REF: 66-2505-7114728 - PH38210: Extend Exam Answer Length
Your comment: PH38210 - On exam paper b each question had a word limit of 300 even though they were 20 mark question. They each had a lot of detail in the question that was impossible to respond to within the word limit. One question was over 250 words long, so how is it expected t we respond within 300 words?I understand the need for a limit as they are not essays but for high mark questions with lots of depth and detail 300 words is incredibly limiting, and unfortunately feels like lecturers trying to cut down on marking.
Our response:
Thank you for the TUN comment.
The rubric is common to all our 10 credit section B papers, and has appeared in the available past papers. The 300 word limit originates from Covid era assessments and is based on the concern that some students were spending too much time answering questions. This is largely a Health and Safety concern as some students might be taking more than the advisory time.
This module differs from others insofar as the answers are discursive rather than a key-word, numerical or mathematical format. A key skill being assessed in this case is the ability to answer concisely in a structured and relevant manner (as stated in the banner). Question 9 is long, but this is to present the scenario to which would have to draft a response - the length of the question does not need to correlate with the length of answer and here a cogent answer with the word limit is an achievable specification.
The rubric will necessarily change next year as we move back towards in-person exams. We will look at assessments like this to see if a word limit is still appropriate.