Student rewriting essay question

[Katrina Gulliver]

Is this normal/accepted where you teach?
I've just had a student turn in an essay where there was a list of questions they could choose from. This student has written on a different question (which, if you squint and have the wind behind you), kinda sorta relates to one of the questions listed.

Think:"How did warfare shape 19th century Europe?" becomes "What were the effects of the Battle of Bussaco?"

WWTFD?

[arcturus]

Sadly, this is probably a warning sign of plagiarism or other form of academic misconduct (using an essay written for a different class, for example). Best approach is probably to schedule a meeting with the student and ask straightforward questions regarding their thought process behind the essay. That should be revealing as to whether they thought that they were doing something brilliant (I realized that the topics listed did not really get to the heart of the matter, so I wrote this essay instead) or were trying to cheat (um, uh, um...). What you do next depends on the results of the conversation and your school's rules regarding reporting of academic misconduct. For the record, I can actually see a student thinking that they would earn a better grade if they came up with their own original question, rather than writing in response to those provided.

[eigen]

I generally go with "While interesting, this did not answer the question that was asked. Zero."

I might then consider being lenient and letting them re-submit something that did answer the question as asked with a late penalty.

[Parasaurolophus]

I allow my students to rewrite their papers, provided certain conditions are met (mostly: it has to be handed in early enough). Everyone thinks they will, but few ever do. Very few ever manage to adequately satisfy the conditions, either. Reading comprehension is tech.


I think I'm the only one in the department who does it, but I'm not the only one in the faculty. I wouldn't say it's common, however.


Where your particular situation is concerned: I usually grant a good-faith effort a bare pass. To count as a good-faith effort, however, it has to look like an attempt to answer the prompt, it has to look like an original effort (rather than a recycled one), and it has to conform to the minimum assignment parameteres (e.g. the right number and distribution of soruces, etc.). I'm not too shy about giving out bad grades, though, thanks to the rewrite option.

[jerseyjay]

Did the essay attempt to connect the narrow answer to the broader question: The Battle of Bussaco and its aftermath provide an example of the broader effects of war in 19th century Europe? Did your course talk about the Battle of Bussaco or even the Peninsular War? Did the textbook talk about this battle? Or did the student just suck the battle out of the air?

As mentioned, it could very well be plagiarized; have you googled choice phrases to see if it was obviously taken from the web? But it is also possible that the student was being creative. What is your experience with this student?

In terms of how to proceed: you could ask the student to redo the essay with penalty; you could grade the essay on its merits and then deduct a penalty for not being on topic (my rubric includes a score for topicality, i.e., does it actually answer the question); you could fail it outright if you think it is so off-topic; you could fail it outright if you have evidence of plagiarism. Asking to see the student might work, as suggested, but given the fact that the semester is over and campus is closed for Coronavirus any way, it might not be practical.

[arcturus]

[...] Asking to see the student might work, as suggested, but given the fact that the semester is over and campus is closed for Coronavirus any way, it might not be practical.

In this case, I assume that the class is currently in session - either a spring quarter or a summer session class - since the OP stated that the essay was just turned in. Also, for what it's worth, I held my academic integrity meetings via zoom in the spring semester. While it was more difficult to hand the kleenex box through the computer screen, in all other aspects the zoom meetings were similar to face-to-face meetings.

[spork]

Zero. Question not answered. Possibly a purchased paper.

[jimbogumbo]

Math guy, so my experience is almost entirely from in class prompts. In those cases I generally care most off the student (typically through misreading or interpretation) answers a substantially similar question. If so, I grade it and include some gentle snark.

If this was out of class, I might do it differently if the Battle of Bussaco had been discussed and referenced in class, AND could be argued was an important example.