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Slugjc
TS Member
Stopus et boatus
The_bup
TS Member
Matt N
TS Member
Here’s a question I have this evening; why on Earth are universities so needlessly rigid about very unimportant things?
I’m currently finalising my MSc dissertation, and the university’s requirements around certain things are… very specific, to say the least.
Firstly, let’s talk formatting. Now, I understand the need to have some standards around formatting. Good formatting is important, and if your work looks sloppy, it can make it harder to understand. I would never advocate blatantly taking the mickey with formatting (e.g. huge font size, small font size, overly brash colours, indecipherable fonts etc). But provided your work looks clean, professional, legible and generally consistent, does it really matter if your line spacing isn’t 1.5? Or your margin size isn’t 2.54cm on the left and 4cm on the right? Or if your font isn’t Times New Roman? The level of specificity seems unnecessary, in my view; provided the work looks generally clean and professional, I don’t see the need for such specific requirements.
Let’s also talk referencing. I completely agree with the need to reference; acknowledging sources and giving people due credit is important, and I would never advocate plagiarism or not crediting sources. But what I don’t get is why universities get so het up about specific referencing systems; provided I do reference where I have used external sources, does it really matter if the et als in my in-text citation are italicised or not (something I have been pulled up on before)? Or if I refer to et al with more than two authors rather than more than three? Or if I use (author, year) citations instead of little Wikipedia-style numbers in square brackets? I lost a fair few marks in my first year at undergrad because while I used lots of references, I inadvertently cited in APA instead of Harvard… despite the in-text citations looking very similar, my lecturers seemed very focused on the fact I wasn’t italicising my et als!
Another one I can think of is coursework submission. Now my current university is pretty good for this, to be fair; their online portal allows multiple submissions before the deadline, and it’s a generally intuitive system of “upload file/files, press submit”. When I was an undergrad, my university had a system that only allowed one submission. But the worst part was that when you uploaded your work, it initially only uploaded as a “draft”… and you had to press a second button to properly submit it, or else you were instantly failed and given a 0 regardless of the quality of the work submitted as a “draft”. This was very easy to miss, and in my first year, I knew lots of people who got 0s and were instantly failed without a resit opportunity purely because they only pressed one submit button and not the second one. They did change this in my 3rd year to only fail us and let us resit rather than get an instant 0 and acted like they were doing us a huge favour as a result… but I think that system almost sets students up to fail and tries to trip them up!
Does anyone else who’s been to uni think like this? Or is it just me? I get the basic principle behind having standards with these things, but I think the rigidity and specificity are excessive at times!
I’m currently finalising my MSc dissertation, and the university’s requirements around certain things are… very specific, to say the least.
Firstly, let’s talk formatting. Now, I understand the need to have some standards around formatting. Good formatting is important, and if your work looks sloppy, it can make it harder to understand. I would never advocate blatantly taking the mickey with formatting (e.g. huge font size, small font size, overly brash colours, indecipherable fonts etc). But provided your work looks clean, professional, legible and generally consistent, does it really matter if your line spacing isn’t 1.5? Or your margin size isn’t 2.54cm on the left and 4cm on the right? Or if your font isn’t Times New Roman? The level of specificity seems unnecessary, in my view; provided the work looks generally clean and professional, I don’t see the need for such specific requirements.
Let’s also talk referencing. I completely agree with the need to reference; acknowledging sources and giving people due credit is important, and I would never advocate plagiarism or not crediting sources. But what I don’t get is why universities get so het up about specific referencing systems; provided I do reference where I have used external sources, does it really matter if the et als in my in-text citation are italicised or not (something I have been pulled up on before)? Or if I refer to et al with more than two authors rather than more than three? Or if I use (author, year) citations instead of little Wikipedia-style numbers in square brackets? I lost a fair few marks in my first year at undergrad because while I used lots of references, I inadvertently cited in APA instead of Harvard… despite the in-text citations looking very similar, my lecturers seemed very focused on the fact I wasn’t italicising my et als!
Another one I can think of is coursework submission. Now my current university is pretty good for this, to be fair; their online portal allows multiple submissions before the deadline, and it’s a generally intuitive system of “upload file/files, press submit”. When I was an undergrad, my university had a system that only allowed one submission. But the worst part was that when you uploaded your work, it initially only uploaded as a “draft”… and you had to press a second button to properly submit it, or else you were instantly failed and given a 0 regardless of the quality of the work submitted as a “draft”. This was very easy to miss, and in my first year, I knew lots of people who got 0s and were instantly failed without a resit opportunity purely because they only pressed one submit button and not the second one. They did change this in my 3rd year to only fail us and let us resit rather than get an instant 0 and acted like they were doing us a huge favour as a result… but I think that system almost sets students up to fail and tries to trip them up!
Does anyone else who’s been to uni think like this? Or is it just me? I get the basic principle behind having standards with these things, but I think the rigidity and specificity are excessive at times!
Skyscraper
TS Member
People whispering. Don't know if it's just me being overly sensitive, but I can't stand it. Drives me mad.
Alsty
TS Member
People that don't know how to behave in public. I think people's entitlement and lack of consideration for others is endemic and out of control.
On a train a couple of young women (early 20s) got on and started vaping. We told them they shouldn't be doing that. As well as abuse back, another woman on the train who'd been listening to music loudly on her phone without headphones (something else that should be punishable by death) then piped up, "don't worry girls, I'll back you up".
They should all be chucked off and banned until they learn some respect.
On a train a couple of young women (early 20s) got on and started vaping. We told them they shouldn't be doing that. As well as abuse back, another woman on the train who'd been listening to music loudly on her phone without headphones (something else that should be punishable by death) then piped up, "don't worry girls, I'll back you up".
They should all be chucked off and banned until they learn some respect.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
You'd talk on the tube‽ To a stranger?! You monster!
Thameslink Rail
TS Member
Yesterday I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a dozen people in front of me were on their phones. Given how dark the screen is on the Potter films (bar the first two), this was very distracting. Fortunately, the audience on The Roses was far better behaved. It probably helped that they were generally older.
And I might seek you out specially swashbuckler.
My one year in that London, I was so naughty talking to strangers on the tube.
DiogoJ42
TS Member
You, sir, are the reason gods send floods.
Zeock
TS Member
I agree with both. People often don't seem to have a middle ground in terms of loudness when it comes to speech.
Slugjc
TS Member
I am one of the many Northerners who gladly hold a conversation on the tube.
Behold, I also helped a struggling woman, with a screaming child in a buggy, onto a packed rush hour jubilee line train. When I was leaving said train. The looks I got have kept me smiling for a while.
Slugjc
TS Member
Serves them right for hogging all the money for public transport.
Slugjc
TS Member
I've had a strange day today.
1st, I've been complaining about tyte gear box on my lorry all week and told all of fine. Gets to a drop, can only find 3rd and 4th gear. Phone yard, my eventually comes. Finds first and looks at me like im a simpleton. Happened again later. No time to go into the phone call I had with the yard mechanic after I eventually speak to him.
One of the stores I deliver to in sunny Rotherham, sometimes has a locked gate, that I need them with the key to open. Goes in shop. Approaches till
SLugjc "excuse me mate,"
Person behind till interrupts slugjc "erm excuse me, but that is not my pronoun."
Slugjc, looking shocked, confused and fighting back the annoyance of how the day is unfolding. "Can you get someone to open the gate please?"
I will back anyone for what they want to identify as. Who am I to stop anyone from being who they want to be. You won't win much sympathy from people, especially in Yorkshire if you can't at least let folk call you mate. Was lucky I didn't go for "luv" or "ayup ****."
1st, I've been complaining about tyte gear box on my lorry all week and told all of fine. Gets to a drop, can only find 3rd and 4th gear. Phone yard, my eventually comes. Finds first and looks at me like im a simpleton. Happened again later. No time to go into the phone call I had with the yard mechanic after I eventually speak to him.
One of the stores I deliver to in sunny Rotherham, sometimes has a locked gate, that I need them with the key to open. Goes in shop. Approaches till
SLugjc "excuse me mate,"
Person behind till interrupts slugjc "erm excuse me, but that is not my pronoun."
Slugjc, looking shocked, confused and fighting back the annoyance of how the day is unfolding. "Can you get someone to open the gate please?"
I will back anyone for what they want to identify as. Who am I to stop anyone from being who they want to be. You won't win much sympathy from people, especially in Yorkshire if you can't at least let folk call you mate. Was lucky I didn't go for "luv" or "ayup ****."