As the semester wraps up, I have a *lot* of grading to do. Let's play a little game.
I call it: What I Write / What I Mean
What I write: Fantastic job!!
What I mean: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your wonderful exam was the one bright spot in a day of bleak exams.
What I write: Units?!
What I mean: It pains me to acknowledge that you are so careless, lazy, and/or clueless that you failed to write down units with your answer. I am emphasizing this pain with extra punctuation.
What I write: Show work.
What I mean: I can't figure out how/why you wrote this answer. (Alternative meaning: I think you copied this answer off your neighbor's paper.)
What I write: Please look over, and make an appointment ASAP.
What I mean: You are failing. You are failing and seem not to know you are failing. Please come to my office so we can discuss this. Please don't cry.
