I used this to my advantage when I was grading final papers. I required that students give me a stamped envelope if they wanted comments back. (Which they ALL should have! But rarely half the class did.)

Then I'd figure the lowest score a student would have to get to raise the semester grade and the highest score a student could get to lower the semester grade. Surprisingly often it was in the "A+ or D-" range.

I'd skim the paper, checking for the major things: thesis, intro, conclusion, etc. If those were present, it wasn't a D-. If they weren't (or were anything less than amazing), it wasn't an A+. If I hadn't received an envelope for the paper, my grading of that work was done! It took seconds!

Don't work hard, work smart. wink

Kriston