So during the mid semester break, I received four of my assignments back. While I was extremely happy with the marks I received, the comments, as they have done so prior to this round of results have left me baffled.
Since 1st year, it has been hammered home (for me anyway), that we need to use APA 6th edition for referencing. Some lecturers/courses have even asked for, or required APA 6th formatting including running headings etc. Now that is fine. Easy marks right? Just follow the guide provided by the University. Except that when you follow one guide and your marker has followed another guide, there is a clash and the student loses.
Again, I have been very happy with my marks and don’t really consider the one or two marks worth arguing about (at the risk of losing marks in other areas and the time and hassle involved), but it is the principle of it. If we , as students, are expected to use a certain APA 6th edition guide, then the markers should be expected to use that same guide so that the inconsistencies in the marking can be avoided. Just to provide a working example of this, in one of my last assignments, the comment was “The page numbering in in-text references is only needed if it is a direct quote or an edited text”, while this is true, the manual also goes onto state that they could “be helpful and should be included if possible.” So the ‘minor errors’ in my APA were not actually minor errors…or were they?
Now this in no way is a reflection on my results so far in EDC3100 as I have not had this issue in this course. It is a general comment, based on what has happened to me throughout my degree and an issue I have read about through course Facebook pages and forums with other students.