Kind of a complicated story but in my first quarter at UCD (fall 2017) during the finals week I got numerous eye diseases and had to take an incomplete in each course. I have completed two of the three with an A and a B+, taking them in the order offered by the university, and recently just finished the final for the math course I needed to finish (the third and final course). I had thought I prepared really well but on top of the full load it was just hard to keep up with.
The exam was extremely difficult, and I had gotten a 51/100 - however the mean was a 65 with a standard deviation of about 16. I asked the instructor if he is going to curve the exam as he had mentioned a “generous curve” in a class announcement, and my other math course a 44% is a C and a 67 is a B; so it is not unusual for a really low percent to have a decent grade. He said he is only going to curve the entire course grade but not individual assignments, however since I have only taken the final in his course I have zeros in everything else (all completed work is for the previous time I took it). So while everyone else in the course gets a generous curve I am stuck with my base grade. My original professor has been extremely flexible and helpful so I was considering asking him to take this into consideration. Should I argue for a grade adjustment? If so how should I go about it (of course being as cordial as possible).
You should ask in the fashion you’ve asked here. Explain what happened, and ask politely if he will take that into consideration.
@Lindagaf okay I will do that, thanks for the constructive advice. I just feel that my base grade isn’t a fair representation of how I did relative to the rest of the class.
Why don’t you have grades on things other than the final?
One thing to add: a math professor is likely to appreciate a request that is calmly made, well thought out, and presented with good supporting data. 
Do you have an email where the the second prof has agreed to take the grades from the first semester (but not the final) and combine it with the final exam grade from the second? If you have this, then just remind him of the agreement.
I’m curious how this arrangement came about. If your first prof suggested it then you should get him or her back in the loop.
I agree that you should ask, but VERY respectfully. As a moderator, I’m sometimes shocked when a user asks something of me presumptuously or rudely. Really? I don’t HAVE to do anything for you. But if you ask very politely, I will at least consider it.
@CheddarcheeseMN Hi, at my university you can receive an “incomplete” grade, but it has to be for good reason and you have to have 60% of the course completed with a passing grade. It has to be submitted with your professor at the time. I had gotten an eye disease the week of finals that could have caused blindness so had to miss to see the doctors constantly, so I got an incomplete in the course. You have three quarters to complete the course. The only ting I missed was the final - and my professor was extremely flexible and understanding so said I could take the final with the next instructor the next time the quarter was taught. Kind of a complicated situation but the university was really helpful - I think I would have failed if they didn’t help so much.
@MaineLonghorn I have tremendous respect for my professors and always try to be as respectful as possible, especially when I need to ask for stuff like this or a letter of recommendation or something of that nature. I have seen emails sent to the class where a professor will say “we are not doing grade changes because of the amount of rude requests we had sent in” - I’m like great you ruined it for us all…
@lostaccount two separate courses - one has everything complete except for the final - the other has nothing complete and only the final - above I explain the whole incomplete grade process.
good news - I got my grade and it was much better then what I expected, thanks for the helpful comments and suggestions! I put out the data and made a cordial argument for my case, I tried to be as respectful as possible while still putting forth a good reason for consideration. Merry Christmas all!
Thanks for the update - glad to hear it.