Am I grade grubbing?

Many students worry about their grades, but some worry more about their grades than they do learning or being professional. If you want to improve your grades, waiting until you get one and them complaining about it is the worst way to go. Having “tried really hard” is not enough reason to deserve a better grade. If you want to improve your grade, here are some better ways to approach your instructor.

First of all, prepare yourself to hear something negative. If you can’t handle that, then you aren’t ready to go talk to your instructor yet. If you are imagining a scene where they apologize and beg your forgiveness while bestowing an A+ upon you, don’t drop in during office hours just yet.

Once you’ve gotten that far, look at their feedback again. Try making changes to your writing or improving the graded work. With that complete, you can collect your original assignment and your updated assignment and stop into office hours. Show your instructor the edited work, and ask them if it fulfills the suggestions. If it does, then you know you are on the right track. If it doesn’t, ask for more feedback. Note: you should not have asked for an improved grade.

Ask your instructor if your class participation, or whatever might be relevant to the class, is acceptable or if they have any other recommendations for you. Show them you are interested in doing good work, rather than in demanding good grades. Take their suggestions seriously. 

Finally, let them know that you were disappointed in your grade and ask how you might improve it, either with this assignment or in the class in general. Remember, you are the person asking for a favor, don’t ask as if you’re giving orders or making demands.