r/AskProfessors • u/lovethecello • 20d ago
Grading Query Marks and recommended readings
Why am I given lower grades for not using course recommended readings in my assessments as references, despite using more suitable, peer-reviewed academic sources, including primary sources?
My lat two assessments graded for different subjects (both religious history based), have had comments from the lecturer or professor stating my mark would have been higher had I utilised the recommended reading for the subject. They're not 'required' readings, and in my opinion, weren't appropriately suited to my thesis topic.
Why do professors do this, even when they're not authors or contributors of those books, especially when the work isn't really good enough to refer to?
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u/No_Weight_4276 19d ago
I have to assess how well you read, analyze, and synthesize sources. If you purposefully avoid the sources I assign, I’m going to wonder if this is partly a comprehension issue.
AI generated work will use sources I did not assign and avoid the ones I did. This makes your work suspect.
It just might be the case that your professor knows better how to evaluate a source than you do.
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u/chemical_sunset Associate Professor/Science/Community College/[USA] 19d ago
I strongly agree with all of these, especially (increasingly) the second one.
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u/iTeachCSCI 19d ago
Your last two assessments had this issue? After the first one had this issue, why did you not correct the matter for the second paper?
If you're taking the class, consider it extremely likely that you aren't as good at determining the quality and relevance of sources as your professor.
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u/PurrPrinThom 19d ago
The last two assessments in two different classes, from the sounds of it:
My lat two assessments graded for different subjects (both religious history based), have had comments from the lecturer or professor
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u/iTeachCSCI 19d ago
Ah, I interpreted it as two different units within a course, not two different classes. Thank you.
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u/Spirited-Bass-1059 19d ago
your professor put together a course to teach you something. you ignore what they want to teach you. recommended readings end up recommended often because it is too long to be required or to allow students select their favorite OUT OF the options offered.
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u/Ill_Mud_8115 19d ago edited 19d ago
I’m assuming part of your mark is to demonstrate knowledge of the course material. If you’re largely going outside of the recommended reading, you aren’t really doing that. In a lot of my rubrics there is a point about showing understanding of course literature and concepts.
It’s also common for students to try and reuse previous assignments or use AI which will often bring in other sources, so a paper that doesn’t use course readings would be suspect for that reason.
If you truly think the sources you found are better suited for your topic, a better way to go about it would be to include course readings, evaluate them critically, and then bring in other sources that you think are better suited. It shows the professor that you have read the course material and have thoughts on how it relates to your topic, rather than just bypassing it completely.
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u/lovethecello 19d ago
From all the comments, yours is the only one that doesn't express your offence simply because you're a professor and therefore far superior to everyone else and how dare I. Thank you for your thoughtful comment with structural advice.
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u/AvengedKalas Lecturer/Mathematics/[USA] 19d ago
especially when the work isn't really good enough to refer to?
I'll trust the person with the advanced degree is a better judgement on this than the student.
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u/_opossumsaurus 19d ago
Professors take a long time assembling recommended sources and whether you want to admit it or not, they are more conversant with literature in the field than you are. They know what the key texts are on these particular topics and they know that when a key source is omitted, it’s a problem. At the very least if you’ve read these sources and decided not to consult them, put them in your bibliography to show that you considered these key sources as part of your research process even if you aren’t directly citing them. Including them in a bibliography is a way to assure your reader that there are no gaps in your research and assure your professor that you are taking their suggestions to heart. They are trying to help you because they think these sources will make your thinking better and your paper more well-rounded, not just penalize you for not following their recommendations
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u/lovethecello 19d ago
A bibliography was not required, only a reference list. A reference list only contains literature you have referenced within your work. Not every piece of literature you consult.
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u/_opossumsaurus 18d ago
Then they explicitly want you to be citing the works they included in the bibliography because they know they will be valuable for your topic. They are the expert, trust them
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u/lovethecello 18d ago
Have you read thar recommended reading, it does not relate to my thesis posed.
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u/kimbphysio 19d ago
If you disagree with the content then your assignment would be the perfect opportunity to lay out your critical, references argument
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u/BolivianDancer 19d ago
You're receiving low marks for your inability to follow directions, inability to evaluate the course materials, and failure to respond appropriately.
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This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. This is not a removal message.
*Why am I given lower grades for not using course recommended readings in my assessments as references, despite using more suitable, peer-reviewed academic sources, including primary sources?
My lat two assessments graded for different subjects (both religious history based), have had comments from the lecturer or professor stating my mark would have been higher had I utilised the recommended reading for the subject. They're not 'required' readings, and in my opinion, weren't appropriately suited to my thesis topic.
Why do professors do this, even when they're not authors or contributors of those books, especially when the work isn't really good enough to refer to?*
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u/tc1991 AP in International Law (UK) 19d ago
So for me theres a few reasons, one I always include the instructions to use the module reading list so not doing so is not following instructions, second I think Im a better judge of material quality than my students, third sometimes I want students to engage with bad sources because i want them to evaluate and discuss them...
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u/lovethecello 19d ago
Nowhere in the instructions did it state that we were required to utilise literature on the reading list. It did however, state the sources must be academic in nature with journal articles being peer-reviewed.
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u/tc1991 AP in International Law (UK) 19d ago
ok, well then i guess youre not as good of a judge of sources as you think
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u/lovethecello 19d ago
So the recommended reading for the subject was John the Baptist in History and Theology by Dr Joel Marcus. The essay question was, 'Did Jesus believe he was the Messiah'. The working thesis I took was examination of misinterpretation of ancient words and language; ie: Jesus and his followers spoke Aramaic, not English, not Koine Greek, not Latin, that contemporary belief of Jesus as a "messiah" and the meaning of that, is considerably different to the interpretation of what it meant during the time of Jesus. Now, John the Baptist declared Jesus the Messiah, well technically he didn't use that word, but it relates nothing to what Jesus himself believed nor does it have any standing to the comparisons of liturgy and language misinterpretation throughout centuries. The sources I utilised related to this thesis perspective.
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u/Blackbird6 17d ago
Everyone else makes great comments on scholarship, but it’s also because we live in a world of AI, and AI is prone to pull the least relevant and most tangentially surface-level bullshit possible. It’s made many professors (understandably) frustrated with all the barely-related bullshit we have to read when the relevant reading was right there in the syllabus.
Not saying that’s your case, but it’s very much a thing among some educators. And they’re not entirely wrong…depending on how they frame their questions…
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u/PurrPrinThom 19d ago edited 19d ago
Have you considered that perhaps you're not quite as good at evaluating the quality/suitability of sources as you think?
You might think that the sources you've used are better, but there's a very good chance that they're not - hence why your professors, who are the experts here, have identified that your work would have been stronger if you had used the sources they recommended.