Section Men Criticize Handwriting on Exams

Section men and tutors in several fields yesterday criticized poor hand-writing on exams, and said that if the problem of administering separate facilities could be solved, students ought to be allowed to type exams.

Richard M. Fink, teaching fellow in Government and in General Education called the handwriting on some exams "abominable" but noted that "penmanship is a lost art anyway." He said that one student had to read his exam to him.

Another Soc. Sci. section man said that he found handwriting "excruciating to tormenting." He commented that some of the most illegible writing was that which tried to be fancy or artistic, and noted that poor writing was "pretty evenly distributed among all classes.

A teaching fellow in History said that although handwriting was often bad, many students felt that it would be unfair to allow typing on exams, since good typists would be able to write more than handwriters. He added that the cost of administering two separate exam rooms, for typing and writing, might in itself make typing impractical for the University.

Quality Over Quantity

Robert A. Kimbrough III, teaching fellow in English and in General Education, said that "if the Administration works out the necessary administrative problems, I see no reason why students shouldn't be allowed to use typewriters in exams." He asserted that illegibility is often the sign of hastiness and muddled thought, and denied that speedy typists would have an unfair advantage saying that "quality rather than quantity" was the important factor.

One assistant in a large English course, said that "if they don't allow typing, they at least ought to have an ink rule." He said that there was usually a "correlation between good writing and good marks."

Illegibility Lowers Grades

Some of the graders felt that poor writing tended to lower grades even though the reader tried to be objective. One Economics section man said that he had encountered "some so bad that you're unsure whether your'e doing justice to the answer," since an essay seems more coherent if it can be read without stopping to figure out the words.

Another Economics section man said that it was "unavoidable" that students are penalized for poor writing, "no matter how fair the grader tries to be."