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My Teacher is showing obvious biases in marking History Essays help!

hey y’all

basically i’m doing A Level OCR History and we’re doing a topic that’s only done by like 3 schools. And I’ve been getting 60% in the essays he’s been marking. However, others in my class have been getting 100% even though i’m pretty sure they’re writing no better than me. And to check this, I took one of the essays that got 100% (my teacher’s put them all on a one drive) and essentially copied it out and the teacher gave it 60% again. I honestly don’t know what to do because this is a really important topic i need to do well to get an A overall and I know that he’s not really even marking my essays properly so I have no idea how well I’m actually writing.

Also another person in my class wrote out a past exemplar essay which had been given 98% by the examiner but our teacher marked it around 60% lmao. i don’t really have much choice so does anyone have any advice?
Original post by unknowntsr
hey y’all

basically i’m doing A Level OCR History and we’re doing a topic that’s only done by like 3 schools. And I’ve been getting 60% in the essays he’s been marking. However, others in my class have been getting 100% even though i’m pretty sure they’re writing no better than me. And to check this, I took one of the essays that got 100% (my teacher’s put them all on a one drive) and essentially copied it out and the teacher gave it 60% again. I honestly don’t know what to do because this is a really important topic i need to do well to get an A overall and I know that he’s not really even marking my essays properly so I have no idea how well I’m actually writing.

Also another person in my class wrote out a past exemplar essay which had been given 98% by the examiner but our teacher marked it around 60% lmao. i don’t really have much choice so does anyone have any advice?


You could talk to your teacher and get him to explain the differences or if you dont wish to, then talk to the head of department and ask for remarks.
So you stole the other essays in an attempt to trap your teacher.

That's going to be interesting when you try to explain where your evidence came from.

Basically, like, suck it up, essentially.
Reply 3
Original post by 999tigger
You could talk to your teacher and get him to explain the differences or if you dont wish to, then talk to the head of department and ask for remarks.


Only problem is I really don’t think he will get it and I would rather just stay away from him. However, he’s the only teacher who knows this topic out of my whole school so...
Reply 4
Original post by uberteknik
So you stole the other essays in an attempt to trap your teacher.

That's going to be interesting when you try to explain where your evidence came from.

Basically, like, suck it up, essentially.


I never stole anything and i never said I was going to go to him to ‘expose him’???
Original post by unknowntsr
Only problem is I really don’t think he will get it and I would rather just stay away from him. However, he’s the only teacher who knows this topic out of my whole school so...


What is the subject?

If you are a good student and use common sense then you should be able to gauge whether your essay covered all the main points.

You wouldnt even need to know the subject to see if a 100% essay really was much superior to one graded at 60%.
Reply 6
Original post by 999tigger
What is the subject?

If you are a good student and use common sense then you should be able to gauge whether your essay covered all the main points.

You wouldnt even need to know the subject to see if a 100% essay really was much superior to one graded at 60%.


History.

I think my essays are ok, they’re doing what the mark scheme want. So I think I should just not pay attention to his dodgy marking
Original post by unknowntsr
History.

I think my essays are ok, they’re doing what the mark scheme want. So I think I should just not pay attention to his dodgy marking


I meant what niche period was it?

If you are happy you are correct then pay no attention. See if your marks vary and ask him why one essay was worth 60 and another 100. He may have perfectly logical reasons.
Reply 8
Original post by 999tigger
I meant what niche period was it?

If you are happy you are correct then pay no attention. See if your marks vary and ask him why one essay was worth 60 and another 100. He may have perfectly logical reasons.


sorry, it’s german ref. There’s little to no help on the internet at all.

I’ll talk to him again but the exam is less than a week after we come back from half term
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by unknowntsr
sorry, it’s on Catholic reformation from 1492 to 1610. There’s little to no help on the internet at all.

I’ll talk to him again but the exam is less than a week after we come back from half term


I dont think you need much more than the mark scheme and maybe a revision book. What you dont need to do is work yourself up. You should just ask him where you lost marks and leave it at that.
Original post by 999tigger
I dont think you need much more than the mark scheme and maybe a revision book. What you dont need to do is work yourself up. You should just ask him where you lost marks and leave it at that.


thank you for the advice :smile:
Original post by uberteknik
So you stole the other essays in an attempt to trap your teacher.

That's going to be interesting when you try to explain where your evidence came from.

Basically, like, suck it up, essentially.


I mean personally you could easily tape it up as 'I was trying to use methods i'd seen in previous 100% answers to get marks and I just don't seem to be improving, what can I do?'

I'm pretty sure the teacher will like you more if you actually asked him questions instead of trying to subtly trying to out him as some form of biased marker.

If you don't ask questions then how is he supposed to help you lol
Original post by unknowntsr
I never stole anything and i never said I was going to go to him to ‘expose him’???


Original post by RobertTaylorUK
I mean personally you could easily tape it up as 'I was trying to use methods i'd seen in previous 100% answers to get marks and I just don't seem to be improving, what can I do?'

I'm pretty sure the teacher will like you more if you actually asked him questions instead of trying to subtly trying to out him as some form of biased marker.

If you don't ask questions then how is he supposed to help you lol


OP: Yeah. My answer was a tad facetious and should not be taken seriously.

The only thing you can do is to ask your teacher for some constructive feedback on where you lost those marks. Be polite and say it's important because you want to do well for yourself, for him as a teacher and for the school. i.e. play to his ego, ask for his valued advice which you very much appreciate.

I know it will feel like sucking up (which in a roundabout way is what I implied in my first post without stating it explicitly), but then, you want that extra feedback which is more important after all.

If he does not respond or brushes you off, then you have grounds for a lodging a grievance with the head of year.

Try and get him alone when he is packing up after the lesson and ask him if he can spare a few moments. Don't try and say anything about the 60% vs 100%
discrepancy which will only get his back up.

I'm sure you will get a positive response.

God luck with your exams btw. :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)

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