Students Centering Text.
Why are so many students submitting documents in which the text is centered? I'm talking 20% of students this semester are submitting all of their operate this approach, even when the assignment calls for MLA formatting. What gives? Please don't notify me this is another AI item.
Upvoters12
31 Comments
I've always assumed it's because they center the title at the top of the page and then are too careless or inexperienced to notice they need to switch back to normal alignment for the body of the paper. Papers that are fully centered tend to have a lot of other errors also. ...
This is most likely it.
I feel like the AI papers are the ones that are fully left justified from title to references. Paragraphs aren't even indented.
I get this a lot. They usually say they just center the whole thing, even with clear instructions not to. It’s a brave new world.
This is happening to me for APA formatting. I told them it is not acceptable and they are claiming that is what they are being taught and I am like I really doubt that.
They are definitively only taught that if they visit the Bizarro planet. I’ve been told many things that they were taught that they weren’t taught.
That and a lack of indentation for new paragraphs.
The latter, I strongly suspect, is because Word and GDocs default to First Line 0" / Space After 6pt, and the students don't know enough to fix it. It doesn't help that they do so much reading on the web that uses that.
https://preview.redd.it/yo9wttr6tfpg1.jpeg?width=602&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f59f469f878ca75908c8f34108f26e3c1dfc79d7
If they don’t indent then they better have space BETWEEN paragraphs… and the space needs to be smaller than the leading for the font. Eg if leading is 12 point then the space between should be 8-10. A carrier return between is not the same!
Well, so many of them center their own experiences, feelings, and opinions in every assignment, so why not make the format match?.
I laughed out loud!🤣
I had a ridiculous number who submitted a bibliography with all of the references centered. I don't have the answer to your question, but I am seeing it also. They submit the paper this weekend, so we'll see if the trend holds (or if they read my feedback complaining about it).
For a bibliography specifically, I would guess they just don’t understand hanging indents (could be AI though idk)
I’ve started deducting 5-10% for what I call “weird formatting.” I have submissions that range from 8 point font to 14 point font, no spacing to quadruple spacing, no bibliographies to bibliographic information throughout the assignment. I have had enough, so I say I expect xy...
I see this sometimes for student work that gets moved between file formats (e.g., GDocs --> Word, or Pages --> PDF) without the student taking time to clean up any formatting changes.
They even center their discussion posts.
Yep.
This was happening before AI and I gave them sample papers formatted correctly! Who the heck knows why? I did have one student say she just thought it looked better and I asked when she ever saw a serious paper look like that. Silence.
I have not seen this. I'm going to assume it is due to switching between one text editor and another. For example, if they are trying to type their report out on their phone or an AI.
I am seeing this constantly. They don’t edit or proofread, so whatever they type gets uploaded. Some learned in HS that turning in work = passing score. In college, they have to submit assignments that meet certain standards. Alas, I’m seeing a lot at my CC that aren’t making ...
. . . it’s probably because social media platforms like instagram and snapchat center text over images/for story posts so that’s what they’ve gotten used to seeing
See Gen X folks really loved Star Wars and when they had kids it just like seeped into their brains. It’s like the opening credits.
I don’t have an insightful answer for this. I get it as well and correct it as we go along. I can only assume they can’t see the difference when it is a glaring error for us.
I teach graphic design. I can’t stop them.
This is probably a stretch, but I'm thinking of how Snapchat and Instagram stories often feature centered text, because when laid over a photo it is more aesthetically pleasing. Obviously totally inappropriate for academic text though!
I would bet an AI is centering for some reason and that formatting is getting copied.
This kills me in graphic design. Centering is thr worst form of paragraph layout. All it does it looks like it’s renaissance and or in a certificate. There’s no tension or contrast. A page has a right corner, a paragraph ought to have something evocative of that right edge, wh...
Take off the points and paste a link for APA format
They don't know about "justify" and use "center" instead. It's fun showing them where justify is and what it does.