Many years ago, when I worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, I remember complaining to a senior colleague that some of the massive project reports we received from consulting firms were little more than a brief introduction and a boiler-plate methods section duplicated from previous reports, very little in the way of conclusions, and pages upon pages of appendixes comprised of printed tables of raw data. My colleague informed me that these reports still satisfied contractual obligations. To be fair to the consultants, problems with permitting, weather or equipment troubles in the field, and delays in getting results back from the lab, often left the report writers facing a contractual deadline with no time for data analysis or reflection. Given the choice between providing \u201cjunk on time\u201d or facing financial penalties for filing a late report, along with the potential loss of future contacts, they generated thick reports that provided few insights and no constructive recommendations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Decades later, now a professor, as I look at the records of struggling students, I\u2019m struck by how often they fail, not because they received poor grades, but because they simply did not submit the assignments \u2014 they did not recognize the importance of submitting junk on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, yes, it would be far better to read critically, to reflect thoroughly, and to start assignments early, leaving plenty of time for revision. I am by no means an advocate for skating by with substandard work. But when life happens, and you simply do not have the time to do it properly, all professionals know you either negotiate a new deadline (the best option), or you work with the time available.\u00a0You do not blow off the assignment.<\/em> In the working world, this will get you fired. As a student, zeros will destroy your chances of passing the course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s compare two hypothetical students; I\u2019ll call them Joe and Moe. Joe is gifted academically, so when he does the work he scores well, but he often skips assignments. Moe, on the other hand, is not as gifted but never fails to turn in something<\/em>. When pressed for time he turns in really poor work \u2014 junk that earns a crummy 50\/100. The rest of the time we’ll assume he typically gets a B-.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ten assignments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe\u2019s Scores:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 95, 0, 91, 92, 0, 0, 100, 0, 90, 0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moe\u2019s Scores:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 82, 50, 83, 81, 50, 82, 81, 83, 50, 84<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does it surprise you to learn that Joe, who receives an A every time he does the work, fails the class with a final average of 47, while Moe, who never scores better than a low B passes with a 73? You might complain that it is unfair to assume Moe will score a 50 for \u201cjunk,\u201d but I disagree. Most faculty are quite generous with partial credit, but even the most lenient will not give you points for work you do not submit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moral of this academic incarnation of the race between the tortoise and the hare is that \u201cjunk on time\u201d beats flashes of brilliance. Whether you are a student or a professional, always meet deadlines, even when you are not proud of the result. Hold your nose, submit, and pledge to start earlier the next time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many years ago, when I worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, I remember complaining to a senior colleague that some of the massive project reports we received from consulting firms were little more than a brief introduction and a boiler-plate … Continue reading