in your academic atmosphere today, is an indicator of how you would tackle your job responsibilities in the future. Hence, give your best, and ONLY your best to your Assignments.
Regards,
Rufus
PS: Your suggestions are welcome.
PS: Your suggestions are welcome.
Picture courtesy: zanecarmichael.com
Thumbs up!
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about this whole "Assignment" business is that we have some extremely economic people who conserve their energy by wanting to just copy and paste (not even Cut!) sentences from a website onto sheets of paper which may not even be their own!
A creative assignment topic is always fun as it totally negates any such opportunities and that's why your topics along with Chitra ma'am's and Phebe ma'am's are my prime favorites!
Well, yes Venki! Thanks for the lovli observations.
ReplyDeleteSadly indeed, creativity today has become a by-word for "simply" cut and "skillfully" paste!"
Again, I think, there really needs to be a rethink, (if need be, even a debate!!!)on the whole business of giving assignments, which, i feel, should be given a decent (or not so decent!) burial at the earliest, to stall further erosion of academic propriety.
Students can surely be tested by other creative means also...
To conclude, taking a requote on one of my favourite poets - T.S.Elot, i have this to tell my dear students: "A THOUGHT to a student must be an EXPERIENCE. It should modify the professor's SENSIBILITY"
And the fact of the matter is, 'Yes, WE CAN'!!!