Have I been unfairly marked by my lecturer?

What year are you in?

Hi so I recently completed my first assignment for my second module and got 50% (which at my uni is a good pass/2:2) and I was pretty happy with that. However while discussing it with my lecturer she said that the only reason none of us got higher grades than that was because we didn’t answer the questions in an essay format. But on the assignment and student handbook it just said answer the questions (there was 5 and max 1000 words for the whole assignment) and mentioned nothing about writing an essay or anything like that (btw I have physical proof of this).
I did question this with her but she just said that she hadn’t got round to updating the handbook, but I don’t think that’s good enough as she’s had the whole summer to prepare and sort this out. I am not someone who likes confrontation, plus I don’t want any problems with her as I’ve still got 2 assignments due that she will be marking.
Alongside this she hasn’t even uploaded the grades to turn it in so I can’t even look through and try to understand her reasoning behind this decision.
Should I try and appeal or just leave it? Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Hey!
It sounds frustrating to feel like you've done well on your assignment only to find out there was an unmentioned requirement. Since your lecturer hasn't officially uploaded the grades to Turnitin yet, it’s probably best to wait until you can see the official mark and her feedback before deciding your next steps. This will give you more context on her reasoning and clarify how she marked it.
At Salford, we have personal tutors who can help guide students through issues like these, offering advice on how to handle grade appeals and difficult assignment feedback. I’d recommend reaching out to see if your university has a similar support system, or if there’s someone in your faculty who can provide a bit of guidance. A personal tutor or academic advisor might also be able to offer advice on how best to communicate your concerns with the lecturer in a way that keeps things smooth for the rest of the term.
Once the grade is up, if it still doesn’t sit right, and you feel like the instructions were too unclear, you could consider escalating it further. Most universities have an appeal process for grade disputes, and if you have documentation that supports your interpretation, this can work in your favour. You could start by discussing it with an academic advisor or another member of faculty in a non-confrontational way, just to get some input on the situation.
It’s totally understandable to be cautious, especially since you have more assignments with the same lecturer. But rest assured, the appeals process is in place for these types of issues, and you won’t be penalised for following it if you decide to go down that route.
Best of luck!
Arslan – University of Salford Student Representative

1st

1st year is all about learning how to do well at university, so I wouldn't worry about the mark especially as you passed. Yes the lecturer should have been better so it is completely up to you if you want to fight it, but it has no effect on your overall grade for your degree because you are only in 1st year.

Hi so I recently completed my first assignment for my second module and got 50% (which at my uni is a good pass/2:2) and I was pretty happy with that. However while discussing it with my lecturer she said that the only reason none of us got higher grades than that was because we didn’t answer the questions in an essay format. But on the assignment and student handbook it just said answer the questions (there was 5 and max 1000 words for the whole assignment) and mentioned nothing about writing an essay or anything like that (btw I have physical proof of this).
I did question this with her but she just said that she hadn’t got round to updating the handbook, but I don’t think that’s good enough as she’s had the whole summer to prepare and sort this out. I am not someone who likes confrontation, plus I don’t want any problems with her as I’ve still got 2 assignments due that she will be marking.
Alongside this she hasn’t even uploaded the grades to turn it in so I can’t even look through and try to understand her reasoning behind this decision.
Should I try and appeal or just leave it? Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Yeah as a 1st year thing it's not a huge deal, but I would respectfully be holding my own with the lecturer - they should be marking according the criteria they gave, 'I meant to change it' is a cop out, and even if the marks are ultimately meaningless she shouild be putting her hand up and accepting the blame to the class. (Imagine pulling that excuse for exam papers or dissertations etc? 'oh we meant to change that so you all lose a grade' they'd be buried in complaints)

You may be able to appeal on procedural grounds if the marking rubric/assignment did not specify an essay format or give any other specific format guidance. Do be sure this wasn't something discussed in one of your lectures though...as if she did inform you in the lectures but you didn't notice (or weren't in the lecture) that's on you.
Given though that she's specifically said the handbook hadn't been updated and if the information wasn't provided elsewhere I think that is a reasonable grounds to consider an appeal. As you aren't appealing on the basis of academic judgement, rather on the procedural irregularity that you were marked against the expectation to answer in a specific format but had not been instructed to use that format otherwise.

Yes but I need good grades to qualify to study abroad next year. It difficult because I don’t want problems from my lecturer but I do think what they did was unfair

What proportion of your grade for the module is it? Is there a specific grade you need to get to study abroad?

Hey so I discussed it with my other classmates and we all got the exact same and all did not write essays. Plus she only wanted a word count of 750-1000 words so I don’t think that would even be enough for a proper essay. Far as I’m aware she mentioned nothing in class about it being an essay and where none of the others heard that either and didn’t write essays too I think I can safely assume she did not.

I’m not fully sure but I know I need to get 60 credits?? Not sure what that means. For my first module I got an average of 59% (2:2 and 1% off a 2:1)

Yes that’s exactly how I felt and used the excuse of me being a first year and it doesn’t really matter. I get that but I’m planning on potentially studying abroad next year and I need good grades to qualify. Plus I could potentially have her next year and then I would be fuming if that happened so perhaps something should be done. From what I read of her feedback half of it she was just correcting my grammar (she does that in class too as well as bragging about being from Cambridge and having a degree from there). Some of it was valid but some were quite petty too.
I’m not normally the type to complain about stuff like this but it just annoyed me that I’m paying for this and not even being treated fairly.

60 credits is equivalent to a pass in every module, you would have to get 60 credits to go on to year 2

As said its possibly something to bring up with the class rep (assuming you have one?) and a point to make that for some students the first year work might matter more than for others. But tbh I wouldn't loose much sleep over it for now, you're first few assignments will often just be small feet finding things that you will look back on as hilariously trivial.
The grammar thing, I feel you. I had one lecturer the same and my first piece of work to them came back with maybe 100 or so red marks and I was a bit deflated and took is as a bit petty. In hindsight I'm genuinely grateful he took the time to correct it all, as it gave me a bit of a slap that my grammar was kinda awful and would need to improve to progress through higher education. I'm deffo glad this happened early on before I was really graded on it.

Ah ok thanks! So just to confirm that is anything above 40%