Date _________

Dear Professor Kantor

My grade in _________________ should be raised from ____ to ____ because:

______ There must be some mistake somewhere.

______ I actually studied for this exam.

______ I was not well at the time of the examination.

______ My mind always goes blank during an examination.

______ This mark ruined my prospect of getting a scholarship/a job/a life/a place in medical school.

______ This is the only course in which I received a poor grade.

______ This mark grieved my mother (or father), whose pride I am

______ I knew the right answer, but I wrote down the wrong answer by mistake.

______ I was unable to study due to the pressing demands of fraternity or sorority activities/political demonstrations/sports events/jail/family crisis/roommate suicide/gambling debts/litigation/Weltschmerz

______ Conditions in the room were not conducive to concentration

______ The examination was unfair and unfairly distributed over the subject matter.

______ I have to work after school and nights; therefore I should be given a break

______ I am alone in the world; therefore, I should be given a break

______ I was under stress; therefore, I should be given a break

______ I no speak English good – give me a break

______ I would have done much better if I had taken the examination give to one of the other sections.

______ The person I got the notes from had neglected to write down several key points, and I should not be penalized for his/her laxity.

______ Several people around me copied from my paper during the examination yet they received higher marks than I did. Surely this is not fair.

______ The questions were ambiguous, and therefore my answers should be graded according to the reasonable interpretations I made of your questions.

______ Many of the questions could not be answered with straight facts; they were matters of opinion. I should not be penalized just because my opinions differ from those of the instructor.

______ I know many people in the class who do not work as hard as I do and who got a better grade. I am recognized among my classmates as a good and conscientious student; you just ask any of them.

______ I circled the right answers on the question booklet, as you can now see, but when transferring the information to the answer sheet I inadvertently marked the wrong blanks. Of course a University student should not be penalized for petty clerical errors.

______ I have studied this subject from the broad philosophical viewpoint and therefore was unable to answer your detail-oriented, technical questions.

______ I am philosophically oriented to the realm of ideas; I respond to the sweep and scope of great intellects. My work is beyond the interest in petty details and parrot-like memorizing of those who are merely students.

______ At the time of the examination, I was suffering from a severe case of cognitive dissonance and was incapable of coping with the stress of the hour.

______ It is not a higher mark I seek; I care nothing about marks; I think marks are wicked and I disapprove of them. However, this pernicious system of which I am victim requires marks for achieving success and therefore I seek a higher mark.

yours truly 

Signed _____________________

[Note. This column has been liberally adapted from an item on a computer bulletin board. The editors have been unable to identify the original source.