[nabs-l] Grade deductions for visual mistakes

Wed Nov 19 09:19:38 UTC 2014

Also, proof your paper as you go section by section.  You will catch
mistakes.  So, when you get tired of writing, proof it and them spell check
it.  You can also use reading fonts and attributes n the schemes, or the
text analyzer, though I haven't gotten the text analyzer to work. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Bennett
via nabs-l
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 2:17 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Grade deductions for visual mistakes

Hi Kaley,

 I understand how frustrating it is to make a paper visually appealing.
 However, if you want to be held to the same standard as your sighted
peers, I think there are a lot of great ways you can learn to maximize  the
accessible tools available and use a reader to assist you with  visual
nuances that you may not be able to do accessibly. If you are  making
mistakes with punctuation, perhaps you can set your screen  reader to read
all punctuation. This way, you would hear when there  are two periods.

 I had some great teachers who were often understanding if I made a  mistake
once in a while that was clearly do to inaccessible  formatting, and
luckily, they gave me constructive feedback. But, I  think it is essential
to get in the habit of formatting documents the  best you can, because in
some cases such as applying for jobs, even if  you attend a networking event
with your resume, writing, aka your  resume, an email, or a cover letter
will be the only impression you  get to make. I think it is very reasonable
for teachers to count off  even for little mistakes like that, because they
are prepare you to  write professionally.

 If I am completing an assignment worth a lot of my grade or reputation
like a conference paper, I always vet it through a reader. If I am
collaborating, often I will offer to do something extra , or something  that
would make it fair for the sighted person to do some of the more  complex
formatting. For example, when doing group work, I try to be  proactive ahead
of the group and create a rough PowerPoint with a lot  of great content. So
then they are just editing content and then it  isn't such a big deal to ask
them to choose a scheme that looks nice  or to insert appropriate photos.

 If an assignment isn't worth a lot, or if I am just turning in  something
for my advisor to look over, I wil format it to the best of  my ability but
not worry about vetting it through a reader. My  professors and
collaborators are often fine with this, because I do  turn in documents that
are grammatically correct. Often, my mistakes  come with unpredictable
Microsoft formatting.

 One thing I have learned is that if I am editing something that  someone
has already assisted me with such as my resume, and I need to  add a new
heading for example, I will copy and paste an existing  heading. I will then
write just next to the heading and delete the  original characters. Often,
my text takes on the formatting  characteristics of the original text. So
try to do that if you can  remember. I have also learned to ask questions.
If I am working with  someone who is doing formatting as a part of their
contribution, I ask  them how the document looks and why they made the
choices they did.
 Over time, I have remembered some things that look good and now
incorporate them into my formattting.

 I think it takes a while for all of us to learn how to format papers  to
the best of our ability nonvisually and we learn when we need to  ask a
reader for help. However, if you are concerned about formatting  mistakes
affecting your grade, be proactive. Ask to meet with your  teacher to go
over the most common mistakes you make, and the two of  you can brainstorm
to come up with ways you can minimize them in the  future. I think that if
you are proactive, and if you do make an  effort to turn in papers that look
appropriate according to the  assignment, if you make small mistakes, your
teachers will be much  more forgiving and might use them as opportunities to
educate you  rather than dock points.

 Even when you get really good at formatting, things happen. For  example,
one time, I turned in a blank paper because I didn't realize  my printer
cartridge was empty. Also, to minimize some of the  automatic formatting in
word, I will select all and left align and  make sure it is the right font,
size and style such as regular. I then  go back and change all of the things
that would be different such as  centering headings and bolding important
words. I tend to forget if I  do these things in process, so I save it all
for the eend. Other  people may have other ideas,, but those are a couple of
the strategies  I use.

 Cindy

On 11/18/14, Helga Schreiber via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Kaley. I think regarding this issue that you are having, I think 
> you should talk to your professor about it since it is not your fault 
> that you are making this visual mistakes. In fact, I think that some 
> of you guys here will agre with me in this, I know that we really 
> don't want to rely in sighted assistance when it comes to help us on 
> the format of our papers in doing the formatting of them, but I think 
> we should in some situations. In particular for me, when I do or write 
> some kind of paper, I do all the formatting of it, but I usually ask 
> one of my family members if they can help me check if I have the right 
> formatting and if it looks like the Professor wants it. However, if 
> they can't help me with that, I usually go to my writing center and 
> ask a tutor if they can help me with the formatting of my paper. So 
> have you tried to ask one of your sighted friends to help you with the 
> formatting of your paper, or go to the writing center and ask one of 
> the tutors to help you with the formatting before you turn it in to 
> the Professor? I'm just wondering. Hope this help! Hope to hear from 
> you soon. Thanks and God bless! :)
>
> Helga Schreiber
>
> Fundraiser Coordinator for Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Delta Iota chapter.
> Member of National Federation of the Blind and Florida Association of 
> Blind Students.
> Member of the International Networkers Team (INT).
> Independent Entrepreneur of the Company 4Life Research.
> Phone:  (561) 706-5950
> Email: helga.schreiber26 at gmail.com
> Skype: helga.schreiber26
> 4Life Website: http://helgaschreiber.my4life.com/1/default.aspx
> INT Website: http://int4life.com/
>
> "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that 
> whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 
> 3:16 Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 19, 2014, at 1:24 AM, kcj21 via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hello all,
>>      When writing a paper, I have Zoomtext Appreader read my paper 
>> aloud and I use Spell Check. However, occasionally, there are small 
>> formatting mistakes that I don't notice. Unfortunately, I usually get 
>> a slight grade reduction for these visual mistakes. Once, I got 
>> points off because I had two periods and recently, I lost a few 
>> points because my paragraph wasn't indented, but it was definitely
separated from the previous paragraph.
>> What do you guys do in these circumstances. Should I explain these 
>> visual mistakes to my professor?
>>
>> Best,
>> Kaley
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--
Cindy Bennett
1st Year Ph.D. Student, University of Washington Human Centered Design and
Engineering

Treasurer of the Greater Seattle Chapter and of the National Federation of
the Blind of Washington Affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind

clb5590 at gmail.com

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