This set of questions is aimed at teachers outside of the English
Department.

As an instructor of freshman composition, I try to address basic writing
issues relevant to all disciplines, since most of my students are not going
to be English majors.  Since I assume that essay questions do still appear
on some midterm and final exams in disciplines other than English, I decided
to spend a some time on essay questions in my class today.  In the course of
the discussion, I suggested that, even though spelling might not be "counted
against" students on essay questions, it is still a good idea to learn to
spell the key terms and names of key figures in the material being covered,
even if their spelling is otherwise atrocious.  One of my students was
adamant that just last week his history teacher had said "This is not
English class--spelling and grammar don't matter" on the midterm, and so he
didn't need to worry about spelling anything right for that teacher.  While
I can understand that grammar and general spelling might not be "graded" on
a history exam, I was skeptical that, for example, a history professor
giving a test on 19th century European history would not expect students to
know how to spell Napoleon Bonaparte.

So what do professors outside English think?  Do you still ask essay
questions or did that "go out of style" since I was in college?  (I remember
answering essay questions in every class but math.)  If you do use essay
questions, what kinds of questions do you ask?  Does it make a difference in
your perception of a student's mastery of the material if he or she
repeatedly misspells key terms and names?  If so, how much of a difference?

Please reply to me at [log in to unmask] with any suggestions you
have about how I can help students write better essays for your class.
Thanks.

Melissa Burchfield
Adjunct Instructor, ENGL 122