A question for the graduate students here.....

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by eilla05, Sep 6, 2011.

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  1. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    So I am in week 2 of my Masters in Justice Management at UNR and I have a question for those of you who have completed or a currently working on a grad degree.

    Are you just expected to know what they want from you? My assignments including discussions give absolutely no expectations of what is expected of you. There is no guidelines for what they want to see, how long it should be or if you should or have to respond to other students discussion posting. For example this coming week I have an assignment due in my JM 734 course and this is ALL there is as far as telling me what I need to do (and yes I have read and re-read the syllabus thinking something might be in there....nope):

    This Week's Assignment
    The link between Mental Illness, substance abuse, adolescence delinquency and impulsivity Assignment
    Research has demonstrated a link between Mental Illness, substance abuse, adolescence delinquency and impulsivity. In the typical case that you are familiar with which of these factors weighs the heaviest on impulse behavior. Explain your answer in detail based upon factors related to drug abuse, genetics, mental illness, trauma or "just being an adolescent". (Let's assume that we have a 17yr old, angry adolescent male on probation for assault and marijuana possession. He has a history of attacking anyone who "puts me down". What do you think?)

    I mean seriously! How much is explain in detail? Am I to use proper APA format or a variation... Seriously how am I supposed to know what he really wants from that?

    On another note the content of this course is of great interest to me :)

    So tell me should I just know what they expect of me? Is this just a grad student thing where I should just know? Apparently I am not required to respond to other students discussion post as I just noticed in 1 course I have grades already and I got A's without even 1 response to another student....totally weird!
     
  2. buckwheat3

    buckwheat3 Master of the Obvious

    When in doubt write your ass off...it worked for me...that's all graduate school was for me....writing my ass off, since I have graduated, I dont as nearly write my ass off
     
  3. _T_

    _T_ New Member

    Could not agree more. When in doubt, do more than you think anyone would expect of you. You'll get the feel for what is acceptable to your professor after a few assignments.
     
  4. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    Of course, you could always contact the prof for clarification.
     
  5. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    Safe answer:

    1. You have been supplied a prompt. Write a thoughtful, carefully presented response.
    2. You are in a justice program with a prompt that crosses into psychology. Use APA.
    3. If you have not been given a minimum page count, write less. You don't gain points by needing the extra pages to make your point. (unless you're a history major).
    4. If you have not been provided enough detail, ask your professor about the points you're having difficulty with.

    At the graduate level unless you are explicitly asked not to use APA, you're only doing yourself a service by using it. When done well, it will lower your page count.

    I both agree and disagree with the people who state "when in doubt, write" as on one hand you want to be seen as someone that does work, but you need to be able to evaluate your own writing critically. Any sentence that does not add strength to your argument is not needed.

    Professors do not want to read your paper, they have to read your paper. Be kind.
     
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Is this some kind of slam on history majors?
     
  7. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    That lack of detail is not common in the graduate classes I have attended. I would contact the prof to ask. The requirements the prof might clarify can probably be generalized over to other assignments too.
     
  8. jts

    jts New Member

    This is the key, right here. My process is: (1) make a mind map that throughly covers all the key elements of the assignment, (2) convert that to an outline, and paste into Word, (3) Expand concisely on each point, reference, and edit for tone and flow.

    If you cover all the points, and do it well, it (almost) doesn't matter how long your submission is.

    Tom
     
  9. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    This all depends on the prof, though.

    Some profs have the super-secret rubric that only they know.

    Student, "How long does the paper need to be?"

    Professor, "Don't worry about page count. Just make your arguments."

    Student, "Ok, thanks!"

    *Student writes 9 page paper*

    *Prof grades paper, returns with comments"

    Grade: B-
    Comments: "Excellent points, great references, you covered all the areas of the assignment, but you failed to reach 10 pages."

    *Student bangs head on desk in frustration*
     
  10. jts

    jts New Member

    Yeah, that's very true. Two weeks ago I submitted 7 pages for a 15-page assignment, and lost 0.5 points (out of 50) for an unrelated deficiency. I've had that professor before, however, and knew that an otherwise solid assignment would be OK.

    Some other professor might have nailed me to the wall... and I've have needed to look for some fluff. I really hate doing that, though... and it's not like the old days, where you could use 12.5 point fonts, 2.25 line spacing, and so on; we have to submit in Word.

    Tom
     
  11. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I see the point but from the person reading the assignment I see it as, "You had to write how much to make a damn point...get to the point already!" More quality, not quantity, is better. If you can say it in 5 pages as opposed to 7 - more power to you!
     
  12. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Great responses from all. I actually did contact the said professor and he pointed me to the information I posted above....lol So I replied with specifically what I was looking for and hoping he gives me a bread crumb. I just don't want to write a 5 page response if he was only looking for a one page response or vice versa.

    Honestly I am a little put off if this is the way grad classes are. I get that we are supposed to "know" some things since it is the grad level but I am not a mind reader and have bad experiences in the past just assuming I knew what was expected.

    I hope he gets back to me and clarifies...
     
  13. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I would not judge the entire program by one instructor. Hey, shoot low and submit 3 pages and see what happens :pat:
     
  14. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    Yes. Note my signature. The fact that I was first trained as a potential historian is the primary reason why I've been less successful advancing in business. No one has the time to evaluate things to my level of unnecessary detail.
     
  15. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    It seems to be just the program itself. 2 other courses I am in are the same way, however one did post a brief instruction for discussions but nothing else. I am okay with the program so far though, seems like a very doable program for me given everything I have going on right now and the content is interesting to me. Just wish I had a bit more to go on when writing assignments :)
     
  16. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Yup, when I doubt, I write my ass off. Sometimes I would write a shorter paper just to see what the reaction was. It kind of gave me a minimum and maximum word page gauge. Aspen was really good though, they would usually specifiy how many pages they wanted the response to be. If I felt weak about answering a certain question, I would write more and expound.

    Have fun!

    Abner :smille:
     
  17. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    OKay he got back to me with this:

    Allie:

    No that is the basic information.

    Dr.

    Seriously??? <----this is my part...lol
     
  18. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    What did you ask?
     
  19. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    This is the first email I sent:

    I have not been able to locate exactly what is expected of us in our response to the assignment (for example how long, what we are to include etc). I apologize that I can't seem to locate this information as I have not quite figured everything about the Moodle platform out as I am used to using Blackboard. Can you please point me in the direction of where I can locate this information?

    Instructor reply:

    If you look at the course and down the middle column to the heading that says week two. At the end of the week two heading you will find a discussion of the week two assignment and a mention of a conference call for September 13.

    My 2nd email:

    Yes I found that. I just wasn't sure if there was another document or set of instructions that goes along with the main course set up. I am able to see the weeks that are open and the content within them. I am mainly wanting to ensure that I do the assignment properly as far as length and various other aspects. Is there a certain length or expectation for our assignments?

    His reply is what I posted above....

    Again I say SERIOUSLY!!!!
     
  20. IslandJ

    IslandJ New Member

    I have completed 8 classes online as part of my MPA program. So far, I had 2 instructors who were vague like what you are describing and it drove me nuts (and when asked a question they also pointed back to the (non)information they had previously posted - grrrr!).

    I think it is an individual prof thing and not a grad school thing. My other profs (+ the profs in the 2 classes I am taking this semester) have all posted detailed requirements about their expectations for assignments (including # of pages, APA style, # of references etc...).

    All this to say, I feel your pain regarding the lack of clarity!

    As far as advice, I wouldn't write a lot just for the sake of writing (write as much as you need to make your point). ALso, how much is this assignment worth relative to the points earned in the entire course (i.e. 5%, 10%, 25%) - that could give you some clue.

    Good luck!
     

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