USMB, I am proud to present you with a clear case of liberal bias

[rightwinger]

Somehow or another, the OP has learned that it is acceptable to whine about something he doesn't like by crying "political bias".

If there is political bias, it comes from teachers unwilling to tell a conservative student that their work is abysmal

 

[Sunshine]

Somehow or another, the OP has learned that it is acceptable to whine about something he doesn't like by crying "political bias".

If there is political bias, it comes from teachers unwilling to tell a conservative student that their work is abysmal

That is across the board. And the ones who don't have tenure are the worst of all.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Needless to say this does not constitute ‘proof’ absent the other essays for review.

And the bolded is factually incorrect and predicated on a subjective partisan bias, not the truth or evidence - it is, in essence, idiocy.

You’re fortunate for the grade you received.

What's false about it?

1. America is not "at a crossroads".
2. President Obama's policies, in nearly every way, were a continuation of his predecessor's.


I'll give you "statist". But that's it.

Even if we agree that Obama's policies are indistinguishable from Bush's that does not make the claim that "America is at a crossroads thanks to President Obama’s big-government, spread-the-wealth, statist, leftist policies" false.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Harken, my comrades, indisputable proof of liberal bias within the school system has surfaced! I have written an essay of tremendous value, yet it scored a measly 92. You may think this is a good score, but my liberal counterparts wrote far worse essays whilst garnering a far higher score.

Here is the essay. The topic this pertained to was the book "The Crucible" for an Honors 11 English class.

Economic freedom is the cornerstone of civilization. There are a few basic principles of economic freedom, as defined by the Heritage Foundation’s Index: rule of law, open markets, limited government, and regulatory efficiency. In other words, countries with stable currencies, limited federal spending, and fewer burdensome regulations have more economic freedom than those which do not. No country has ever become prosperous without following the precepts of economic freedom. In fact, there is a strong, positive correlation between the economic freedom of a nation and its quality of life, environmental health, civil rights, and employment rate. Unfortunately, those on the left abhor economic freedom despite its proven benefits for the vast majority of the inhabitants of a nation. “Liberals” favor restricting economic liberty in favor of the pseudo-egalitarian notions of “fairness” and “equality”; however, the countries which abandon economic freedom in favor of the liberals’ warped view of society tend to do very poorly in the long run. The United States used to be a world leader in economic freedom, but since President Obama has taken power and enacted his big-government agenda, America’s ranking has fallen from number 5 to number 10 in the index. Sky-high government spending and piles of onerous regulations do not make for a more fair society, only a more destitute and unjust society. Ultimately, The Crucible illustrates the importance of economic freedom and the bitter lessons which are learned when its tenets are abandoned
Two countries that encapsulate the effects of economic freedom (or the lack thereof) the most are Zimbabwe and Botswana. In 1960’s, when the British left Southern Africa, Botswana was the third poorest country in the world while Zimbabwe was known as “the breadbasket of Africa”. However, once the British left Zimbabwe, big-government socialist Robert Mugabe took control over the country. Mugabe’s socialist record was pitiful. He increased spending by over 100% per year by the 2000’s, and his policies produced so much inflation that a $100 trillion bill became utterly worthless. Ultimately, Mugabe’s policies caused Zimbabwe to go from a relatively well-off country to arguably the poorest in the world. Botswana took a different approach; the country decided to support free-market economic policies rather than Marxism. Botswana knew the importance of limiting government spending, keeping inflation in check, and upholding the rule of law. Thanks to its valiant efforts, Botswana experienced faster growth in per-capita income than any other country since 1965. These two countries illustrate how crucial economic freedom is; moreover, they serve as symbols in The Crucible. Specifically, Abigail and John Proctor represent Zimbabwe and Botswana, respectively. Before the witch trials, Salem was governed under a strict code of propriety and decorum. When these expectations of proper conduct began to melt away during the Witch Trials, Abigail showed her base nature and ultimately died as a prostitute in Boston. Abigail shows what happens when a nation experiences a revolution which is followed by the imposition of Marxist, amoral leadership that abrogates economic freedom. Meanwhile, John Proctor is more analogous to Botswana. Despite starting at a tough situation with a significant amount of sin, Proctor stood his ground and fought for his convictions. Despite ultimately being hung, Proctor was able to forgive himself and regain salvation. Proctor’s personal improvement is similar to Botswana’s gains, which were obtained through hard work, economic freedom, and free enterprise.
Another good example illustrating the importance of economic freedom is the case of Detroit and North Dakota. Leaders in Detroit embraced big-government, socialist policies. The results are absolutely atrocious. Detroit went from the richest city in America during the 1950’s to the poorest city in America now. Its population decreased by threefold, and parts of the city are so desolate that they face bear attacks. Meanwhile, North Dakota started out with a significantly tougher position, with a primarily agricultural society but little else. However, North Dakotans decided to abandon their support of Populists and Democrats, and began to elect free market Republicans. These conservative Republicans fought for more American energy, the rule of law, free trade, and low, flat taxes. The best way to describe the discord between these two competing ways of governing (Detroit’s strategy versus California’s) can be illustrated through the characters Reverend Hale and Tituba. Tituba decided to confess to witchcraft to save her life; unfortunately, she started to believe the charges herself and pretended to be a witch in the beginning of Act 4, saying “the devil’s gonna take me down to Barbados”. Tituba loses her goodness in the novel; even though she was never guilty of a crime, Abigail’s accusations ultimately caused her to lose her morality and dignity. This is similar to the situation of Detroit. She abandoned the basic tenets of goodness when facing duress. Abigail is representative of the liberal special interests that flooded the states in the 1960’s (like LBJ’s Great Society cronies) which ruined its economy and led to massive welfare-induced pathologies. Meanwhile, Reverend Hale went from being a part of the wrong side [supporting the witchcraft trials] to the correct one, standing up for John Proctor in Act III when no one else would. Hale represents the values of North Dakota – hard work, common sense, economic freedom – that made the state a beacon of opportunity.
Ultimately, economic freedom is crucial to the success of any country; this principle is clearly indicated in The Crucible. America is at a crossroads thanks to President Obama’s big-government, spread-the-wealth, statist, leftist policies. The election of 2014 is not about the next 2 years; it’s about the next 40 years. Our economic freedom and prosperity is at stake. Now is not the time for bigger government; empirical evidence proves that smaller government, the rule of law, lower taxes, and stable money lead to a stronger economy. It’s time to win this election for the next generation and stop the advance of policies which will surely lead to our demise.

Dude ... my eyes....

Do you know what we call economic freedom with no regulation?







The housing bubble.








The stock market crash of 1929









.

I love it when people call things that happened because of, or despite, regulations proof that regulations did not exist. I find it almost as hard to grasp as the people who insist that there is no proof that the CIA ordered the assassination of Kennedy proof that it happened.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

The format didn't copy over to USMB, since it doesn't appear to recognize tabs.

Perhaps I could edit it for you? Make it more legible? One thing you never do is copy paste from Word. Ever.

Economic freedom is the cornerstone of civilization. There are a few basic principles of economic freedom, as defined by the Heritage Foundation’s Index: rule of law, open markets, limited government, and regulatory efficiency. In other words, countries with stable currencies, limited federal spending, and fewer burdensome regulations have more economic freedom than those which do not. No country has ever become prosperous without following the precepts of economic freedom. In fact, there is a strong, positive correlation between the economic freedom of a nation and its quality of life, environmental health, civil rights, and employment rate.

Unfortunately, those on the left abhor economic freedom despite its proven benefits for the vast majority of the inhabitants of a nation. “Liberals” favor restricting economic liberty in favor of the pseudo-egalitarian notions of “fairness” and “equality”; however, the countries which abandon economic freedom in favor of the liberals’ warped view of society tend to do very poorly in the long run. The United States used to be a world leader in economic freedom, but since President Obama has taken power and enacted his big-government agenda, America’s ranking has fallen from number 5 to number 10 in the index. Sky-high government spending and piles of onerous regulations do not make for a more fair society, only a more destitute and unjust society. Ultimately, The Crucible illustrates the importance of economic freedom and the bitter lessons which are learned when its tenets are abandoned.

Two countries that encapsulate the effects of economic freedom (or the lack thereof) the most are Zimbabwe and Botswana. In 1960’s, when the British left Southern Africa, Botswana was the third poorest country in the world while Zimbabwe was known as “the breadbasket of Africa”. However, once the British left Zimbabwe, big-government socialist Robert Mugabe took control over the country. Mugabe’s socialist record was pitiful. He increased spending by over 100% per year by the 2000’s, and his policies produced so much inflation that a $100 trillion bill became utterly worthless. Ultimately, Mugabe’s policies caused Zimbabwe to go from a relatively well-off country to arguably the poorest in the world. Botswana took a different approach; the country decided to support free-market economic policies rather than Marxism.

Botswana knew the importance of limiting government spending, keeping inflation in check, and upholding the rule of law. Thanks to its valiant efforts, Botswana experienced faster growth in per-capita income than any other country since 1965. These two countries illustrate how crucial economic freedom is; moreover, they serve as symbols in The Crucible. Specifically, Abigail and John Proctor represent Zimbabwe and Botswana, respectively. Before the witch trials, Salem was governed under a strict code of propriety and decorum. When these expectations of proper conduct began to melt away during the Witch Trials, Abigail showed her base nature and ultimately died as a prostitute in Boston. Abigail shows what happens when a nation experiences a revolution which is followed by the imposition of Marxist, amoral leadership that abrogates economic freedom. Meanwhile, John Proctor is more analogous to Botswana. Despite starting at a tough situation with a significant amount of sin, Proctor stood his ground and fought for his convictions. Despite ultimately being hung, Proctor was able to forgive himself and regain salvation. Proctor’s personal improvement is similar to Botswana’s gains, which were obtained through hard work, economic freedom, and free enterprise.

Another good example illustrating the importance of economic freedom is the case of Detroit and North Dakota. Leaders in Detroit embraced big-government, socialist policies. The results are absolutely atrocious. Detroit went from the richest city in America during the 1950’s to the poorest city in America now. Its population decreased by threefold, and parts of the city are so desolate that they face bear attacks. Meanwhile, North Dakota started out with a significantly tougher position, with a primarily agricultural society but little else. However, North Dakotans decided to abandon their support of Populists and Democrats, and began to elect free market Republicans. These conservative Republicans fought for more American energy, the rule of law, free trade, and low, flat taxes. The best way to describe the discord between these two competing ways of governing (Detroit’s strategy versus California’s) can be illustrated through the characters Reverend Hale and Tituba. Tituba decided to confess to witchcraft to save her life; unfortunately, she started to believe the charges herself and pretended to be a witch in the beginning of Act 4, saying “the devil’s gonna take me down to Barbados.” Tituba loses her goodness in the novel; even though she was never guilty of a crime, Abigail’s accusations ultimately caused her to lose her morality and dignity. This is similar to the situation of Detroit. She abandoned the basic tenets of goodness when facing duress.

Abigail is representative of the liberal special interests that flooded the states in the 1960’s (like LBJ’s Great Society cronies) which ruined its economy and led to massive welfare-induced pathologies. Meanwhile, Reverend Hale went from being a part of the wrong side [supporting the witchcraft trials] to the correct one, standing up for John Proctor in Act III when no one else would. Hale represents the values of North Dakota – hard work, common sense, economic freedom – that made the state a beacon of opportunity.

Ultimately, economic freedom is crucial to the success of any country; this principle is clearly indicated in The Crucible. America is at a crossroads thanks to President Obama’s big-government, spread-the-wealth, statist, leftist policies. The election of 2014 is not about the next 2 years; it’s about the next 40 years. Our economic freedom and prosperity is at stake. Now is not the time for bigger government; empirical evidence proves that smaller government, the rule of law, lower taxes, and stable money lead to a stronger economy. It’s time to win this election for the next generation and stop the advance of policies which will surely lead to our demise.

I notice you are prone to comma splicing. On top of that, in American grammar the period is placed inside the quotes. I would have given you a C simply because it is well composed, but has literally nothing to do with the book you are writing about.

Unless something has changed, in APA style the period is outside the quotes.

I agree on the grade. A 'C' at best.

American Psychological Association (APA) style places most punctuation inside the quotation marks because it is based on the American style.

APA Style Blog: Punctuating Around Quotation Marks

 

[Quantum Windbag]

From 1941 to the 1960's we had high taxes on the rich and high wages. The taxes were invested in education and infrastructure and the high wages created consumer demand. Now we have low taxes for the rich and low wages. What is the result? 23% of total income goes to the top 1%. 70% of our economy is consumer demand. Too much money in too few hands starves the economy of demand. Stagnation is the result.

Raise the minimum wage and tax capital gains as income.

" We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that allow some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. In theory some of those loophole were understandable, but in practice, they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing." ~ Ronald Reagan

In 1965 the median wage was $6,900 a year. That might seem high to you, but most people today wouldn't be able to live on it.

Like the OP, you deserve a poor grade for writing about something which has nothing to do with what you're responding to.

The idiot claimed that high taxes produce high wages, how was my response not pertinent to what he said?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Be serious....have you read The Crucible?
I cannot be sure that he did

His essay is a rightwing diatribe with painfully inserted, unrelated references to The Crucible

Be honest. Could you send in something like that, that is supposed to be about The Crucible and get a 92 on it?

Is he making shit up again? or is this what our High Schools are really like?

No, I wouldn't get a 92 at my high school in the honors/AP class(probably a B for the former and C for the latter), but that's because it's #6 in the state.........other high schools almost certainly have lower standards. The other thing is, he did say it was a timed essay.

And yes, this isn't the main theme of the Crucible, but at the same time, a "traditional" essay on The Crucible would just be talking about McCarthyism, how Abigail ruined everything and created hysteria; how the power of "fear" controls all; and how people like Hale are dynamic characters who have a change of heart.

For a 20-minute timed essay, it sounded pretty good to me.

All he did was take a rightwing diatribe on the economy and Obama sucks and insert unrelated references to The Crucible

If I tried that bullshit when I was in High School 40 years ago, I would have gotten an F. Most teachers back then would have recognized a blatant tactic from someone who had not read the "play"and was trying to skate by with bull shit

In high school 40 years ago writing a right wing diatribe about Obama would have been classified as Fantasy, now you call it racism.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Did you read The Crucible?

Yes, I did in fact read The Crucible.

Regardless, your grade was more than fair given your [purported] paper wasn't even about The Crucible, so it appears you have failed miserbly in your OP to actually prove your grade was the product of Liberal bias.

When I was writing essays about books I wasn't expected to turn in book reports, I was expected to use the book as a springboard to articulate an opinion. The cornerstone of the grade was the ability to read things into the text because the theme is that authors always hid stuff in their words. Those classes were, obviously, designed by people who cannot write to make themselves feel better about the fact that their wonderful books failed to sell because the public failed to comprehend their brilliance.

This essay nailed that premise.

 

[Faun]

Somehow or another, the OP has learned that it is acceptable to whine about something he doesn't like by crying "political bias".

His whining seems to stem from a grade less than he feels is deserved. Unfortunately for him, his judgement for the reason why appears to be clouded by his own prejudices.

Ironically enough, though he projects blame upon his imaginary boogie man, whom he refers to as a member of a Liberal biased school system ... the only evidence of ideological bias he produced was his own.

 

[American4Americ]

Somehow or another, the OP has learned that it is acceptable to whine about something he doesn't like by crying "political bias".

If there is political bias, it comes from teachers unwilling to tell a conservative student that their work is abysmal

Not at all.

 

[Hoosier4Liberty]

Say what you want, but I think it's pretty safe to say the OP is above the 50th percentile(a "C" according to a bell curve; more like a "B" today due to grade inflation) of high school students.
75 Percent of Oklahoma Students Can't Name the First President - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
I'm pretty sure the OP could answer all of those, putting him at a pretty high percentile in terms of academic ability (at least with respect to civics). And frankly, I'm pretty sure if you couldn't answer those questions, you couldn't write a better essay on The Crucible than the OP did (I mean, one would have to be pretty dull not to be able to answer these)

NAEP - Reading 2011: Grade 12 Vocabulary Sample Questions Results

Also, among 12th graders, only 50% knew the definition of "mitigate".

I think it's safe to say that while the OP's writing may not be great, he's well, well, well above the knowledge of the average high-schooler today (not that that's an impressive accomplishment).

 

[rightwinger]

Say what you want, but I think it's pretty safe to say the OP is above the 50th percentile(a "C" according to a bell curve; more like a "B" today due to grade inflation) of high school students.
75 Percent of Oklahoma Students Can't Name the First President - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
I'm pretty sure the OP could answer all of those, putting him at a pretty high percentile in terms of academic ability (at least with respect to civics). And frankly, I'm pretty sure if you couldn't answer those questions, you couldn't write a better essay on The Crucible than the OP did (I mean, one would have to be pretty dull not to be able to answer these)

NAEP - Reading 2011: Grade 12 Vocabulary Sample Questions Results

Also, among 12th graders, only 50% knew the definition of "mitigate".

I think it's safe to say that while the OP's writing may not be great, he's well, well, well above the knowledge of the average high-schooler today (not that that's an impressive accomplishment).

Scary isn't it?

 

[American4Americ]

Say what you want, but I think it's pretty safe to say the OP is above the 50th percentile(a "C" according to a bell curve; more like a "B" today due to grade inflation) of high school students.
75 Percent of Oklahoma Students Can't Name the First President - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
I'm pretty sure the OP could answer all of those, putting him at a pretty high percentile in terms of academic ability (at least with respect to civics). And frankly, I'm pretty sure if you couldn't answer those questions, you couldn't write a better essay on The Crucible than the OP did (I mean, one would have to be pretty dull not to be able to answer these)

NAEP - Reading 2011: Grade 12 Vocabulary Sample Questions Results

Also, among 12th graders, only 50% knew the definition of "mitigate".

I think it's safe to say that while the OP's writing may not be great, he's well, well, well above the knowledge of the average high-schooler today (not that that's an impressive accomplishment).

Scary isn't it?

I have another curveball to toss your way, fakerightwinger, I had the highest grade in my AP. USH, as of the last quarter (A paltry 98.8%). It just shows that conservatives have a better knowledge of history than leftwingers do (most of the people with Cs in the class are far-leftists, kind of reminiscent of you!).

 

[BobPlumb]

Once again, I am amazed at how liberal the grading is in your school. As in your other posted assignment, your essay had nothing to do with The Crucible and should have received a failing grade. Are they afraid to fail students?

Are you bullshitting us again?

Specifically, Abigail and John Proctor represent Zimbabwe and Botswana, respectively

The philosophy of education these days is that all students should pass. If they can't pass on their own, then help them pass. That is from the administration. Then from the student side, 'I paid my money, give me the degree.' In prereqs the profs just sell out, then we have to deal with their messes in the clinical classes. I spent 2 hours one night before the nurse pinning ceremony with a student's mother who came to argue the answer of every question on the final exam. At 6:45 I told her I had to leave because it was time to go to pinning and she said, 'I'll meet you back here when it's over.' My response, 'You don't understand. I've been here since 7 this morning. When pinning is over, I'm out of here. Good night.' Her next question, 'well where do we get the $18,000 to pay back these student loans?'

This student was convinced that God had 'called' her to be a nurse and she couldn't fail. But she did fail, and with her attitude, if she had managed to have a happy accident an pass, she would have been dangerous in the workplace.

One day I came in to work and there was an armed guard sitting at the bottom of the stairs next to my door. Administration told me that because of FERPA I couldn't know what was going on. I told administration that since my life was clearly in danger they damned well better TELL me what was going on. So, they did. At least I knew who to be on the lookout for. And yes, I got a promotion.

The administration just doesn't want to have to deal with them. And they like money. Colleges aren't the same as when we were there.

Probably the biggest factor by which high schools are judged today is graduation rate. By not setting high requirements for each students to pass each class, a high schools graduation rate is boosted. This is one reason for the deflation of the value of a high school diploma in today's world.

 

[Hoosier4Liberty]

Say what you want, but I think it's pretty safe to say the OP is above the 50th percentile(a "C" according to a bell curve; more like a "B" today due to grade inflation) of high school students.
75 Percent of Oklahoma Students Can't Name the First President - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
I'm pretty sure the OP could answer all of those, putting him at a pretty high percentile in terms of academic ability (at least with respect to civics). And frankly, I'm pretty sure if you couldn't answer those questions, you couldn't write a better essay on The Crucible than the OP did (I mean, one would have to be pretty dull not to be able to answer these)

NAEP - Reading 2011: Grade 12 Vocabulary Sample Questions Results

Also, among 12th graders, only 50% knew the definition of "mitigate".

I think it's safe to say that while the OP's writing may not be great, he's well, well, well above the knowledge of the average high-schooler today (not that that's an impressive accomplishment).

Scary isn't it?

Indeed, but I think this shows why the OP got a 92 (and he may well be right to expect higher given the distributions)......it's not because he has great academic ability, but statistics show it's clearly better than the others.

IMO, I do not think there was a political bias in the grading, as the essay probably got a 92 due to punctuation. It all depends how the teacher weights different categories.

The problem is that it's quite difficult to say what grade some assignment "ought" to get unless you compare it in relation to the performance of others. This is especially true with writing because there is no set rubric for grading it.

Ultimately, the OP's work would not do particularly well at an above-average university(it would probably easily get an A at a community college though, due to the low student quality there) but not so much for not referencing The Crucible. The problem seems more to be that there is too much repetition of ideas rather than new arguments in the paragraphs. The North Dakota/Detroit and Zimbabwe/Botswana ideas are just about the same, frankly.

 

[rightwinger]

Say what you want, but I think it's pretty safe to say the OP is above the 50th percentile(a "C" according to a bell curve; more like a "B" today due to grade inflation) of high school students.
75 Percent of Oklahoma Students Can't Name the First President - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
I'm pretty sure the OP could answer all of those, putting him at a pretty high percentile in terms of academic ability (at least with respect to civics). And frankly, I'm pretty sure if you couldn't answer those questions, you couldn't write a better essay on The Crucible than the OP did (I mean, one would have to be pretty dull not to be able to answer these)

NAEP - Reading 2011: Grade 12 Vocabulary Sample Questions Results

Also, among 12th graders, only 50% knew the definition of "mitigate".

I think it's safe to say that while the OP's writing may not be great, he's well, well, well above the knowledge of the average high-schooler today (not that that's an impressive accomplishment).

Scary isn't it?

I have another curveball to toss your way, fakerightwinger, I had the highest grade in my AP. USH, as of the last quarter (A paltry 98.8%). It just shows that conservatives have a better knowledge of history than leftwingers do (most of the people with Cs in the class are far-leftists, kind of reminiscent of you!).

You expect me to be impressed with the grading in your school?

 

[rightwinger]

Say what you want, but I think it's pretty safe to say the OP is above the 50th percentile(a "C" according to a bell curve; more like a "B" today due to grade inflation) of high school students.
75 Percent of Oklahoma Students Can't Name the First President - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |
I'm pretty sure the OP could answer all of those, putting him at a pretty high percentile in terms of academic ability (at least with respect to civics). And frankly, I'm pretty sure if you couldn't answer those questions, you couldn't write a better essay on The Crucible than the OP did (I mean, one would have to be pretty dull not to be able to answer these)

NAEP - Reading 2011: Grade 12 Vocabulary Sample Questions Results

Also, among 12th graders, only 50% knew the definition of "mitigate".

I think it's safe to say that while the OP's writing may not be great, he's well, well, well above the knowledge of the average high-schooler today (not that that's an impressive accomplishment).

Scary isn't it?

Indeed, but I think this shows why the OP got a 92 (and he may well be right to expect higher given the distributions)......it's not because he has great academic ability, but statistics show it's clearly better than the others.

IMO, I do not think there was a political bias in the grading, as the essay probably got a 92 due to punctuation. It all depends how the teacher weights different categories.

The problem is that it's quite difficult to say what grade some assignment "ought" to get unless you compare it in relation to the performance of others. This is especially true with writing because there is no set rubric for grading it.

Ultimately, the OP's work would not do particularly well at an above-average university(it would probably easily get an A at a community college though, due to the low student quality there) but not so much for not referencing The Crucible. The problem seems more to be that there is too much repetition of ideas rather than new arguments in the paragraphs. The North Dakota/Detroit and Zimbabwe/Botswana ideas are just about the same, frankly.

And neither has anything to do with The Crucible

 

[editec]

If the assignment was literary analysis of the play "the Crucible"?

I'd have flunked that paper.

And YES I taught literature at the HS level.

 

[American4Americ]

Scary isn't it?

Indeed, but I think this shows why the OP got a 92 (and he may well be right to expect higher given the distributions)......it's not because he has great academic ability, but statistics show it's clearly better than the others.

IMO, I do not think there was a political bias in the grading, as the essay probably got a 92 due to punctuation. It all depends how the teacher weights different categories.

The problem is that it's quite difficult to say what grade some assignment "ought" to get unless you compare it in relation to the performance of others. This is especially true with writing because there is no set rubric for grading it.

Ultimately, the OP's work would not do particularly well at an above-average university(it would probably easily get an A at a community college though, due to the low student quality there) but not so much for not referencing The Crucible. The problem seems more to be that there is too much repetition of ideas rather than new arguments in the paragraphs. The North Dakota/Detroit and Zimbabwe/Botswana ideas are just about the same, frankly.

And neither has anything to do with The Crucible

Yes, they do.

 

[bodecea]

Indeed, but I think this shows why the OP got a 92 (and he may well be right to expect higher given the distributions)......it's not because he has great academic ability, but statistics show it's clearly better than the others.

IMO, I do not think there was a political bias in the grading, as the essay probably got a 92 due to punctuation. It all depends how the teacher weights different categories.

The problem is that it's quite difficult to say what grade some assignment "ought" to get unless you compare it in relation to the performance of others. This is especially true with writing because there is no set rubric for grading it.

Ultimately, the OP's work would not do particularly well at an above-average university(it would probably easily get an A at a community college though, due to the low student quality there) but not so much for not referencing The Crucible. The problem seems more to be that there is too much repetition of ideas rather than new arguments in the paragraphs. The North Dakota/Detroit and Zimbabwe/Botswana ideas are just about the same, frankly.

And neither has anything to do with The Crucible

Yes, they do.

No, they don't.