{"id":"ind-tch-grade-change-request","audience":"teachers","category":"writing-emails","technique":"verification","title":"Request a grade change from the registrar with the math shown","free":false,"task":"A scoring error on a student's final exam changes her course grade, and you're emailing the registrar. Keep it under 80 words, plain text: student name, ID, course and old-to-new letter grade in the first sentence, then the weighted grade math on one line, then the reason in one sentence. Use the gradebook's weights and the cutoffs in your syllabus. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.","materialLabel":"Your gradebook notes and syllabus (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"GRADEBOOK NOTES - Mr. Hollis, AP U.S. History, Fall semester - Lakeside High (fictional)\nStudent: Camila Duarte, ID 2208341\n\nWeights: Unit tests 50% | Essays 30% | Final exam 20%\nCamila: Unit tests 84 | Essays 88 | Final exam (as entered) 62\n\nError: the scanner skipped page 4 of her final. Rescored by hand: final exam is 82, not 62.\n\nOld semester grade: 0.5 x 84 + 0.3 x 88 + 0.2 x 62 = 42 + 26.4 + 12.4 = 80.8 -> B\nNew semester grade: 0.5 x 84 + 0.3 x 88 + 0.2 x 82 = 42 + 26.4 + 16.4 = 84.8 -> ?\n\nSYLLABUS CUTOFFS: A 90+, B+ 87-89.9, B 80-86.9, C+ 77-79.9, C 70-76.9\n\nRegistrar: registrar@lakeside.example; grade changes due by Jan 23.\nNote: Camila emailed me about it first; she was polite about it.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":80},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 80 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"3 sentences, each under 20 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Burying the request","why":"The AI opens with background on the exam before saying what changes.","fix":"Add: \"First sentence: name, ID, course, old and new grade.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Not checking the cutoff","why":"The AI assumes a higher score means a higher letter; 84.8 is still a B by the syllabus.","fix":"Add: \"Check the new percentage against my cutoffs: B is 80-86.9.\"","checks":["r0","r2"]},{"title":"Hiding the math","why":"The registrar has to trust a number with no work shown.","fix":"Add: \"Show the weighted math on one line.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Ignoring where it will be pasted","why":"AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email.","fix":"Name the place and the format: \"For the email. Plain text, no bold or headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Puts the request first","patterns":["first sentence","lead with","start with","id"]},{"label":"Checks the cutoffs","patterns":["cutoff","syllabus","80-86","letter grade"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["math","0\\.5 ?x","weight","show"]},{"label":"States the reason","patterns":["reason","scanner","page 4"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Grade changes need the math and the reason, and a higher score doesn't always mean a new letter. Tell the AI to check your cutoffs.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence gives Camila Duarte, ID 2208341, AP U.S. History, and the change from B to B (or says the letter grade stays B while the percentage changes from 80.8 to 84.8)","Shows the new weighted math on one line: 0.5 x 84 + 0.3 x 88 + 0.2 x 82 = 84.8 (or equivalent with the same numbers)","Gives the reason in one sentence (the scanner skipped page 4 of the final; rescored by hand from 62 to 82) and doesn't claim the letter grade rises to B+ or A"]}