The Hall of Shame: College Student Papers

This summer session is my fourth semester as a teaching assistant for the same class at the University of North Texas. This course is a 3000-level core class - meaning students take it usually as juniors, and they must pass it to graduate with a degree in Kinesiology. While grading papers for this class I have seen some of the most ridiculously incorrect sentences, spelling mistakes, and oversights. Some make me laugh - some cringe. And now I'm sharing them with you, completely unedited (and anonymously, of course).

HALL OF SHAME - THINGS SUBMITTED IN PAPERS

• One of our reoccurring assignments involves the students touring a restaurant or other public space and evaluating how accessible the space is for an individual in a wheelchair. One student commented that a store's shelves were "much too high to be reached by dwarfs". No mention of wheelchairs whatsoever. 

• A male student evaluated a popular restaurant that is commonly known for its scantily-clad female servers for his accessibility assignment (inappropriate mistake #1). He then commented on the location of the trash can in the restroom... "in case you're too drunk to make it to the toilet" (inappropriate mistake #2), and finished his paper with the statement: "[this restaurant] is a great place visit if one wishes to see the state of America's future mothers" (WAYYYY past inappropriate mistake #4).

• In multiple assignments I've seen individuals with disabilities referred to as "handicaps", "wheelchair people", and "disables". 

• One student used the name of a particular restaurant seven times throughout his/her paper. It wasn't capitalized a single time. 

• Another changed font style and size (drastically) in the middle of the paper. 

• Yet another consistently put two periods at the end of every sentence. 

• Another repeatedly wrote "I failed to mention...." Since we have computers and can edit papers, wouldn't you NOT fail to mention it and just edit in what you forgot?

• An entire two-page paper center justified. No paragraphs, no indentations, just jagged edges on both sides. 

• Quote: "They may have partially missing teach, defective tool enamel or small, widely spaced teeth."

• Quote: "One of the main rules is not baby sling or high chair next to the booth sections because of blockage to the rest of the other guest and employee."

• Quote: "The patio is circus because of the mass movement done by both guest and employees."

• Quote: "As a normal costumer I evaluated the facility with a close eye. The employesses were very professional and nice."

• Quote: "I did not have a lot of experience with the cane but I was able to use it very effecient. Something that I did not like it was that cane was short for me I had to bend a little because of my height 6'5."

• Quote: "There were several issues that I faced during this assignment that I had not put too much thought about people who are blind face."

• Quote: "Since the outside of the Health Center is so wide it is hard for you to get your impaired partner to walk to start line so buy telling them to try and keep strait helps but sometimes they would stray to the left or to the right."
  
  
  
  

HALL OF SHAME - THINGS SUBMITTED IN LESSON PLANS

Students are required to write lesson plans in groups and teach physical activity in the form of games to kids in the community with disabilities. These are things I've seen in lesson plans.

• "Make sure to move your legs opposite of one another when running." (I'd like to see someone run without moving their legs opposite of one another!)

• "Gallop while seated."

• "When hopping try to visualize that you're a rabbit going home and hop the best you can when going home."

HALL OF SHAME - MISSPELLED WORDS

• Through = "thru" (as well as: You = "U", Are = "R", and other "text language")
• Accessible = "assesable"
• Waste basket = "waist basket"
• Dining = "dinning"
• Bar stools = "stoles"
• Aisles = "isles"
• Bathroom stalls = "stales"
• Hence = "hints"
• Absence = "abscence" (repeatedly on an email)
• Spatial awareness = "special awareness"
• Misguided = "miss guided"

HALL OF SHAME - RIDICULOUS EMAILS

• "I missed the assignment because I was on a cruise. Can I turn it in now?" (over a week late...)

• "Can you tell me what I should write my paper on and how I should write it?"

• "two page paper we are writting is based off of the service learning questions from the log on the callendar? if not can you tell me what the paper is suppose to be about. - thank you"

• "kelly have the extra credit points been added to the final score mine is a 171 plus i see 8 extra credit points but i dont see any points for the discussion board and i need 11 points to pass the class so will i get for the other 3 points from the discussions on line..."

• "i resent the paper too you last week and i dont see a grade did you recieve the redo on it.. i have had a lot of trouble learning this system.."

• "i broughat my paper to class printed out dr driver told me to go post it online and gave me until 5pm i had a little trouble doing in in the lab but i got it in i dont think that is fair because he said i could go after class and send it thru black board. i was not late."

• "Omg I just realized I spelt your name wrong, I'm so sorry really. Please don't take off anymore points off my assignments hahaha and I'll def make it up to you for sure."

Hope you got a kick out of this.

Love,

- K