Petition Letter
I am submitting this petition to respectfully request a formal review of the grade assigned to my “Final Draft Screenplay + Reflection”. While I fully respect the academic standards of the course and my instructor, I believe the evaluation of this assignment was substantially undervalued, lacked consistency and transparency, and did not reasonably reflect my demonstrated effort, progression, or completion of expectations.
Throughout the semester, this screenplay served as the central assessment focus of the course. It was also the only assignment that underwent multiple graded submissions prior to the final mark, with each version evaluated separately. My first submissions to this ongoing assignment received A-, C+, C, and C-, each time decreasing despite the fact that I was intentionally revising according to the instructor’s guidance. At each stage I directly addressed the comments provided, strengthened my narrative, refined character dynamics, added clarity, and attempted to resolve the issues highlighted. Rather than demonstrating improvement, however, my marks continued to drop, making it extremely difficult to understand how success was being measured or how progress was being recognized.
For the Final Draft, I again followed all stated expectations:
• I revised character clarity and emotional arc
• I restructured and strengthened plot direction
• I clarified cause-and-effect relationships
• I improved scene structure
• I used professional screenplay formatting software as instructed
Despite this, I initially received 0% on my last submission “Final Draft Screenplay + Reflection”. A grade such as 0% is typically associated with missing work, late work, incorrect submission, or complete failure to engage with requirements none of which applied. After I respectfully emailed seeking clarity, my instructor acknowledged my improvement in this draft and stated that she could see where I had responded to her feedback. My grade was subsequently adjusted to 10%, framed as recognition of “partial completion.”
While I appreciate the reconsideration, the revised grade still does not fairly reflect that I completed the revisions, followed the assignment instructions, submitted in the required format, named correctly, and demonstrated clear effort and engagement. Despite this, the assignment still received a failing grade that does not seem proportionate to the work completed.
A critical issue throughout this process was the lack of a clear, detailed rubric or consistent evaluative criteria, despite statements that one existed. Students were not provided explicit breakdowns of how marks were allocated, what constituted successful screenplay functionality, or how screenplay assignments were being weighed. Without transparent assessment criteria, it was extremely challenging to understand expectations or ensure alignment with the instructor’s evolving standards. Additionally, the reflection component which was included in the assignment appears to have had no evaluative consideration or marks allocation, nor were partial marks meaningfully given, for anything.
Another challenge impacting fairness was the limited opportunity for clarification and guidance. There were multiple instances throughout the semester where I reached out for support or clarification and unfortunately did not receive responses. While I appreciate that instructors manage significant workloads, this inconsistency made it even more difficult to adapt to changing expectations and ensure alignment with course objectives.
My intention in submitting this petition is not to challenge the legitimacy of academic critique or to dismiss valid concerns raised by my instructor. Rather, my concern lies with proportionality, clarity, and fairness in assessment. The fact that my grade declined with each revision, despite sincere and documented effort to follow direction; that this assignment alone was graded repeatedly without clear standards; that acknowledged improvement still resulted in near-zero credit; and that assessment lacked transparent rubric-based justification collectively indicate substantial under-evaluation.
Given these concerns, I respectfully request that my “Final Draft Screenplay + Reflection” be formally reviewed by a neutral second evaluator or reassessed using a clearly articulated rubric aligned with course learning objectives and assignment expectations. I believe this review will allow for a fairer representation of both the work submitted and the learning progression demonstrated throughout the semester.
Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and commitment to maintaining fairness and academic integrity.
Respectfully,
Olivia Bellamy
Student ID: 20400888
Throughout the semester, this screenplay served as the central assessment focus of the course. It was also the only assignment that underwent multiple graded submissions prior to the final mark, with each version evaluated separately. My first submissions to this ongoing assignment received A-, C+, C, and C-, each time decreasing despite the fact that I was intentionally revising according to the instructor’s guidance. At each stage I directly addressed the comments provided, strengthened my narrative, refined character dynamics, added clarity, and attempted to resolve the issues highlighted. Rather than demonstrating improvement, however, my marks continued to drop, making it extremely difficult to understand how success was being measured or how progress was being recognized.
For the Final Draft, I again followed all stated expectations:
• I revised character clarity and emotional arc
• I restructured and strengthened plot direction
• I clarified cause-and-effect relationships
• I improved scene structure
• I used professional screenplay formatting software as instructed
Despite this, I initially received 0% on my last submission “Final Draft Screenplay + Reflection”. A grade such as 0% is typically associated with missing work, late work, incorrect submission, or complete failure to engage with requirements none of which applied. After I respectfully emailed seeking clarity, my instructor acknowledged my improvement in this draft and stated that she could see where I had responded to her feedback. My grade was subsequently adjusted to 10%, framed as recognition of “partial completion.”
While I appreciate the reconsideration, the revised grade still does not fairly reflect that I completed the revisions, followed the assignment instructions, submitted in the required format, named correctly, and demonstrated clear effort and engagement. Despite this, the assignment still received a failing grade that does not seem proportionate to the work completed.
A critical issue throughout this process was the lack of a clear, detailed rubric or consistent evaluative criteria, despite statements that one existed. Students were not provided explicit breakdowns of how marks were allocated, what constituted successful screenplay functionality, or how screenplay assignments were being weighed. Without transparent assessment criteria, it was extremely challenging to understand expectations or ensure alignment with the instructor’s evolving standards. Additionally, the reflection component which was included in the assignment appears to have had no evaluative consideration or marks allocation, nor were partial marks meaningfully given, for anything.
Another challenge impacting fairness was the limited opportunity for clarification and guidance. There were multiple instances throughout the semester where I reached out for support or clarification and unfortunately did not receive responses. While I appreciate that instructors manage significant workloads, this inconsistency made it even more difficult to adapt to changing expectations and ensure alignment with course objectives.
My intention in submitting this petition is not to challenge the legitimacy of academic critique or to dismiss valid concerns raised by my instructor. Rather, my concern lies with proportionality, clarity, and fairness in assessment. The fact that my grade declined with each revision, despite sincere and documented effort to follow direction; that this assignment alone was graded repeatedly without clear standards; that acknowledged improvement still resulted in near-zero credit; and that assessment lacked transparent rubric-based justification collectively indicate substantial under-evaluation.
Given these concerns, I respectfully request that my “Final Draft Screenplay + Reflection” be formally reviewed by a neutral second evaluator or reassessed using a clearly articulated rubric aligned with course learning objectives and assignment expectations. I believe this review will allow for a fairer representation of both the work submitted and the learning progression demonstrated throughout the semester.
Thank you very much for your time, consideration, and commitment to maintaining fairness and academic integrity.
Respectfully,
Olivia Bellamy
Student ID: 20400888