"Do I still get the 81.5?"

I grade my students' essays electronically. There are a few advantages to this. One is that we both have a copy of the essay and my comments. Second, I don't have to carry around stacks of paper, which is easier and more sanitary (students are germ factories!!).

I gave my students Wednesday to work on revising an essay they have already turned in, and I walked around answering questions, making suggestions, and clarifying my comments I'd made on their essays. To be prepared for this, each student had to print a copy of his essay with my comments and bring to class.

I rarely make mistakes in returning essays, but Tuesday night I sent the wrong essay to a student we'll call "D." So D opens the file, sees someone else's name on the essay, but prints it to bring to our workshopping class anyway. He comes to class and when I ask how his revisions are coming, he says, "Good, good. I don't remember writing this part, though. Or this part."

I look at his essay and say, "D, that isn't your essay. I must have sent you the wrong one."

He says, "But you sent it to me. It must be mine."

I pointed to the essay and said, "But this is E's name, not yours. This is the wrong essay."

He still doesn't believe. I say, "But D, you wrote on the Tide commercial and this essay is about the DirectTV commercial."

As he begins to understand, he says, "I thought that was strange. I don't remember writing most of this."

Finally I convinced him that it wasn't his. Then he asked, "Do I still get the 81.5?"