<p>On friday, I have a 10 page paper due for my composition class. Throughout the semester, we gradually worked on it(completing our thesis, sources, etc.) I was going to work on it during thanksgiving break this week, as most of my class(nobody completed their paper as far as I know) but my grandfather passed away this morning. We knew all this week that he had a few days to live, so all week I have not been able to focus on writing my paper.
Because my grandfather passed away, do I have a right to ask my professor if I can have a day or two of extended time to hand in my paper? Or will I not have any rights in asking that?</p>
<p>You always have the right to ask.</p>
<p>Whether or not he’ll give you the time is entirely up to him.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say you have a right exactly, seeing as you’ve had the entire semester to write such a short paper. But there’s no harm in asking unless your professor explicitly stated that they don’t give extensions.</p>
<p>LivingOxymoron, a 10 page paper is not a short paper. A 3 page paper however, is a short paper.</p>
<p>I am sorry for your loss. You can always ask. But it is up to the professor, seeing as you had all semester s/he may say no. Whenever I have a longer paper due, I try complete at least half of it at least 2 weeks before its due. You never know what life has in store.</p>
<p>I would say it is, considering the time you were given to complete it. I, along with a ton of my friends, have written several papers of that length this semester. Usually the time limit on those is two to three weeks, not two to three months. I’m not trying to put you down or anything, and I’m really sorry about your grandfather. My point was that the long amount of of time you were given to write the paper might make the teacher a lot less sympathetic to giving you an extension.</p>
<p>Wow. An entire semester to write a 10 page paper? Missed that when I read through. That is VERY short. I was writing 10 pages minimum in high school, with 20 pagers being the end project for history classes.</p>
<p>I’ve got a 30 page report that I’ve been given 4 weeks to work on and the length isn’t all that bad at all. (I’m struggling to get it shorter than 30 since 30 is the max).</p>
<p>I’m sorry for your loss. If you’re going to be missing a few days of school for the funeral, contact the Dean of Students (or whatever it’s called at your school) and have them notify all of your professors of your family-emergency-related absence.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the “dead grandparent” excuse is often disbelieved by professors, since it’s the second most common invented excuse after “printer problems.”</p>
<p>^My mom once had a student use the “dead grandparent excuse” 3 times in one semester, plus a “dead aunt.” Obviously not legit (she looked into it to be sure).</p>
<p>But I am sorry for your loss, OP.</p>
<p>No, you do not have a right to get extended time. You had an entire semester to write one 10-page paper. Many students find themselves writing 5 page assignments every week so writing one 10 page paper over the course of an entire semester is more than enough time to complete the assignment.</p>
<p>You still have about 2 weeks left before the semester is over. You should be able to complete the assignment between now and then. If you want to ask for an extension, you may do so. However, by asking for an extension, you are basically admitting to the professor that you are currently behind in an assignment that was given early in the semester.</p>
<p>Cheshire, I’m sorry for your loss.</p>
<p>I find it incredibly strange that other students have the gall to say you “don’t have a right” to something (who do they think they are, lol?). You have a “right” to whatever does not give you an advantage over other students. If the prof would grant an extension to any student suffering a similar event then you have every right to it.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t see a problem with asking. If this paper is as short as everyone is claiming, it makes even more sense that you would not have spent the entire semester on it and would have been planning to do a lot of the legwork last week and in the coming weeks. </p>
<p>nysmile did have a point when he/she said that by asking for an extension, you are admitting that you are behind. If you’re ok with admitting that to the prof, go ahead. But think about this: IF nobody ever got behind on something then extensions wouldn’t EXIST would they? <em>eye roll</em> </p>
<p>Now, whether or not you actually get the extension, idk. I agree that the length of time you’ve had to do it will make the prof less sympathetic. Also, when is it due? If the due date is within a day or two the prof will also be a bit peeved. But. If you don’t ask, you def. won’t get it. So ask.</p>
<p>You can certainly ask. You don’t have a “right” to any extension, but you can always ask. It will probably be up to the individual prof. My daughter had to miss a couple of exams to go to her grandpa’s funeral. One prof required proof that her grandma had actually died (either a death certificate or a copy of an obituary from the newspaper). The other one just took her word for it. </p>
<p>The fact that you have had all semester for the paper will probably not help your cause though.</p>
<p>
No one here is saying he doesn’t have the right to ask for an extension as in he shouldn’t be allowed to ask. I don’t think that was his question to begin with. Of course he is capable of asking, and is welcome to. I think the actual implications of the question was whether he has justification for asking.</p>
<p>ucmp11, thank you. Everyone on here is saying that I had all semester to do this paper, but at the same time their saying how short a 10 page paper is. If a 5 page paper needs to be completed in a month, then a 10 page paper should be given more time to be completed.
And I didn’t have ‘all semester’ to write this paper. We didn’t start discussing the assignment guidelines until October. The semester started at the end of August.</p>
<p>…I was given 1 week between assigned and due on my last 10 pager. Just sit down and write the damn thing already. If you have enough time to complain about it on the internet you have enough time to write it, family loss or no.</p>
<p>Cheshire, I am sorry for your loss. Truly. But you do not have a “right” to extended time. You can certainly ask.</p>
<p>And in no way should a 5-page paper need a month, nor should a 10 page paper. My classes routinely ask for 5 page papers by the following week. 10 page paper is usually a 2 or 3 week notice. If you need that long, you shouldn’t have waited until now to do it. What year are you, if you don’t mind me asking? If you are early on in your schooling, you need to get used to these deadlines. If you are later on, I am unsure of how you’ve made it this far along without having a short paper due like this in such a short period of time.</p>