Academic Negotiation

NEGOTIATING A BETTER MARK IS ALWAYS AN OPTION

While your professors are certainly highly educated, and are intimately familiar with the subject matter you are being asked to write about, their mark, at the end of the day, is still their subjective evaluation of your work. If you receive a paper, or a written essay back with a grade you feel is not representative of the quality of the work, it pays to know how to negotiate a better mark with your professors. Here’s how:

BE SPECIFIC

Before walking into your professor’s office hours, or sending off an email, make sure you’ve made a solid case that goes into specific detail. While you may think it is unfair to have received a low mark on something you put so much time into, that, in itself, is not a justification for receiving anything more than you’ve already been given. You have to be able to point to what you see as flaws in the marking. Go through your paper with a fine-tooth comb. Read each comment and cross-reference it with the essay rubric/marking criteria. If marks have been deducted for failing to do something not mentioned in the rubric, make a note of it. If marks have been deducted for using a word the professor didn’t like, or for which they suggested a synonym, that’s a personal preference, and you shouldn’t be penalized for not sharing it with your professor.

Typically, you will just receive a mark and that’s it. You are paying good money for an education, and should receive (and you should demand it if you don’t) a thorough breakdown of what you did wrong, where and why you lost marks, and thoughtful written criticism from the marker. If you ever receive a number or a letter on a piece of paper with no elaboration, and don’t like what you see, you should be asking whoever marked it to justify the mark they gave you straight away.

NEVER NEGOTIATE ANGRY OR COME IN ARROGANT

“You must have your heart on fire, and your brain on ice,” Vladimir Lenin said, and it is a good rule of thumb for any negotiation. It is essential you be, and appear passionate about what you believe in, but it is equally essential you don’t allow emotions to override your critical faculties. If your professor sees that you are passionate about the material, and about what you wrote, they will be more receptive to your arguments than if you appear simply, and glibly to be after a few unearned percentage points. They will not, however, be receptive if you come in with accusations, or are arrogant.

In fact, one of the most important ‘don’ts’ of any negotiation where you are after more of something (money, recognition, a higher mark, etc.) is don’t be arrogant. Arrogance makes it seem like you’re entitled to a better grade than you got. While you might be deserving of more, negotiating a better mark is going to be impossible if your professor doesn’t like you. Remember, he or she is not obligated to give you anything. In no part of the fine print on anything you’ve signed as a university student does it say your professors are to give you grades that make you happy.

DON’T MAKE YOUR NEGOTIATION A PRESENTATION

Negotiating a better mark should be a two-sided conversation, not a lecture or a presentation. Don’t come in with a speech prepared, come in with a list of points you plan to argue and wait for an opportunity to interject. It is also not a good idea to ambush your professor or TA. If you are scheduling an in-office meeting, let whomever you are going to be speaking with know what your intentions are: you’re coming to talk about a mark you received.

Be professional. You should treat asking for a better grade as you would asking for more money. You want to convince the professor that your work is undervalued and you deserve more for it. Tell them you want to respond to each one of their comments individually. Point to a comment, speak your piece, and then continue on. If your prof or TA sees that your responses are thoughtful and fair, you might not get all the extra marks you were hoping to get, but you may get some – which is better than nothing.