Correcting Missed Questions: Earning Back Points Missed on a Test

You are being given the opportunity to earn back half the points you missed for a specific test or other assignment. These points you earn by correction will be added to your score for these tests, replacing your original score. This opportunity is not considered extra credit, so you still have a maximum of 25 points that can be earned separately from other types of extra credit. In order to earn back points that you missed on a test, you need to follow the criteria shown below. If you fail to follow the direction exactly for each question, you won't get any credit back for that question. You may decide, after reading this, not to submit corrections for missed questions. It may not be worth it to you. I hope it is worth it.

1. All submissions for missed questions must be typed on 81/2 x 11" paper with 1" margins. In cases where you were supposed to draw a picture or perform a calculation, you can neatly hand-write the corrected picture or calculation. You need to put your name, date, the name of the test or exam, and class name at the upper right of the first page. All pages in a submission for a particular test need to be stapled together. If you are allowed to submit corrections for two tests, you need to submit two separate stapled packets. Additionally, please staple your Scantron and short answer sheet and all parts of the test to your packet (in the back) so I can see which questions you missed and how you are correcting them.

2. You must write corrections for all the questions on the exam in order to get credit for this opportunity. Any submissions that are missing corrections for one or more questions will be handed back to you with a smile but no points.

3. You must submit these corrections no later than the very start of class, 1 week after the hand-back of the test. While you can certainly submit your questions earlier, you will not be offered any credit if you submit your corrections after the deadline. For purposes of clarification, "late" means anytime after the stroke of class starting time on the day it is due, not one or two minutes late. Turn this in early if you fear you might get stuck in traffic or your bus is sometimes late.

4. For each multiple-choice question, you should begin by typing out the question (but not the answer choices). You should indicate which answer choice you originally put on the exam and explain why that choice is incorrect. Why do I ask you to do this? I know you already know the correct answer (it's printed on the test if a multiple choice question.). I want to see that you've reviewed what you were thinking when you answered the way you did, in order that you might improve your test-taking ability (with me as your teacher, anyway). You should then say which answer was the right one, supporting this using a quotation from our textbook or our lab book (not the PowerPoint lectures nor your notes and definitely not a website. If the book does not cover the topic at all, the PowerPoint lecture slides can be cited. Also referring to printed handoutsI give you is OK for reference sources). Your quotation from the textbook needs to include the page number as well as the relevant passages that support the right answer. Why don't I let you use your notes, the PowerPoints, or other sources as backup? Anybody's notes are subject to interpretation based on what you wrote down that day. I want to encourage you to read and come to know the texts you've paid so much money for to take this class. Your textbook is your reference source. What it says, goes. What other textbooks say doesn't matter here, for we aren't using other texts for this course. For example: Question 12

I missed Question 12 which reads, "What are the waxy lipids found in the outer membrane of acid-fast bacteria?" I chose " b. peptidoglycan", which was incorrect. Peptidoglycan is a polysaccharide found in

Correcting Missed Questions on Tests pg. 1 the cell wall, not in the outer membrane of acid-fast bacteria. The correct answer was "d. mycolic acids". This is supported by our textbook that says on pg. 74 that "...outside the peptidoglycan layer, acid-fast bacteria like Mycobacterium have an outer membrane made largely of waxy, mycolic acids".

5. For correcting short answer or essay questions, you should begin by rewriting the question. Then, explain breifly why your answer was wrong. Finally, rewrite your whole answer again, with the corrected information, as if you were answering the question for the first time on the exam. If the question is to write an essay, rewrite that essay. If the question is to fill in a grid, rewrite the entire grid. Follow this with quotes from the textbook or lab book that show where you were incorrect. PowerPoint lectures are generally not a robust reference source - see what sources are allowed as described for multiple choice questions.

For example:

Question D, Short Answer I missed parts of question D. The question was "Explain why agar plates are incubated upside- down in the incubator." The correct answer should be: "Agar plates are incubated upside-down because condensation tends to form as droplets that pool in the lowest part of the Petri dish. If the agar plate is upside-down, the condensation pools in the lid, rather than on the agar surface. If the condensation formed a pool on the agar, bacteria that were streaked on certain parts of the plate would be able to swim or drift to other areas on the plate, confusing the results. It would not be possible to isolate bacteria in the streak-plate technique, nor test different bacteria on the same plate, if organisms could drift across zones drawn on the plate." I had written that agar plates are incubated upside down because bacteria grow faster when they are not pulled downward by gravity on the top of the agar. This is incorrect, as the lab book states on pg. 44: "Agar plates are incubated upside down to avoid condensation from forming on the agar surface."

6. So, a reminder: if you fail to write down all the required parts for a corrected question, that question will not be considered (i.e. no credit will be given to you for that question). Since this opportunity is considered a "favor" offered to you to do at home, anything less than following all the instructions means you aren't taking it seriously. Here's a checklist to follow exactly for each question correction:

 Did you write your name, date, class, and "Corrections for Exam X", in which "X" is the test you are correcting?

 Did you write down the question number and the wording of the original question?

 Did you state what your answer was?

 Did you explicitly explain why your answer was incorrect? Good language to use for this is to say, "My answer of X was wrong because...."

 Did you quote the textbooks used for this class (lecture text or lab manual) or a handout given in this class to support why the "right" answer is right? Did you say what textbook this was, and what page your quote is from?

 If you were correcting a short answer question, did you additionally rewrite the entire essay, grid, formula, etc. with the right information in it? Did you explicitly list a reference source (see above) for every change in your answer?

Correcting Missed Questions on Tests pg. 2  Did you staple the entire test to the back of your corrections sheets? This would include the test questions themselves, a Scantron (if used), and any short answer sheet(s) that were part of the test.

Correcting Missed Questions on Tests pg. 3