<pre><code>So I got an 83.2% for participation for one of my discussion group. I haven't been contributing a lot in group discussion, but I at least say something (most of time useful and not repetitive) in every discussion. I feel that this grading is arbitrary, and I might get some points if I email the TA/professor. Currently I have around a 91% overall and participation is worth 28% of the class, so just a 7% increase would push me into the A range. Should I go for it?
</code></pre>
<p>P.S. I'm not sure where to put this thread, but college life seems appropriate.
Focus!</p>
A 7% increase can matter a lot.
Well, I don’t think it’s unreasonable considering that last year participation was worth much less and my grade would have been an A not counting participation.
It’s also my lowest grade so far in my 3 semesters here (I have another A-), so potentially a huge gpa difference </p>
<p>
The TA did say in the first meeting that all we have to do is say something once/twice in every discussion, and that’s what I did. It’s just that around 1/4 of the students in my group speaks too much.</p>
<p>Are there people in class who contribute a lot? Who go above and beyond? What sort of class is it?</p>
<p>Your TA at the beginning may have recommended speaking “one or two times” per discussion, but if there’s other people contributing a lot and really engaging in active discussion (again the ability to do this will depend on the type of class) it’s going to make you look worse in comparison.</p>
<p>Where this becomes a problem is that some people are just naturally gregarious and others are very shy. For the latter, not speaking in class doesn’t necessarily mean they do not have insightful thoughts, merely that they are not comfortable sharing them outloud.</p>
<p>Honestly, the only way I can see you getting such a large increase (7% is a HUGE increase) would be to swing this as a shyness issue. Even then, your TA would have to remember you as an engaged quiet person who had great contributions to the discussion when you did speak up. If you were the type to space out, type away on your computer, and generally not pay attention then you can forget about it.</p>
<p>There are people who go above and beyond, and nearly all of them are native English speakers. Even without reading the required articles， they were able to say a lot from experience (albeit there are some who don’t contribute anything to the discussion). This is also why I outperformed them on exams (which is unfortunately worth a lot less).</p>
<p>I’m not swinging this as a shyness or ESL issue though both of them might apply. Thanks for advice anyway.</p>
<p>Let it go. You got a B for participation. That’s a perfectly fine grade, given that you yourself admit that you were not in the top quarter of the class participation-wise.</p>
Neither of those would be a grounds for an appeal anyway. Students with dyslexia don’t get a grade bump in literature classes either, nor are tone-deaf musicians cut slack in a performance class.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t hurt to just ask him/her. I got an 83% on one of my essays, but it bothered me because I followed the guidelines that guaranteed an A. Nevertheless, I went to the TA and she saw that the other TA made a mistake with a my paper. I got an A. If it’s something you feel that you don’t deserve, then definitely go and talk to him/her. It can really help your gpa.</p>
<p>B is a fine grade. An A is supposed to be reserved for those that truly perform above and beyond. That means not only doing well on exams and meeting all expectations, but going above expectations by meaningfully contributing to group discussions, etc.</p>
<p>You did well and met the requirements, hence why you got the B. A lot more is required for the A.</p>
Perfect answer to excelblue’s and b@r!um’s responses. I’m doing this hoping that it’ll help my GPA. At this point, an A-/A might make a significant difference on my transcript. It’s true that B/B+/A- is a fine grade for most people, but it’s low relative to how I’m doing in other classes.</p>
<p>
Back in high school, I wouldn’t care even if it’s letter grade difference. It only matters now because I’m applying for grad school (wasn’t serious about applying to college). Hence, I think I should at least try to dispute a grade.</p>
<p>
Thanks for the compliment. However, I don’t think “a lot more” is required for A unless you mean by “a lot more” means being very loquacious. Most of my few comments in class were insightful, shows that I did the required readings (unlike the majority of my discussion group). In this sense, I did go above expectation.</p>
<p>I think the main problem is that my discussion is curved to a B, and the grading is subjective.</p>
<p>Your logic is, “I have got nothing to lose and something to gain by asking.” Ask yourself if that’s actually true before you proceed.</p>
<p>To me it seems that you have no legitimate basis for an appeal (you openly admit that you were not a very active participant in discussions) and thus asking would put you into the “grade grubbing student” category. If you might ever need a favor from the professor or the TA, that’s not how you want to be remembered.</p>
<p>The logic is true. I don’t think I have anything to lose except for time. </p>
<p>Most of us college students are all in some way “grade grubbing students.” Otherwise, why would we do work for classes we are not interested in? It’s true that there are subjects related to my majors that I love, and so am more than willing to put in effort beyond what’s required for an A. On the other hand, there are some that I am not interested in, e.g. certain humanities and arts. I’m only taking those because they’re required, and doing the work for a good gpa. </p>
<p>Sorry, I haven’t told you people my reason for appeal. It’s very specific to myself and compelling i.e. if the TA were to read this thread, it’s almost certain that she will figure out who I’m.</p>
<p>If you do have a good reason for an appeal, by all means go ahead and do so. I was assuming that you are resenting being at or below the curve with 1-2 contributions per week, which is what you had posted earlier.</p>
<p>In case that you do end up with a B, be assured that it will not wreak havoc with your grad school prospects. I graduated from a good-but-not-great college with a sprinkle of Bs (outside of my major) and got into every single graduate program I applied to, including Princeton, MIT and Stanford.</p>