Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To whom it may concern,

Hello, my name is Sara Gray, and I am in my third year of Political Studies and Art History. I am seeking an appeal through this letter with the hopes of appealing a C-level grade I received in POLS 212, in my second year of studies during the Summer term (2020).

I require this appeal because of a diagnosis I received of severe depression in 2019. Though I have suffered from this disorder for most of my life, my mental health spiralled to a point where it was out of control at its untreated peak in 2019. I chose to seek help and underwent intensive therapy sessions over the course of the first Covid lockdown. I was suffering both personally and academically.

2019 was a challenging year for me for several reasons, my incredibly toxic and uneasy student home life made it difficult to function, issues with my mental health had me seriously considering dark paths rather than moving forward, and IBS symptoms that coincide with depressive episodes kept me away from my classes. I had to make up some missed credits over the Summer term, but unfortunately, this time was not easy for me. I was entirely unable to function most days, with a heavy burden on my mind and my body, and pressure from what felt like all directions. I spent all the time I could lay in bed, unable to escape the heaviness that hung around me like a black curtain. My father took ill in April with debilitating heart problems, he underwent surgery and slowly improved over the course of the Summer, but it weighed heavy on my mind. My grandmother with Alzheimer¿¿s moved into our home, and I had to undertake more care. My other grandparents also required quite a bit of care, as they are quite elderly, and my grandmother took ill with infections over the Summer.

I was spread quite thin over the Summer months taking my grandparents to appointments and caring for them while my parents worked. I broke my elbow in May, which took months to heal and made work even more strenuous. When I was completing the final essay for this course my computer broke, and I had no available technology to write on. I informed the professor of this, and I finished the substantial essay on my cell phone. After I submitted the essay, Professor Westlake reached out to me and told me that I was on the bounds of breaching academic integrity due to poor citations, as a result I received a very low grade for this essay. The reason that the essay was poorly cited was because my technology failed and I struggled to cross reference my research notes properly on my phone, any breach of academic integrity was not intentional as I included nearly 20 sources in this paper, and I dedicated quite a bit of time to completing it. The day I received the grade from Professor Westlake I was with my family travelling to my Aunts funeral and I was in no place to be writing serious academic emails. The next day my marks had been submitted and I had no opportunity to discuss the poor grade Professor Westlake had given me.

Therefore, I am sending this letter to find pursue a credit standing for POLS 212. I purchased a new and reliable computer since this happened. I have been attending therapy, and after several months, and removing myself from an unhealthy living environment, I have been able to commit wholeheartedly to fixing and maintaining my mental health. My health at the time made it difficult to complete the course work and my own personal world was in shambles at the time.

Additionally, my mental health issues are ongoing and have made it difficult to write this letter. I had no knowledge of the possibility of an appeal process during the Summer term.

I hope you can make special consideration for my case considering the nature of my life at the time and the timeline of events I have presented to you.

Thank you for your consideration and time. If you have any questions or need further clarification, I am available to do so. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

Sara Gray,
20113040.