Universities will be forced to deduct marks for poor written English in students' work and will face tough sanctions if they don't [ UK ]

The Daily Mail UK ^ | 24 Jul 2021 | Julie Henry

[blueplum]

Universities are to be forced to to deduct marks for poor written English in students' work - and will face tough sanctions if they fail to do so.

Under proposals by the Office for Students (OfS) regulator, universities will be required to teach students 'relevant skills', assess them 'effectively' and ensure that any qualifications they issue are 'credible'....

...The move is intended to tackle poor quality courses and comes three months after The Mail on Sunday revealed the use of 'inclusive assessment' at some institutions under which technical ability in written English was not assessed....

...'If UK Universities are to be truly academic institutions and to retain any distinctive identity as such, then a high level of proficiency in written and spoken English is essential,' said Professor Tommy MacKay, visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde....

[Gene Eric]

Nice to hear, but irrelevant in terms of liberty — unless writing a Declaration.

[peggybac]

So, I guess no Ebonics?

[Libloather]

Smack ‘em with a ruler.

[Robert DeLong]

Does the daily mail seserve a deduction due to the use of poor instead of the word poorly in their title? 😋

[UnwashedPeasant]

That title is clickbait for grammar nazis.

[sitetest]

Learning to write well is critical for most people to learning to think we’ll - logically, clearly, coherently, completely.

[nevermorelenore]

Hahahahaha!! Should be “poorly” written !🤣😂😉
Thought this article was posted by The Babylon Bee at first ...

[Joann37]

Yes, that “poor written” jumped right out, didn’t it?

The grammar in many articles today is atrocious, with grammar or structure in headlines being the worst! These journalists today seem to figure that as long as they get all the words they want to convey into a sentence, they’ve done their jobs. They seem to have no regard as to where those words are are placed.

Sad to say, Breitbart has some of the most poorly worded headlines.

[SauronOfMordor]

Why would the Universities not already do this?

Academic standards are incompatible with Affirmative Action and "racial justice".

They admit unprepared illiterates in order to get their racial numbers right, and then are forced to use "affirmative grading" to avoid the embarrassment of most of their black students flunking out in the first semester.

[I want the USA back]

That won’t happen in the USA where true learning means nothing, but bowing to the great god of imaginary equality means everything.

If you are a certain ethnicity, your gutter language is placed on a pedestal, above standard English.

[RAldrich]

It all depends on whether “poor” is being used to modify “written” (in which “poorly” (adverb) would have been the correct modifier) or to modify “written-English” in which case “poor” (adjective) is the correct modifier.

If they had inserted a dash between “written” and “English” it would have been clearer that they were regarding “written English” as a compound noun.

[Islander7]

I had a teacher in 11th grade who would never give a grade of 100%. She would find some little something to deduct points. She once took one point from a girl’s class work because a period was upside down.

[Roccus]

LOL!

If that grade was explained in writing, I would hope that student saved and framed that paper.

[castlebrew]

“Written” is an adjective describing “English” (written as compared to spoken).

This would correctly be “...poorly-written English...”.

[NCLaw441]

I see “written English” as a two-word noun, and “poor” as an adjective describing “written English,” and thus the construction is correct. But I also understand your view. I guess the schools won’t deduct for poor spoken English, as few would ever pass today.

[Rockingham]

Going to college in the 1970s, I had the good fortune to land at Tulane University and go through its famously demanding two semester freshman English course. Like basic training in the Marines, everyone had to take and pass it. The course began by requiring mastery of Strunk & White's Elements of Style and then ability at analysis and composition. By the end of the year, one was capable of reading and writing with speed and competence -- skills much in decline these days.

[Scrambler Bob]

She once took one point from a girl’s class work because a period was upside down.
= = =

It was a girl.

She couldn’t use that excuse for a boy.

Well, maybe today.

[Scrambler Bob]

No poorly written Ebonics, and no poor written Ebonics either.

[peggybac]

That course would be deemed highly racist in today’s world.

[Moltke]

No, I believe “poor” relates to “English”, not “written”. “Poor (written) English” is correct usage. It is not bad penmanship that is addressed here, but a lack of grasp of the English language.