<p>At this point, all you know is that the professor gave you a B+ for the course. The rest is just conjecture unless it is a situation where it is absolutely impossible that the paper could be read due to the type of corruption. </p>
<p>What I would do is schedule an appointment with the prof, tell him that you so enjoyed the course and really were looking forward to commentary on your paper, and when you checked for it, could not find any. If the prof out and out says the paper was not read, ask if he could possibly read it and give his opinions on it, as you would so value them. If he refuses to do so, you are stuck unless it is truly worth while to take this further The next step would be to take it to your advisor, the academic deans and the department chair. That is a decision you have to make.</p>
<p>If the prof will read the paper, you can also ask what grade that would get, as you want to know where the paper stands relative to the standards of such a course in such a unversity. This is a reasonable request. If he says it’s a first rate A paper, you can then very nicely ask if it is at all possible to get a grade chance as you are so interested in this field and intend to go further in it. If it’s not, then you’ve not lost anything. </p>
<p>As an older person, since a grade in a course is not as relevant to me, I would truly want commentary, suggestions and an idea of the where my paper stands, as that would be a giant step in upping my learning curve. Just writing a paper and losing it in cyberspace without feedback, is not an optimal learning experience. So asking for a review and assessment of the paper, to me, would be the natural step, if I don’t have feedback on it, even if I got an A+ in the course.</p>
<p>As a college instructor, I can’t agree enough with those who suggested contacting the professor as nicely as possible. There is nothing more off-putting than a student who approaches you with attitude and expectations.</p>
<p>I am 95% sure that she didn’t read the paper, as the file is corrupt so there’s really nothing to read. I don’t think the file can end up corrupt a few weeks later-it remains embedded in the email. Also, her unresponsiveness to some of my classmates’ emails leads me to believe that she was behind in grading or didn’t even start. I don’t think she read anything. I will attempt to contact her and get this sorted out though.</p>
<p>Call me a Luddite, but I require my students to submit papers in hard copy form. I just don’t want the hassle of dealing with unreadable file formats or corrupt files, which then become a de facto excuse for an extension (“Computer ate my homework . . . .”). Besides, I find it’s easier to read and grade a hard copy, and I don’t want to spend a lot of time printing out copies myself. </p>
<p>I do make exceptions if a student is sick or unavoidably out of town. In those cases, I open the e-mail attachment immediately, and contact the student promptly if the file is missing or unreadable.</p>
<p>Under the circumstances described, I wouldn’t assume the professor didn’t read the paper. On the contrary, since the student didn’t hear back from the professor that something was wrong with the file that was submitted, I would assume the professor did read and grade the paper and that it was represented in the final grade for the course. The fact that the professor has not returned the paper to the student, while not ideal, doesn’t support the inference that it went unread. That’s just wild speculation, of the most ungenerous sort.</p>
<p>I’m not so sure about that. I don’t understand the technical side of this, but I’m quite certain I’ve received e-mail attachments that I’ve opened and read, only to try to re-open the same file later and get a “file corrupt” message. Or my wife will be unable to open an e-mail attachment, getting a “file corrupt” message, while I can open up the exact same e-mail attachment perfectly well on a different computer using a different e-mail service and a different operating system.</p>
<p>In any event, I think cpt has given you an excellent script for what you should do if you want to find out how you did on the paper. That is what you want, right? To learn how to write better?</p>
<p>Mathmom: I would like comments, but I have learned not to expect them. I’ve only received comments on two final papers throughout my college career. Typically, my professors don’t return final papers;they don’t even indicate what grade I received. And I certainly don’t expect professors to add comments once they’ve already done the grading which is what this professor seems to want to put forth. I would just like some clarity regarding whether my work was actually read or not.</p>
<p>"I am 95% sure that she didn’t read the paper, as the file is corrupt so there’s really nothing to read. I don’t think the file can end up corrupt a few weeks later-it remains embedded in the email. Also, her unresponsiveness to some of my classmates’ emails leads me to believe that she was behind in grading or didn’t even start. I don’t think she read anything. I will attempt to contact her and get this sorted out though. "</p>
<p>“95% sure”, “I dont’ think”, leads me to believe, “I don’t think”, none of that is for certain. </p>
<p>I can tell you that if your attitude is one that shows a big chip on your shoulder, which is what I am sensing now, you are not likely to get a good response. You are not in the catbird seat here, so I suggest you take a very humble approach and take the route that you want to learn from this, not that you are grubbing for a better grade, which tends to get the hackles up of many teachers and profs. They can smell it a mile away, and unfortunately, what happened here often occurs fraudulently, when students send in a mess instead of a project to buy time. </p>
<p>There is also the possibility that the prof doesn’t want to deal with this and has a grading matrix that takes only certain things into consideration and gives leeway when something is missing, and gave you that grade. If that’s the case, not much you can do, since if a prof really doesn’t want to read the paper and change a grade, it would be very easy to give you a B+ regardless of the quality of the work. </p>
<p>However, reading, and correcting and going over the paper could be valuable to you. You don’t seem to think that is important, so what do you want out of this, other than a possible grade change?</p>
<p>Did you turn in a thesis statement? Outline? Rough draft? Those are the stages where you should expect detailed feedback.</p>
<p>I usually do not comment on final papers because it is almost entirely wasted effort, given how few students come by to pick up those papers. Every once in a while a student is interested, and I am quite happy to discuss with him or her my thoughts about the final paper.</p>
<p>*Quote:
As an instructor, I let them know if I have something I can’t open rather than just punishing them without an explanation.</p>
<p>==============
Are you are probably one of the great ones. </p>
<p>You must know that not everybody is as reasonable as you, and going in with attitude may backfire for this student.*</p>
<p>I agree with Sylvan. it’s not right for a prof not to let the student know that the file wasn’t properly transmitted. In the 'old days" sometimes a prof would let you “snail mail” something in. If the snail mail was rec’d but maybe got “cut up” or wet while going thru the post office and was unreadable, a prof would have to be a total #$%@ not to contact the student and ask for a resend. </p>
<p>I think the student needs to tread lightly here because it’s very likely the prof never read/graded many/all of the students’ papers. If so, the prof isn’t likely going to want to be exposed.</p>
<p>I would ask the professor for your graded paper. Let her know you want her comments on your paper. Maybe let her know you were surprised with a B+/</p>
<p>Like Amesie, I don’t comment on final papers because it is very rare for a student to come and ask for the paper back. I do, however, read every single one and assign a grade. OP, I really don’t see any evidence that your paper wasn’t read/graded, and I think it’s dangerous for you to assume that it wasn’t. If you pursue the A- you think you deserve, tread lightly.</p>
<p>My kids always ask for their final papers back with comments. How are they suppose to learn if they don’t read professor’s feedback. It is not all about the grade, right?</p>
<p>Let it go. I think the prof read your paper. Everyone grades differently. Just because you think you deserved at least an A- doesn’t mean the prof thought you did. If you approach the prof you run the risk of offending her. What if sometime down the line you end up taking a class from her again? She may remember you as the one who suggested that SHE wasn’t doing her job…</p>
<p>I think OP could write an email to his/her professor without offending her. If she didn’t read his paper, she could afford to him an A- to avoid any unpleasantness. If she did read his paper then she could email him her mark up.</p>
<p>Another professor here – I do not return the final paper of the semester, as the students have moved on. Nor I do I make substantial written comments on it for the same reason. I enter my final grades for the semester. </p>
<p>If a student has a question after the final grades are released, I will respond, giving them feedback on the paper etc. But most students do not ask for feedback. If phrased respectfully, I am happy to respond to requests for additional information and feedback. But emails (not that OP would do it this way) framed in terms of “I expected an A-, did you really read my paper?”) is not going to get a substantial response.</p>
<p>“I expected an A-, did you really read my paper?”
I think even young students could be more savvy than that. I have read few of my kids’ emails.</p>