How badly can you be marked down for misuse of grammar? (BA honours)

[Calum666]

Hello all,

I've recently re-read a screenplay I wrote for my screenwriting class where the grammar is less than perfect.

I haven't misused grammar in every sentence, nor have I left my essay unreadable, but I now know the importance of re-drafting an essay. I've left silly little mistakes, the kind of grammar mistakes that you make when typing very fast. Closer to typos than actual not knowing what is correct.

My question is, how badly can I be marked down for this? It can't be too severely since I've had back essays before which have been very well marked but have comments on like, "Watch for grammar" and "Reads like a first draft".

I also think the script is very solid apart from that. So, I don't know.

 

[freezeframe]

Hello all,

I've recently re-read a screenplay I wrote for my screenwriting class where the grammar is less than perfect.

I haven't misused grammar in every sentence, nor have I left my essay unreadable, but I now know the importance of re-drafting an essay. I've left silly little mistakes, the kind of grammar mistakes that you make when typing very fast. Closer to typos than actual not knowing what is correct.

My question is, how badly can I be marked down for this? It can't be too severely since I've had back essays before which have been very well marked but have comments on like, "Watch for grammar" and "Reads like a first draft".

I also think the script is very solid apart from that. So, I don't know.

I don't think your professor or TA or whoever is grading your work is on this forum. Although, they could be. If you have questions about how your work is evaluated and how your grade is calculated, I believe your prof might have the answer.

 

[Calum666]

Thank you, you're probably right.

 

[5jj]

My own, admittedly very personal, view , is that , if one is submitting work for a BA Honours course, one should not be surprised if one is penalised for 'silly little mistakes'. They might be "closer to typos than actual not knowing what is correct", but the supervisor's role is to assess what is presented to him/her, not what s/he thinks was intended.

 

[5jj]

I also think the script is very solid apart from that. So, I don't know.

Well, if you are confident enough in the quality of your work, why present it to others for approval? If you think that having a BA (Honours) is important to you, then should you not accept the opinions of those involved in the award of that degree? If you do not value their opinions, then why do you seek the degree?.

 

[Calum666]

Well, if you are confident enough in the quality of your work, why present it to others for approval? If you think that having a BA (Honours) is important to you, then should you not accept the opinions of those involved in the award of that degree? If you do not value their opinions, then why do you seek the degree?.

No I do, and believe me I'm getting better and I am improving with every essay or script I write. I give myself enough time to do a few thorough re-draftings and I have several people read my stuff over before submitting it.

And I agree, I should be penalised for these mistakes. I was just wondering by how much, but I suppose that depends on the individual marker. I have had work returned before with a solid grade but where grammar was my weak point. So I wondered wether it was a marker by marker basis on how badly I was penalised, or whether, in the past, I had simply made an extremely good argument let down by grammar (hence the good mark). Or whether it was simply that individual grader who considered slightly weaker grammar less of an issue.

Also, I do value their opinion. Otherwise I wouldn't try to improve my writing or even be asking these questions. A year ago I wouldn't have cared.

 

[konungursvia]

It depends. You are perhaps not a teacher. If it's a grammar class, and you're taking a grammar test, your grammar will count. If it's a literature class, and your criticism is good, but the grammar mistakes make it difficult to follow you, your grammar will count a little. If it's a poetry class, and your grammar is somewhat foreign but does not impede understanding, your grammar will count for very little.

Even in English language class, when I'm evaluating phonetics, I don't count grammar, and vice-versa. When I'm evaluating dynamics (fluency) I don't count spelling or grammar; when I'm evaluating listening (comprehension) I don't count spelling, grammar or style; when I'm evaluating rhetoric, I don't count pronunciation, etc.

Educators will focus on one or more areas of evaluation at a time, ignoring the others to some extent.

If your screen-writing evaluation counts grammar, it won't be a large part of the mark, but you may be required to re-write or get it corrected, so that it can stand on its merits without the language consideration.

 

[Calum666]

Thank you, Konungursvia.

That's a bit of a weight off my back. My screenwriting class is part of a film programme, so I doubt grammar will count for much. At the very most, I'm guessing it will count for 2-5 marks. Also, looking over the paper again, their are less than five minimal mistakes.

I forgot an apostrophe and used a full stop instead of a question mark, silly fool. There's also one clumsy sentence.

Again, thanks.