You mean the Zombie apocalypse wasn't coming? *puts down guns and knives* I don't see why people are truly afraid of Ebola in any country outside of those which it's originating from. Unless you handle random peoples urine, blood, saliva, or any other bodily fluids, then you should be relatively safe from Ebola. Your country isn't the one in need of help with it, and it's not originating in a popular cave in your area that is inhabited by elephants, snakes, bats, and a lot of other stuff. So calm down.

Wait, Dean and Sam AREN'T real? *Stows salt, anti-possession charms, holy water, guns, and silver knives/bullets*

Hey, maybe she just thought the article was real... Nope, still an idiot.

OMG #53 when I read zombies I immediately thought of supernatural!

this needs a follow-up really bad

#53 and 90, you should have said that in the comment thread above this one because somebody said werewolves, demons, vampires etc. arent real

Wait, really? I thought OP said it was a hoax article. Or did I misunderstand the word "hoax"?

Thank you for clarifying! I thought this post was a joke and OP is dumb!

So just to clarify, #3, incase we missed it. Are ebola-infected zombies real or not?

And your point is?

thank you captain obvious *slow clap*

You don't say. I thought they were real until you said they weren't.

157-They can't put anything on the internet that isn't true. (PS: This statement is false. ;P)

183, I think you just blew up the internet.

Thank you dumb ass

There could be a chance of violence in that, so a meeting with the student would probably be a better option

If he is willing to have a go at the OP for the low grade about it then he probably wont listen or understand the grading to start with.

I have to look at the facts here: 1. The article is related to science because it is related to Ebola which is within the realm of 'science' 2. An essay should be graded for its writing, not something silly like that. it's really dumb to choose that article for the essay but it doesn't warrant a 0!

Actually it does. I would argue that science is rooted in objective fact. Since that story is not based on any facts and is completely fabricated it cannot be considered an actual science article. Therefore, because it is not a science article it fails and the student deserves 0

By that logic #75, Star Wars is a scientific documentary since it's about space and lasers and rockets, and all of those are in the realm of 'science'.

so would you call eintsteins theory of relativity not science simply because it hasnt been proven thus it isnt fact? honestly dont try to be smart and correct people unless youre correct.

She should receive a failing grade, for ignorance of half of the assignment. Her essay, though, should earn her something above a 0 because she did execute the assignment. She may not have correctly selected an article, but she did write an essay in a timely manner.

How can you give someone marks for an essay when it's premise was completely wrong? That's like someone answering completely the wrong question in an exam and still expecting a grade because 'they still wrote the essay'. If you answer the wrong question, you get a zero, if you write an essay that was supposed to be based on a scientific article, on a fictional piece about zombies you get a zero! You have to think logically; the content of her essay will have been entirely based on this article and as such completely unrelated to the task that was set and not worth any marks.

Doing the assignment means nothing if you put absolutely no effort or thought into it. You get graded on content not whether you hand something in.

#115 that's the basis of modern day politics. So if we go by political logic it's totally ok to say random shit and still get an A.... Wait what?

@99 getting points for writting an essay in a timely manner, and on the grammatical structure, etc of said essay would be fine if she was writing it for an english/language arts class. But, it was a science class. A science essay on a science article. Which is supposed to be based on facts and objective, critical thinking, looking into the validity of the article, and support of said validity. Even at lower grades that can be easily accomplished. Merely giving a grade for writing is not what is being marked here, or really cared about or being taught here. The girl and her father completely missed the premise of the assignment, the point of it and failed at objective and critical thinking skills. It was lazy work and does not deserve marks.

like #85 said if its not fact it deserves a 0. The same logic can be applied if she wrote her paper on something she read in Twilight.

# 98, They are talking about a fake article that has no proof and is not accepted by the science community. Einsteins Theory of Relativity is accepted by the science community as being fact. It is a scientific theory, which is defined as a well substantiated and repeatedly proven explanation. Perhaps you shouldn't correct people without checking if you're correct first.

Most people define scientific theory by the other definition of theory. In science if it isn't proven we call it a hypothesis once we have tested it rigorously several hundred times we say ok its true.

He* See: "HIS daughter"

Nope. Teacher wins.

I was referring to the daughter.

Except the conflict in the FML is clearly between the father and the teacher.

Except the daughter wrote the paper. She may beat it the 0 on a technicality. Stop being a prick.

"iampaul" - she was obviously talking about the daughter so you fail at corecting

Half the work is noticing when something is real science and fake science. If you think that was anywhere near deserving of anything better than.a 0 your just as bad as the parent. The assignment said a science article not a nut job's article designed to spread panic.

*you're. I'll give you a F.

The only thing that deserves a zero is not doing the work. Period. The OP is that asshole teacher that nobody likes.

8: I've read through a couple of those hoax articles and they fail to mention any sort of science, even the REAL healthcare, epidemic, virology science behind Ebola. I'm sure the teacher would take the content into account; even so, it sounds like the daughter more than just skirted the rules.

Why should the teacher cater to a student that's trying to be a smart ass? There's no way that she didn't known the article was a hoax. "Rising from the dead"? Sounds like the subject is Science not Writing. If anything-- allow her time to re-due the assignment with a lower grade, for turning it in late. The teacher needs to be fair to the other students that actually worked hard on their assignment and followed directions correctly.

A hoax article about Ebola is still an article "related to science"; if his instructions were as vague as in the FML, then the student completed the task exactly as assigned, and giving them a zero for it is totally unjustified. The description says they had to write an essay on an article related to science, not they had to write a scientific report. To mark them down for using a hoax article is one thing, to give them a zero despite them completing the work as assigned is another thing entirely. If the essay was well written, they should have at least received a pass.

I couldn't resist logging just to say this. Unless some of you are qualified enough and have a substantial amount of knowledge in virology, you should not deny the possibilities in an area of subject you're not familiar with, or else that makes you as ignorant as OP, which could probably be the reason he/she is a teacher.

@47 I'm sure you're knowledgable enough to determine what's "fake" and what's not just by a few words. I pity you.

As a teacher, when I give assignments like this, I make sure my students have clear parameters of what constitutes a reliable or acceptable source. Most teachers do, too-- it's just that FML has a character limit so OP wasn't able to post the entire lesson plan. If the student didn't select an appropriate article, she does not deserve the grade. It doesn't matter how good the essay was, it was based on a bogus article, therefore she has demonstrated zero learning. Following directions is extremely important.

She did the work. That should account for something. I dont know how the grading system works in the US or wherever Op is from but in Australia you can't get a zero unless you do not attempt the work you will always get somewhat of a mark if you attempted, and people do think its real. Trust me. Just the other day a girl in my History class asked the teacher if the people with Ebola were actually coming back as zombies because she'd seen a video on Facebook showing it. There are some dim and gullible people out there

That's because students in Australia are completely spoon-fed, and are mollycoddled to the extent that 2/3 don't bother to prepare for practical classes, as they expect to be given the answers. University assignments are marked according to marking rubrics; for first year university students, formatting correctly gives them 10%, writing it in acceptable English gives them another 10%, and citing references provides another 10%. That's 30% before you even take into account the content of the work. As long as you have some keywords and some sort of flow, you're guaranteed to pass.

C'mon people. No, she should not pass due to ignorance on her part, but she put the required effort in the allotted time period for the assignment. Depending on OP's rubric/grading system, I'd say she should get a 50-60% if her paper is perfect. Topic should impact 30-50% of the assignment, in my opinion.

#101 but the topic is what the entire assignment is based off of. What kind of an example would that be to the other students who did everything correctly and actually followed directions? Obviously you were spoon fed all through school, because your arguement is complete bullshit. It warrants pats on the back for doing something wrong. Not to mention you totally contradicting yourself. Just stop

Science fiction is still related to science. Op should be more clear about topics.

@61 unless the student wrote an essay explaining why the article is a hoax, and not based on any science whatsoever, then no, an essay on a hoax article about ebola zombies is definitely NOT based on science. It is fiction literature.

@61 unless the students essay was showing how the article was not scientifically sound, then no, not based in science. And a hoax article about ebola zombies is NOT based in science. It is fiction literature.

omg what ******* retards. Science fiction is not even relatively close to the realm of science. Try searching up good definitions of real science. the acronym CONPTT can help figure out what true science is. this girl deserved the 0. Read the assignment carefully and follow instructions. if my anatomy teacher told me to write an essay over an article involving pathogens and their effects and I chose what OPs student did, I would get a 0 too. People just throw around the word science like it's the synonym for fiction. Some. Of. You. People. Are. Beyond. stupid.

How come all of op's other students had no trouble following directions but this one did. Giving her anything but a 0 is unfair to every other student that did the assignment correctly. The student must have known it was not acceptable but figured they could bully the teacher into passing them anyway.

If you look at the rubric that the teacher should have given her and graded off of, then she should have been given points just for completing the assignment, not even worrying about the topic. no one is saying to give her a 100% but she should have gotten some sort of number that was at least greater or equal to 30-40%. On any rubric, style of writing, formatting, and thesis are some of the first things that are in the composition of a rubric, not every rubric is the same, but they are very similar. No matter where the teacher is from, there should be a single rubric for the class with the posibility of getting a minimum score of 0%

Are you really that stupid? She never completed the assignment. The assignment wanted a factual science article. She wrote an essay on a piece of fiction.

That wasn't the assignment that OP gave to their student.

If she wrote an essay, you could give her a grade on the content even though the article itself wasn't acceptable.

I'm kinda dubious of the essays quality if she was dumb enough to pick an article like that in the first place.