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The most believable (or unbelievable) excuses for not handing in work

These excuses I've used (some have probably been posted), though most can only be used pretty much once per teacher:

If it's an essay, get a really old essay and totally soak it with water, then tell the teacher it got soaked some way or another and show them the work (which is illegible).

I also had a usb flash drive which didn't work for ages, so I told the teacher I saved the work and I'll put it on their laptop, though when I put the usb in and it doesn't work I just tell them it must have broken.

Sort of like the above one, GMail didn't work at our school for ages, so I told the teacher I'd saved the work on my email and I'll go onto their laptop and log on, then when I can't log in there usually like 'Oh GMail dosen't work on the computers here', in which I respond with, 'Ah crap, didn't know that :frown:

'

Also I have Office 2007, which the school doesn't support, so I can't print off.

Another one (which I feel kind of harsh for doing :p:

) is 'I left the homework at my dads house, and my mum and dad had an argument so I couldn't go over to get it. To be honest I'd rather not talk about it.'

'I came in earlier to give it to you but you weren't there so I left it on your desk'

'In all honesty I did forget it but my dad's coming to drop it off after school so I'll give it to you then'...When he doesn't, blame it on your dad.

Reply 81

bex_26797

14

Speedbird2008

The new classic is: "Oh, sorry - I was un-able to print it off as it was Word 2007." Haha. :biggrin:

This actually happens to me, !! Last year we had a coursework deadline and I finished but didn't print it off, and went to and realised i hadn't saved it in a compatibility document, and told my teacher so. However there was no compromise and I had to walk home and walk back to school in order to get it in. :frown:

Reply 82

Metal_Gear

10

I think one of my friends used pretty much every excuse posted in this thread over Year 7-13 at the same school, with the same teachers :p:

My English teacher who has a dry sense of humour responds brilliantly though. It's worth hearing the excuses for coursework just for the responses he gets :biggrin:

I have used a few in the past myself, two that have worked in the past which really worked (to my surprise) are:

-Art GCSE. I wasn't arsed, and despite my teacher being notorious for a quick temper, when she asked for my work I sighed and just said that I didn't do it and that I am sorry. Instead of blowing up, she sat down in front of me and got really sympathetic, asking if anything was wrong. Needless to say that moment shocked me into handing in all subsequent work dead on time :eek:

The other was Year 9 Music. Our teacher wasn't actually arsed and never personally checked homework anyway. She would just sit at her desk and when she called peoples names we would have to just lift up our book at the right page while she would casually mark down that it was done. Me and a friend didn't do homework for a full year, we just held up the same damn page every lesson :bang:

Reply 83

weet_ABI_x

11

I always just say "I'm SO sorry, but I totally forgot about it!! I'll hand it in next lesson!!" Being honest shocks them, and normally I end up never doing it - if I don't do a piece of homework on time I don't really ever intend to do it really :biggrin:

Reply 84

Kashya

13

"The computers in school refuse to let me open word 2007 files"
"Did you go to the technician?"
"N-...Yes"

"We had homework? Lies!"
*Hands up other work* Two days later: "Oh, I think I gave you the wrong work"

Reply 85

Kashya

13

Oh! And "I only have my rough written draft with me, cant I hand up the typed version?"

"Or Ive forgotten two pages, do you want it now or will I hand it up all together? *Prays*.

Reply 86

louisedotcom

13

My dog was sick on it worked for me.

Reply 87

Gueirguiy

13

Not so much as an excuse but bring in your work on a pendrive, and have some file in the openoffice format (free program), most school/college computers wont have openoffice so they wont be able to open it.

Reply 88

TemS

No electricity in da place. hahahaha

Reply 89

Speedbird2008

3

These are all brilliant!! :biggrin:

schrodinger's cat

I think SouthernFreerider beat me to it sort of, my my favourite which my friend actually got away with is:

student(as teacher is entering room): Sir, do you believe it is morally wrong to punish someone for something they havn't done?
teacher: Of course!
student: Great. I havn't done your homework...

I am sooo going to do that!!

Abso****inglutely brilliant!

Reply 90

Dramatic Star

2

Unbelievably, my friend pretended to search through his bag in the hope that the lecturer wouldn't come back & ask him again for his work. He did & he goes "I couldn't find it". Idiot! Ha!

Reply 91

Citizen Zero

13

You know guys, I think you've all shot yourself in the foot.

I bet there are teachers nationwide right at this minute frantically scribbling down all your excuses and putting them onto a blacklist.

Tsk!

Reply 92

Seanisonfire

15

Dramatic Star

Unbelievably, my friend pretended to search through his bag in the hope that the lecturer wouldn't come back & ask him again for his work. He did & he goes "I couldn't find it". Idiot! Ha!

worked for me before :cool:

Reply 93

Double Agent

18

Something i've learnt is if you appear good most of the time they lap up anything you tell them.
I've used all sorts in the past, theres problems at home never gets questioned, i left it on your desk/in your office, i got really interested in the subject so am doing more research, visiting people in hospital, my bag was stolen, by bag was thrown on the roof, parents can't afford printer cartridges, here you go *hand in a blank cd or memory stick, just skip the hand in lesson, cant think of any more i've used at the moment.

Reply 94

WarmSound

1

My old favourite was to stop writing at the end of a page, usually mid sentence. They don't often check when you hand in a pile of sheets, then the next time you see them give them the rest of it before they bring it up and pretend it got mixed in with other work. It used to work brilliantly if I ever gave up and went to bed instead of finishing stuff, you just can't use it twice on the same teacher.

Reply 95

Dramatic Star

2

Seanisonfire

worked for me before :cool:

Good god. He got away with it too! :eek:

Reply 96

Seanisonfire

15

Dramatic Star

Good god. He got away with it too! :eek:

The simplest ones are the best.

Reply 97

sheepgirl

2

I always used the 'I handed it in to you last lesson/ I put in in your pidgeon hole/desk'

I must have used it on the same teachers many times over but I think they were so stressed and had other things on their mind they though 'oh b****** thats something else i've lost'

I agree that if you are generally a good student they do agree and sympathise with your situation. Also catching them off guard. Saying that you found it really difficult, could we go through it together' is a good one - you get extra time and help.