<p>almost our entire grade is based on papers, and it's a semester class. i've never gotten anything less than a 94 on a paper in this class. the semester has ended, and i didn't know any of my grades until a few days ago because that's when she put them online. i was surprised to see a C+/84 as one of my paper grades. i couldn't remember which paper it was specifically, so i looked through my computer, and it was actually what i thought was one of my best papers. </p>
<p>i really, really want to make sure it's not a mistake because it could result in a huge semester grade change, and last quarter, she made a last minute grade mistake, too (i got a bad grade on something, but when i looked later, it had been changed). i'm worried it could be a typo or something, because i wouldn't be surprised. on the other hand, if she somehow thinks that paper deserves a C+, i'll take it (and obviously have to). i just want to know why. i've never had to do this before, so i don't know how to do this tactfully or if i should do it at all. i don't want to sound annoying, like some grade grubber who feels entitled to an A. i don't have much time. is it okay to ask why?</p>
<p>Yes, it is OK to ask why. Make it sound like you want to know what your mistakes were so that you can learn from them and do better next time. Teachers are there to teach, so if you go to her willing to hear and learn, then she should be willing to talk with you about it. That is part of her job. Don’t go with a chip on your shoulder and you should be fine.</p>
<p>Yes it is, my D is a junior in HS and I encourage this (early, even in middle school). It’s your money, you have the right to know why it was graded and to have any mistakes corrected. I actually caught a mistake in D’s HS Physics class - extra credit was not counted properly. Bumped her up from a C+ to a B- and also bumped the rest of the class (the entire class was missing extra credit). I did ask her to speak to the teacher first but the teacher, who is awesome, kind of blew her off and D wasn’t able to articulate the issue well (that all of the extra credit was not counted).</p>
<p>Use the ‘more flies with honey than vinegar’ theory - the nicer you are, the more likely the prof is to fix the grade in your favor so kill 'em with kindness.</p>
<p>I emailed her. I tried to be as nice as possible; Basically, I just asked if there were any specific mistakes to be avoided next time or if it was just a bad paper overall (i didn’t know how to word it, ha). I probably wouldn’t ever see the paper again otherwise, so she really shouldn’t be annoyed. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>I don’t see a problem with asking in your situation. I’ve had that happen to me before in college classes and had several grades changed (I’m guessing sometimes professors are just as mistake prone as we are in their grading or can be moody, etc.). On the other hand, I’ve also had two no changes as well (and looking back, I think the professors were right). </p>
<p>I don’t think the length of time in your case is a big deal, but obviously the sooner you can do it the better. Your prof. will probably have a better memory as to the criteria she had for grading, possibly some of your other work, and the dynamics of the class. </p>
<p>So, I say, go for it. I would also take bajamm’s advice, too, that maybe you can add in your request that you’re also looking to just see how you might improve on your work and to learn from the experience in any areas you may have been weak on. And, actually, this might possibly be one of the greatest benefits to asking wholly apart from whether or not a grade change/correction is made. You might find and learn some things that you can add to your skill set for that subject that will help you in the future. </p>
<p>I would say, finally, that in the case that you don’t get a grade change/correction and genuinely felt that you deserved it, then you might take it up with a higher-up type of person. I’ve never had that happen before (the two cases that I asked about a grade and didn’t get a change, I agreed with my professor’s analysis and didn’t make a big deal about it), but it’s a possibility still and something to keep in mind in case you really do have an absurdly unreasonable professor.</p>
<p>In this case, time is actually a big deal since final grades are due Wednesday, haha. I hope she sees the email soon. Thanks for the advice, as well! I have no idea what could have gone wrong with that paper, so I’m really anticipating her response. If it is just some weird mistake I made (which would be bizarre, since I wrote the paper seemingly the exact same way as the others), you’re right, that would be something really good to get figured out and avoid next time. I almost feel like it was a mistake (especially since it happened before) honestly, but we’ll see.</p>