Dear ministry of paper-based exams

Dear ministry:

Ten days ago I received a pile of written exams to grade. Yesterday you sent me a note asking me to finish up already. In the future, I recommend you send the dunning notice together with the exams.

Alternatively, you could fix your own processes and give me adequate time.

Speaking about fixing things. Why do I receive paper? This is the 21st century and you seem solidly stuck in the 19th century.

Let me explain all the things wrong with paper-based exams. Paper is poor to handle:

• It is messy, dirty, and unpleasant
• Pages get out of order
• Random stapling makes handling more difficult
• Questions answered out of order make my life harder

Also, handwriting is often illegible; how can this be fair to grading?

Finally, in this day and age, I’m not convinced it is safe to handle so much paper that has passed through so many hands.

With frustrated regards,

An annoyed professor