Team Terrors Mark III

Well, the assignment was submitted, marked, commented on and returned. I was really surprised to find it had earned full marks. My first. I'm used to marks in the high 90s (%) but have never received 100% before. So the effort was worth it.

I even had a bit of a chuckle by the end. I had told my team member to submit a personal reflection of the assignment process as part of the assessment and she did, without questioning it. It was obvious she'd never read the assignment requirements or she would have known it wasn't required!

I'm glad it's done, even though it was a week late and I spent the next week with one of the worst tension headaches I've ever had. Now I'm another week behind on my study and preparation for other assignments. Ah well, nothing I can do about that now.

Now all that's left to do with this team is the final part of the assignment - the research and final report. I've asked for preferences on what sections she wants to do and received the quickest response to any query from me to date - inside 24 hours. She said she'll be happy with whatever I tell her to do. I get the distinct impression she wants me to do the work and she'll play 'dumb assistant' - and hope to reap the rewards of my effort. Of course she might just realise that I know what I'm talking about - at least I've read the assignment requirements.

This time, however, I'll be preparing a detailed time log and keeping track of exactly what sections we each do and how much editing I have to do to her sections. At the end of it I'll consider applying for marks to be allocated on contribution. It irks me that she'll benefit from my efforts but I'm not prepared to drop my standards just because she's not stretching to them.

Who knows - perhaps by now she knows what the assignment is about and writes something that doesn't need major editing or referencing, or anything like that.

And now you see me glancing at the sky to see if the pigs are flying by.

Just to set the record straight - she's actually quite a nice girl and I feel mean saying all these things. I just have low tolerance for professional incompetence at this level of study. We're doing a masters course - formal academic writing and correct referencing should be given. As should keeping on topic.