Losing marks for Wordcount

[Daveyy]

If the wordcount was 300-350 words, and I wrote a response of 331 words, how can I lose marks for 'not being in required wordcount'?

I explained to the teacher that I had made the wordcount of 300 words, and she replied that her rule for counting is to find an average line and times it by the number of lines...

she said she got 225 words?

I double checked and I wrote 330 words.

She took marks off, am I the only one who thinks this is unfair?

[lexitu]

Of course this is unfair. She can use that method all she likes, but once she finds a possible issue she must verify it with a proper count.

Go through the relevant complaint mechanisms, you don't deserve to be penalised.

[Daveyy]

She told me that "this is how we do it in French for Year 12", and that I can't change my marks.

How can I complain without making a massive fuss?

[lexitu]

Well I can guarantee you it is not the way that you do it in French Year 12, that counting system is flawed.

It seems like she's pretty intractable so fuss-making is a likelihood. Maybe see your coordinator, explaining the situation (without bringing the teacher into it yet) and ask whether you are being reasonable and how you should go about appealing?

[monkeywantsabanana]

You shouldn't lose marks for that... But what if, just maybe, if you do appeal, and put her in an uncomfortable position, she might detest you for the rest of the year and give you bad marks on all the other assessments because French, a language, is subjective.

However, if it was me, I wouldn't be happy and would ask, perhaps force her to verify the count.

[Daveyy]

but the problem is

she know's there's 330, but she said that
her system is the right system.

[monkeywantsabanana]

Write 10 words in a line and 1 in every subsequent line until you have 30 lines. Tell her to count the first line and multiply it by 30.

It is after all "how the system works."

[KevinooBz]

It's Year 12, you may use this. Just go to your coordinator or principal and get them involved. They could probably bring VCAA into this and bam. Your French teacher is told off and gets a warning. If you find after that she is giving you terrible results for no reason report her again. She gets fired and you win. But seriously report this, that is unprofessional. She doesn't make up the SAC rules, VCAA does.