“Throughout their college careers, many students have received a returned assignment, only to discover that the project or essay they had put so much time into has earned them a less than satisfactory grade from their professor.

Sometimes students feel it’s the professor who misunderstands the point they were trying to get across or that professors do not understand the perspectives that students have.

Is there a miscommunication between students and professors? Are students just being lazy and not paying attention to what is being asked? Or are professors not being clear enough with what is expected of students?

UW Oshkosh junior Mallory Beckman said the clarity and grading styles of professors often vary.

“For some projects, professors give us so many restrictions on what we can and can’t do, it can become confusing,” Beckman said. “Some professors are very clear on what they want to see, and this makes assignments not only easy to accomplish, but easy to do well on.”

Clear instructions on what is expected of students not only gives them the chance to do better on assignments, but also allows students the ability to fully understand topics assignments are on.

Senior Mariah Tralongo said she would gladly accept criticism as long as there was a rationale behind it that could help her in the future.

“It’s about constructive criticism,” Tralongo said. “Any time something I’ve created was turned down or fixed, it was only to help me see how I can improve.”

Although it may not always seem constructive, there are ways to try and prevent that feeling of disappointment after getting a bad grade on an assignment that so much effort was put into.

When doing any assignment, one must always remember to go over the rubric and what the professor expects. Make sure to always ask questions along the way. Your professor is there to help.

For those who feel they aren’t getting enough help from their professors, UWO has other resources for students to use. By visiting the UWO Writing Center website, students are able to set up appointments to get outside help with papers and projects.

For those too busy to make an appointment, there are also online options where students can online chat or get private video feedback on assignments.

Even though it can be confusing and frustrating to not know what your professor is looking for, or to think you know what is expected and end up being completely wrong, there are many different ways to clear up the confusion to make sure one can feel confident about his or her coursework.

Make sure to take advantage of all the resources UWO offers and ask as many questions needed to help make things easier in the end.”