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How to Email Professor About Late Work

Last Updated: April 12, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. and by wikiHow staff writer, Caroline Heiderscheit . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 169,919 times.

With deadlines, jobs, activities, and relationships to juggle, managing your schedule as a student can be tough. If you’ve realized you’re going to miss a deadline (we’ve all been there), you might be wondering how to email your professor for an extension, to apologize, or to limit any late penalties. Don't worry, we've got you covered. Below, we'll walk you through how to email your professor, plus we'll give you some sample emails to inspire you, too. To learn how to email your professor about late work, read on!

Example Emails to Professors for a Late Assignment

Every now and then, it’s okay to miss a deadline. When this happens, send an email immediately and say something along the lines of, “I apologize for turning in this assignment late. Know that I take my work seriously, and I'll do my best to avoid this in the future. I would greatly appreciate an extension on this paper if possible.”

Tips For Late Work Emails

• Don’t say: “I’m just genuinely so, so sorry. I can’t believe I turned this in late, and you have no idea how long I prepped for this assignment. I really am so sorry that I missed the deadline, and you should know that I will do my best in the future, even when I have tech issues, to not let this happen again.”
• Instead say: “I apologize for turning in this assignment late. Know that I take my work seriously and I’ll do my best to avoid this in the future.”

• Don’t say: “Message from a student in Psych 104,” “Need an extension,” or “Hello from Randy Bernard!”
• Instead say: “Extension Request for Psych104, Paper 2: Randy Bernard”

• Use a formal greeting. “Dear Professor James,” and “Professor James,” are perfect. “Hey,” and “Hi,” are too informal and should be avoided.
• Same goes for your signoff—choose a formal phrase. “Best,” and “Sincerely,” are great picks.
• If you’re asking your professor for something, be sure to ask, not demand. Instead of saying “I need” an extension, say that an extension would be extremely helpful to you.
• Remember to use “Please” and “Thank you," too!

• This could hurt your relationship and increase penalties on your assignment.
• So instead, say you're sorry: “I apologize for my late assignment. I know you're busy, and I don’t want to waste your time.”
• “I’m sorry for this late paper, especially because it communicates a lack of care and concern for my grades that I don't feel is accurate.”

• “If I had an extra 48 hours to complete this assignment, I’d be able to fully explore and structure my insights for this term paper.”
• “I would greatly appreciate an extension on this project. With a little more time, I could turn in my very best work and learn even more from this assignment."

• “Last night, my dog had a bar of chocolate without me realizing. I’ve spent the entire evening with her at the vet.”
• "To be entirely honest, I've been dealing with some mental health issues that are seriously affecting my schoolwork."
• If you can, avoid lying. If you're granted an extension and the truth comes out later on, you could face major consequences.

• Don’t say: “Honestly, it was out of my hands entirely. I’m a victim of circumstance, and that’s why my assignment is late.”
• Instead say: “It's true that I didn’t plan for this to happen. That being said, if I’d started earlier, this wouldn’t have been an issue. So I know, ultimately, this is my fault. I take full responsibility.”

• “This isn’t like me, and in the future, I promise to do better.”
• “I take my schoolwork very seriously. If it weren’t for my dog’s illness, I would have made getting this assignment in my top priority.”

Sample Emails

Why You Should Email Your Professor About Late Work

• Policies around extensions differ from school to school, but by writing an A+ email, you can only help your chances.
• Generally, professors only give you an extension under extenuating circumstances, like a major accident. They're going to be less inclined to extend an assignment if you had competing priorities, like work.
• Professors are people too, and they want to help! Especially if you don’t have a history of late work, when you plead your case, they may be more forgiving than you’d expect.

• Especially if you had a major, unforeseen factor pop up in the final moments before submitting your assignment, you may be able to explain and limit your punishment.

• By offering a respectful and honest apology for your late assignment, you can improve your relationship with your professor, earn their respect, and possibly limit your late assignment’s penalties.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://dean.williams.edu/files/2010/09/Guide-to-Emailing-Professors-1.pdf
• ↑ https://advising.yalecollege.yale.edu/how-write-email-your-instructor
• ↑ https://studentaffairs.loyno.edu/health-counseling/university-counseling-center/news-ucc/emailing-your-professor-tips-tricks-health
• ↑ https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-an-extension/
• ↑ https://www.makemyassignments.com/blog/how-to-complete-your-assignments-before-the-deadline/
• ↑ https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/09/23/tips-handling-missed-deadline-opinion

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How to Write an Email Requesting Your Professor to Accept a Late Assignment

In this blog post we will look at how you can write an email requesting a deadline extension, some tips and tricks to ensure you sound polite and professional and finally a sample email that you can just use. So let us jump in.

Shiva Prabhakaran

Requesting an extension as a student is something we all dread but if the situation demands it then you have to pull up your socks and do it.

And in this blog post we will look at how you can write an email requesting a deadline extension, some tips and tricks to ensure you sound polite and professional and finally a sample email that you can just use. So let us jump in.

Tips to Remember

Be polite with your wording since you do not want to upset your professor and also stay honest with your reasoning.

Take responsibility for being unable to submit assignments on time. There is no harm in stating your reason for delay and moving forward rather than shifting blame elsewhere.

Apologize for inconvenience caused due to the late submission of your assignment and clearly state that you are willing to make up for it.

Best Practices

Get to the point without a lot of fluff, your professor might actually appreciate the fact that you are straight with him about your academic concerns and weakness.

Clear state proposed dates to avoid any confusion and assure him that there will be no drop in the quality of submission.

Keep communication lines open so that your professor is able to contact in case of clarifications or change in planes.

Sample Late Assignment Acceptance Request Email

Subject: Requesting Assignment Submission Date Extension to [Date]

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

Hope this email finds you well. I am writing to possibly get an extension on my assignment submission date because [Briefly explain the challenges and the reason for the delay].

By my estimate, I should be able to submit the assignment by [New Proposed Date] while ensuring that the quality of the submission is not compromised.

I completely understand the importance of timely submission and regret being unable to meet that deadline. I apologize for the inconvenience and confusion my delay might have caused, and I will work hard to ensure that this is not repeated.

I am fully committed to holding to my new proposed deadline and striving towards a high-quality output that I am proud of. In the meantime, if you have any queries on the matter, feel free to let me know on [Your Email ID].

Thanks for your flexibility and consideration in this matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

[Your Name]

Now that you have learned how to ask for an assignment submission extension via email, you should be a lot more confident about your email or communication capabilities. Thanks for reading.

Also FYI, if you are interested in improving your time management skills, you should consider downloading the Routine Productivity App .

Try Routine today

Sign up and get started for free.

A Few Ideas for Dealing with Late Work

August 4, 2019

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Most of my 9-week grading periods ended the same way: Me and one or two students, sitting in my quiet, empty classroom together, with me sitting at the computer, the students nearby in desks, methodically working through piles of make-up assignments. They would be focused, more focused than I’d seen them in months, and the speed with which they got through the piles was stunning. 

As they finished each assignment I took it, checked it for accuracy, then entered their scores—taking 50 percent off for being late—into my grading program. With every entry, I’d watch as their class grade went up and up: from a 37 percent to a 41, then to 45, then to 51, and eventually to something in the 60s or even low 70s, a number that constituted passing, at which point the process would end and we’d part ways, full of resolve that next marking period would be different.

And the whole time I thought to myself, This is pointless . They aren’t learning anything at all. But I wasn’t sure what else to do.

For as long as teachers have assigned tasks in exchange for grades, late work has been a problem. What do we do when a student turns in work late? Do we give some kind of consequence or accept assignments at any time with no penalty? Do we set up some kind of system that keeps students motivated while still holding them accountable? Is there a way to manage all of this without driving ourselves crazy?

To find answers, I went to Twitter and asked teachers to share what works for them. What follows is a summary of their responses. I wish I could give individual credit to each person who offered ideas, but that would take way too long, and I really want you to get these suggestions now! If you’ve been unsatisfied with your own approach to late work, you should find some fresh ideas here.

First, a Few Questions About Your Grades

Before we get into the ways teachers manage late work, let’s back up a bit and consider whether your overall program of assignments and grading is in a healthy place. Here are some questions to think about:  

• What do your grades represent? How much of your grades are truly based on academic growth, and how much are based mostly on compliance? If they lean more toward compliance, then what you’re doing when you try to manage late work is basically a lot of administrative paper pushing, rather than teaching your content. Although it’s important for kids to learn how to manage deadlines, do you really want an A in your course to primarily reflect the ability to follow instructions? If your grades are too compliance-based, consider how you might shift things so they more accurately represent learning. (For a deeper discussion of this issue, read How Accurate Are Your Grades? )
• Are you grading too many things? If you spend a lot of time chasing down missing assignments in order to get more scores in your gradebook, it could be that you’re grading too much. Some teachers only enter grades for major, summative tasks, like projects, major writing assignments, or exams. Everything else is considered formative and is either ungraded or given a very low point value for completion, not graded for accuracy; it’s practice . For teachers who are used to collecting lots of grades over a marking period, this will be a big shift, and if you work in a school where you’re expected to enter grades into your system frequently, that shift will be even more difficult. Convincing your students that ungraded practice is worthwhile because it will help their performance on the big things will be another hurdle. With all of that said, reducing the number of scored items will make your grades more meaningful and cut way down on the time you spend grading and managing late work.
• What assumptions do you make when students don’t turn in work? I’m embarrassed to admit that when I first started teaching, I assumed most students with missing work were just unmotivated. Although this might be true for a small portion of students, I no longer see this as the most likely reason. Students may have issues with executive function and could use some help developing systems for managing their time and responsibilities. They may struggle with anxiety. Or they may not have the resources—like time, space, and technology—to consistently complete work at home. More attention has been paid lately to the fact that homework is an equity issue , and our policies around homework should reflect an understanding that all students don’t have access to the same resources once they leave school for the day. Punitive policies that are meant to “motivate” students don’t take any of these other issues into consideration, so if your late work penalties don’t seem to be working, it’s likely that the root cause is something other than a lack of motivation.
• What kind of grading system is realistic for you ? Any system you put in place requires YOU to stay on top of grading. It would be much harder to assign penalties, send home reminders, or track lateness if you are behind on marking papers by a week, two weeks, even a month. So whatever you do, create a plan that you can actually keep up with.

Possible Solutions

1. penalties.

Many teachers give some sort of penalty to students for late work. The thinking behind this is that without some sort of negative consequence, too many students would wait until the end of the marking period to turn work in, or in some cases, not turn it in at all. When work is turned in weeks or even months late, it can lose its value as a learning opportunity because it is no longer aligned with what’s happening in class. On top of that, teachers can end up with massive piles of assignments to grade in the last few days of a marking period. This not only places a heavy burden on teachers, it is far from an ideal condition for giving students the good quality feedback they should be getting on these assignments.

Several types of penalties are most common:

Point Deductions In many cases, teachers simply reduce the grade as a result of the lateness. Some teachers will take off a certain number of points per day until they reach a cutoff date after which the work will no longer be accepted. One teacher who responded said he takes off 10 percent for up to three days late, then 30 percent for work submitted up to a week late; he says most students turn their work in before the first three days are over. Others have a standard amount that comes off for any late work (like 10 percent), regardless of when it is turned in. This policy still rewards students for on-time work without completely de-motivating those who are late, builds in some accountability for lateness, and prevents the teacher from having to do a lot of mathematical juggling with a more complex system. 

Parent Contact Some teachers keep track of late work and contact parents if it is not turned in. This treats the late work as more of a conduct issue; the parent contact may be in addition to or instead of taking points away. 

No Feedback, No Re-Dos The real value of homework and other smaller assignments should be the opportunity for feedback: Students do an assignment, they get timely teacher feedback, and they use that feedback to improve. In many cases, teachers allow students to re-do and resubmit assignments based on that feedback. So a logical consequence of late work could be the loss of that opportunity: Several teachers mentioned that their policy is to accept late work for full credit, but only students who submit work on time will receive feedback or the chance to re-do it for a higher grade. Those who hand in late work must accept whatever score they get the first time around. 

2. A Separate Work Habits Grade

In a lot of schools, especially those that use standards-based grading, a student’s grade on an assignment is a pure representation of their academic mastery; it does not reflect compliance in any way. So in these classrooms, if a student turns in good work, it’s going to get a good grade even if it’s handed in a month late. 

But students still need to learn how to manage their time. For that reason, many schools assign a separate grade for work habits. This might measure factors like adherence to deadlines, neatness, and following non-academic guidelines like font sizes or using the correct heading on a paper. 

• Although most teachers whose schools use this type of system will admit that students and parents don’t take the work habits grade as seriously as the academic grade, they report being satisfied that student grades only reflect mastery of the content.
• One school calls their work habits grade a “behavior” grade, and although it doesn’t impact GPA, students who don’t have a certain behavior grade can’t make honor roll, despite their actual GPA.
• Several teachers mentioned looking for patterns and using the separate grade as a basis for conferences with parents, counselors, or other stakeholders. For most students, there’s probably a strong correlation between work habits and academic achievement, so separating the two could help students see that connection.
• Some learning management systems will flag assignments as late without necessarily taking points off. Although this does not automatically translate to a work habits grade, it indicates the lateness to students and parents without misrepresenting the academic achievement.

3. Homework Passes

Because things happen in real life that can throw anyone off course every now and then, some teachers offer passes students can use to replace a missed assignment.

• Most teachers only offer these passes to replace low-point assignments, not major ones, and they generally only offer 1 to 3 passes per marking period. Homework passes can usually only recover 5 to 10 percent of a student’s overall course grade. 
• Other teachers have a policy of allowing students to drop one or two of their lowest scores in the gradebook. Again, this is typically done for smaller assignments and has the same net effect as a homework pass by allowing everyone to have a bad day or two.
• One teacher gives “Next Class Passes” which allow students one extra day to turn in work. At the end of every marking period she gives extra credit points to students who still have unused passes. She says that since she started doing this, she has had the lowest rate ever of late work. 

4. Extension Requests

Quite a few teachers require students to submit a written request for a deadline extension rather than taking points off. With a system like this, every student turns something in on the due date, whether it’s the assignment itself or an extension request.

• Most extension requests ask students to explain why they were unable to complete the assignment on time. This not only gives the students a chance to reflect on their habits, it also invites the teacher to help students solve larger problems that might be getting in the way of their academic success. 
• Having students submit their requests via Google Forms reduces the need for paper and routes all requests to a single spreadsheet, which makes it easier for teachers to keep track of work that is late or needs to be regraded.  
• Other teachers use a similar system for times when students want to resubmit work for a new grade. 

5. Floating Deadlines

Rather than choosing a single deadline for an assignment, some teachers assign a range of dates for students to submit work. This flexibility allows students to plan their work around other life activities and responsibilities.

• Some teachers offer an incentive to turn in work in the early part of the time frame, such as extra credit or faster feedback, and this helps to spread out the submissions more evenly. 
• Another variation on this approach is to assign a batch of work for a whole week and ask students to get it in by Friday. This way, students get to manage when they get it done. 
• Other names mentioned for this strategy were flexible deadlines , soft deadlines , and due windows .

6. Let Students Submit Work in Progress

Some digital platforms, like Google Classroom, allow students to “submit” assignments while they are still working on them. This allows teachers to see how far the student has gotten and address any problems that might be coming up. If your classroom is mostly paper-based, it’s certainly possible to do this kind of thing with paper as well, letting students turn in partially completed work to demonstrate that an effort has been made and show you where they might be stuck.

7. Give Late Work Full Credit

Some teachers accept all late work with no penalty. Most of them agree that if the work is important, and if we want students to do it, we should let them hand it in whenever they get it done. 

• Some teachers fear this approach will cause more students to stop doing the work or delay submission until the end of a marking period, but teachers who like this approach say they were surprised by how little things changed when they stopped giving penalties: Most students continued to turn work in more or less on time, and the same ones who were late under the old system were still late under the new one. The big difference was that the teacher no longer had to spend time calculating deductions or determining whether students had valid excuses; the work was simply graded for mastery.
• To give students an incentive to actually turn the work in before the marking period is over, some teachers will put a temporary zero in the gradebook as a placeholder until the assignment is turned in, at which point the zero is replaced with a grade.
• Here’s a twist on the “no penalty” option: Some teachers don’t take points off for late work, but they limit the time frame when students can turn it in. Some will not accept late work after they have graded and returned an assignment; at that point it would be too easy for students to copy off of the returned papers. Others will only accept late work up until the assessment for the unit, because the work leading up to that is meant to prepare for that assessment. 

8. Other Preventative Measures

These strategies aren’t necessarily a way to manage late work as much as they are meant to prevent it in the first place.

• Include students in setting deadlines. When it comes to major assignments, have students help you determine due dates. They may have a better idea than you do about other big events that are happening and assignments that have been given in other classes.
• Stop assigning homework. Some teachers have stopped assigning homework entirely, recognizing that disparities at home make it an unfair measurement of academic mastery. Instead, all meaningful work is done in class, where the teacher can monitor progress and give feedback as needed. Long-term projects are done in class as well, so the teacher is aware of which students need more time and why. 
• Make homework optional or self-selected. Not all students need the same amount of practice. You may be able to get your students to assess their own need for additional practice and assign that practice to themselves. Although this may sound far-fetched, in some classes, like this self-paced classroom , it actually works, because students know they will be graded on a final assessment, they get good at determining when they need extra practice.

With so many different approaches to late work, what’s clear is that there are a lot of different schools of thought on grading and assessment, so it’s not a surprise that we don’t always land on the best solution on the first try. Experiment with different systems, talk to your colleagues, and be willing to try something new until you find something that works for you. 

Further Reading

20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half This free e-book is full of ideas that can help with grading in general.

On Your Mark: Challenging the Conventions of Grading and Reporting Thomas R. Guskey This book came highly recommended by a number of teachers.

Hacking Assessment: 10 Ways to Go Gradeless in a Traditional Grades School Starr Sackstein

Come back for more. Join our mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration that will make your teaching more effective and fun. You’ll get access to our members-only library of free downloads, including 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half , the e-booklet that has helped thousands of teachers save time on grading. Over 50,000 teachers have already joined—come on in.

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Categories: Classroom Management , Instruction , Podcast

Tags: assessment , organization

51 Comments

I teach high school science (mine is a course that does not have an “end of course” test so the stakes are not as high) and I teach mostly juniors and seniors. Last year I decided not to accept any late work whatsoever unless a student is absent the day it is assigned or due (or if they have an accomodation in a 504 or IEP – and I may have had one or two students with real/documented emergencies that I let turn in late.) This makes it so much easier on me because I don’t have to keep up with how many days/points to deduct – that’s a nightmare. It also forces them to be more responsible. They usually have had time to do it in class so there’s no reason for it to be late. Also, I was very frustrated with homework not being completed and I hated having to grade it and keep up with absent work. So I don’t “require” homework (and rarely assign it any more) but if students do ALL (no partial credit) of it they get a 100% (small point value grade), if they are absent or they don’t do it they are exempt. So it ends up being a sort of extra credit grade but it does not really penalize students who don’t do it. When students ask me for extra credit (which I don’t usually give), the first thing I ask is if they’ve done all the homework assigned. That usually shuts down any further discussion. I’ve decided I’m not going to spend tons of time chasing and calculating grades on small point values that do not make a big difference in an overall grade. 🙂

Do I understand correctly….

Homework is not required. If a student fully completes the HW, they will earn full points. If the student is absent or doesn’t do it, they are excused. Students who do complete the HW will benefit a little bit in their overall grade, but students who don’t compete the work will not be penalized. Did I understand it correctly?

Do you stipulate that a student must earn a certain % on the assignment to get the full points? What about a student who completed an assignment but completes the entire thing incorrectly? Still full credit? Or an opportunity to re-do?

Thank you in advance.

From reading this blog post I was thinking the same thing. When not penalizing students for homework do you have students who do turn it in getting extra points in class?

From what I have seen, if there is a benefit for turning in homework and students see this benefit more will try to accomplish what the homework is asking. So avoid penalization is okay, but make sure the ones turning it in are getting rewarded in some way.

The other question regarding what to do with students who may not be completing the assignments correctly, you could use this almost as a formative assessment. You could still give them the credit but use this as a time for you to focus on that student a little more and see where he/she isn’t understanding the content.

Our school has a system called Catch Up Cafe. Students with missing work report to a specific teacher during the first 15 minutes of lunch to work on missing work. Students upgrade to a Wednesday after school time if they have accumulated 4 or more missing assignments on any Monday. They do not have to serve if they can clear ALL missing work by the end of the day Wednesday. Since work is not dragging out for a long period of time, most teachers do not take off points.

How do you manage the logistics of who has missing and how many assignments are needed to be completed-to make sure they are attending the Catch up Cafe or Wednesday after school? How do you manage the communication with parents?

When a student has missing work it can be very difficult to see what he/she is missing. I always keep a running record of all of their assignments that quarter and if they miss that assigement I keep it blank to remind myself there was never a submission. Once I know that this student is missing this assignment I give them their own copy and write at the top late. So once they do turn it in I know that it’s late and makes grading it easier.

There are a lot of different programs that schools use but I’ve always kept a paper copy so I have a back-up.

I find that the worst part of tracking make-up work is keeping tabs on who was absent for a school activity, illness or other excused absence, and who just didn’t turn in the assignment. I obviously have to accept work turned in “late” due to an excused absence, but I can handle the truly late work however I wish. Any advice on simplifying tracking for this?

I tell my students to simply write “Absent (day/s)” at the top of the paper. I remind them of this fairly regularly. That way, if they were absent, it’s their responsibility to notify me, and it’s all together. If you create your own worksheets, etc., you could add a line to the top as an additional reminder.

It might be worth checking out Evernote .

In order to keep track of what type of missing assignments, I put a 0 in as a grade so students and parents know an assignment was never submitted. If a student was here on the due date and day assignment was given then it is a 0 in the grade book. If a student was absent the day the assignment was given or when it was due, I put a 00 in the grade book. This way I know if it was because of an absence or actual no work completed.

This is exactly what I do. Homework can only count 10% in our district. Claims that kids fail due to zeros for homework are specious.

This is SUCH a difficult issue and I have tried a few of the suggested ways in years past. My questions is… how do we properly prepare kids for college while still being mindful of the inequities at home? We need to be sure that we are giving kids opportunity, resources, and support, but at the same time if we don’t introduce them to some of the challenges they will be faced with in college (hours of studying and research and writing regardless of the hours you might have to spend working to pay that tuition), are we truly preparing them? I get the idea of mastery of content without penalty for late work and honestly that is typically what I go with, but I constantly struggle with this and now that I will be moving from middle to high school, I worry even more about the right way to handle late work and homework. I don’t want to hold students back in my class by being too much of a stickler about seemingly little things, but I don’t want to send them to college unprepared to experience a slap in the face, either. I don’t want to provide extra hurdles, but how do I best help them learn how to push through the hurdles and rigor if they aren’t held accountable? I always provide extra time after school, at lunch, etc., and have also experienced that end of term box checking of assignments in place of a true learning experience, but how do we teach them the importance of using resources, asking for help, allowing for mistakes while holding them to standards and learning work habits that will be helpful to them when they will be on their own? I just don’t know where the line is between helping students learn the value of good work habits and keeping them from experiencing certain challenges they need to understand in order to truly get ahead.

Thanks for sharing – I can tell how much you care for your students, wanting them to be confident independent learners. What I think I’m hearing is perhaps the struggle between that fine line of enabling and supporting. When supporting kids, whether academically or behaviorally, we’re doing something that assists or facilitates their growth. So, for example, a student that has anxiety or who doesn’t have the resources at home to complete an assignment, we can assist by giving that student extra time or an alternative place to complete the assignment. This doesn’t lower expectations, it just offers support to help them succeed.

Enabling on the other hand, puts systems in place that don’t involve consequences, which in turn allow the behaviors to continue. It involves excuses and solving problems for others. It may be about lowering expectations and letting people get by with patterns of behavior.

Late work is tricky. The article does mention the importance of time management, which is why separating academic grades from work habits is something a lot of schools are doing. Sometimes real life happens and kids need a “pass.” If whatever you’re doing seems to be helping to support a student rather than enabling patterns, then that might help you distinguish between that fine line. Hope this helps!

Thank you again for such a great post. Always high-quality, relevant, and helpful. I so appreciate you and the work you do!

So glad to hear you enjoyed the post, Liz! I’ll make sure Jenn sees this.

I thought that these points brought up about receiving late work were extremely helpful and I hope that every classroom understands how beneficial these strategies could be.

When reading the penalties section under point deductions it brought up the idea of taking points off slowly as time goes by. Currently in my classroom the only point deduction I take off is 30% of the total grade after it is received late. No matter how much time has gone by in that grading period it will have 30% off the total.

I’m curious if changing this technique to something that would increase the percentage off as time goes by will make students turn in their work on time.

My question to everyone is which grading technique would be more beneficial for the students? Do you believe that just taking off 30% for late work would help students more when turning in their work or do you think that as time goes by penalizing their final score will have students turn in their work more?

If anyone has any answers it would be extremely beneficial.

Thank you, Kirby

When I was in school my school did 1/3 of a grade each day it was like. So 1 day late A >A-. Two days late: A->>B+ so on and so forth. This worked really well for me because I knew that I could still receive a good grade if I worked hard on an assignment, even if it was a day or two late.

I dread it when I have missing work or unsubmitted work. I would try to get a last-minute effort to chase those needed pieces of work which could be done from those students housed in dorms on campus. It is better than not failing them for lacking to turn in graded submissions or taking scheduled quizzes. I dread this not for the students, sadly, but for likely call to explain why I did not keep physical evidence of students’ supposed learning. In my part of the globe, we have a yearly “quality assurance” audit by the country’s educational authorities or their representatives.

I am a pre-service teacher and I am in the process of developing my personal philosophies in education, including the topic of late work. I will be certified as a secondary social studies teacher and would like to teach in a high school. Your post brought my attention to some important insights about the subject. For example, before this post I had not thought to use feedback as a way to incentivize homework submission on time. This action coupled with the ability to re-do assignments is a great way to emphasize the importance of turning work in on time. I do have a follow-up question, how do you adequately manage grading re-do’s and feedback on all assignments? What kinds of organizational and time-management strategies do you use as a teacher? Further, how much homework do you assign when providing this as an option?

Additionally, have you administered or seen the no penalty and homework acceptance time limit in practice (for example, all homework must be turned in by the unit test)? I was curious if providing a deadline to accept all homework until the unit test may result in an access of papers I need to grade. From your experience, what practice(s) have you seen work well in the classroom?

My goal is to prepare students for life beyond high school and to support their intellectual, social, and emotional development during their high school learning experience. Similar to a previous commenter (Kate), I am also trying to define a balance between holding students accountable in order to best prepare them for their future lives and providing opportunities to raise their grade if they are willing to do the work.

Hey Jessica, you have some great questions. I’d recommend checking out the following blog posts from Jenn that will help you learn more about keeping track of assessments, differentiation, and other aspects of grading: Kiddom: Standards-based Grading Made Wonderful , Could You Teach Without Grades , Boost Your Assessment Power with GradeCam , and Four Research-Based Strategies Every Teacher Should be Using . I hope this helps you find answers to your questions!

Overall I found this article extremely helpful and it actually reinforced many ideas I already had about homework and deadlines. One of my favorite teachers I had in high school was always asking for our input on when we felt assignments should be due based on what extra curricular activities were taking place in a given time period. We were all extremely grateful for his consideration and worked that much harder on the given assignments.

While it is important to think about our own well-being when grading papers, I think it is just as important (if not more) to be conscious of how much work students might have in other classes or what students schedules are like outside of school. If we really want students to do their best work, we need to give them enough time to do the work. This will in turn, help them care more about the subject matter and help them dive deeper. Obviously there still needs to be deadlines, but it does not hurt to give students some autonomy and say in the classroom.

Thanks for your comment Zach. I appreciate your point about considering students’ involvement in extracurricular activities and other responsibilities they may have outside the school day. It’s definitely an important consideration. The only homework my son seemed to have in 8th grade was for his history class. I agree that there’s a need for teachers to maintain more of a balance across classes when it comes to the amount of homework they give to students.

Thank you for an important, thought-provoking post! As a veteran teacher of 20+ years, I have some strong opinions about this topic. I have always questioned the model of ‘taking points off’ for late work. I do not see how this presents an accurate picture of what the student knows or can do. Shouldn’t he be able to prove his knowledge regardless of WHEN? Why does WHEN he shows you what he knows determine WHAT he knows?

Putting kids up against a common calendar with due dates and timelines, regardless of their ability to learn the material at the same rate is perhaps not fair. There are so many different situations facing our students – some students have challenges and difficulty with deadlines for a plethora of potential reasons, and some have nothing but support, structure, and time. When it comes to deadlines – Some students need more time. Other students may need less time. Shouldn’t all students have a chance to learn at a pace that is right for them? Shouldn’t we measure student success by demonstrations of learning instead of how much time it takes to turn in work? Shouldn’t students feel comfortable when it is time to show me what they’ve learned, and when they can demonstrate they’ve learned it, I want their grade to reflect that.

Of course we want to teach students how to manage their time. I am not advocating for a lax wishy-washy system that allows for students to ‘get to it when they get to it’. I do believe in promoting work-study habits, and using a separate system to assign a grade for responsibility, respect, management, etc is a potential solution. I understand that when introducing this type of system, it may be tough to get buy-in from parents and older students who have traditionally only looked at an academic grade because it is the only piece of the puzzle that impacts GPA. Adopting a separate work-study grading system would involve encouraging the entire school community – starting at the youngest level – to see its value. It would be crucial for the school to promote the importance of high level work-study habits right along side academic grades.

I teach a specials course to inner city middle schoolers at a charter school. All students have to take my class since it is one of the core pillars of the school’s culture and mission. Therefore it is a double edge sword. Some students and parents think it is irrelevant like an art or music class but will get upset to find out it isn’t just an easy A class. Other students and parents love it because they come to our charter school just to be in this class that isn’t offered anywhere else in the state, except at the college level.

As you may have already guessed, I see a lot of students who don’t do the work. So much that I no longer assign homework, which the majority would not be able to do independently anyways or may develop the wrong way of learning the material, due to the nature of the subject. So everything is done in the classroom together as a class. And then we grade together to reinforce the learning. This is why I absolutely do not accept missing work and there is no reason for late work. Absent students make up the work by staying after school upon their return or they can print it off of Google classroom at home and turn in by the end of the day of their return. Late and missing work is a big issue at our school. I’ve had whole classrooms not do the work even as I implemented the new routine. Students will sit there and mark their papers as we do it in the classroom but by the end they are not handing it in because they claim not to have anything to hand in. Or when they do it appears they were doing very little. I’d have to micromanage all 32 students every 5 minutes to make sure they were actually doing the work, which I believe core teachers do. But that sets a very bad precedent because I noticed our students expect to be handheld every minute or they claim they can’t do the work. I know this to be the case since before this class I was teaching a computer class and the students expected me to sit right next to them and give them step-by-step instructions of where to click on the screen. They simply could not follow along as I demonstrated on the Aquos board. So I do think part of the problem is the administrators’ encouraging poor work ethics. They’re too focused on meeting proficient standard to the point they want teachers to handhold students. They also want teachers to accept late and missing work all the way until the end of each quarter. Well that’s easy if you only have a few students but when you have classrooms full of them, that means trying to grade 300+ students multiplied by “x” amount of late/missing work the week before report card rolls out – to which we still have to write comments for C- or below students. Some of us teach all the grade levels 6-8th. And that has actually had negative effects because students no longer hold themselves accountable.

To be honest, I really do think this is why there is such a high turnover rate and teachers who started giving busy work only. In the inner city, administrators only care about putting out the illusion of proficiency while students and parents don’t want any accountability for their performance. As soon as a student fails because they have to actually try to learn (which is a risk for failing), the parent comes in screaming.

Yea, being an Art teacher you lost me at “ irrelevant like an art or music .”

I teach middle school in the inner city where missing and late work is a chronic issue so the suggestions and ideas above do not work. Students and parents have become complacent with failing grades so penalizing work isn’t going to motivate them to do better the next time. The secret to teaching in the inner city is to give them a way out without it becoming massive work for you. Because trust me, if you give them an inch they will always want a mile at your expense. Depending on which subject you teach, it might be easier to just do everything in class. That way it becomes an all or nothing grade. They either did or didn’t do the work. No excuses, no chasing down half the school through number of calls to disconnected phone numbers and out of date emails, no explaining to parents why Johnny has to stay after school to finish assignments when mom needs him home to babysit or because she works second shift and can’t pick him up, etc. Students have no reason for late work or for missing work when they were supposed to do it right there in class. Absent students can catch up with work when they return.

Milton, I agree with all of what you are saying and have experienced. Not to say that that is for all students I have had, but it is a slow progression as to what is happening with students and parents as years go by. I understand that there are areas outside of the classroom we cannot control and some students do not have certain necessities needed to help them but they need to start learning what can they do to help themselves. I make sure the students know they can come and talk to me if needing help or extra time, tutor after school and even a phone number to contact along with email if needing to ask questions or get help. But parents and students do not use these opportunities given until the week before school ends and are now wanting their student to pass and what can be done. It is frustrating and sad. I let students and parents know my expectation up front and if they do not take the opportunity to talk to me then the grade they earned is the result.

I am a special education resource teacher and late work/missing work happens quite a lot. After reading this article, I want to try a few different things to help minimize this issue. However, I am not the one making the grades or putting the grades in. I am just giving the work to the students in small group settings and giving them more access to the resources they need to help them be successful on these assignments based on their current IEP. I use a make-up folder, and usually I will pull these students to work on their work during a different time than when I regularly pull them. That way they do not miss the delivery of instruction they get from me and it does not punish my other students either if there is make-up work that needs to be completed. I try to give my students ample time to complete their work, so there is no excuse for them not to complete it. If they are absent, then I pull them at a time that they can make it up.

I too agree with that there’s a need for teachers to maintain more of a balance across classes when it comes to the amount of homework they give to students.

I had a few teachers who were willing to tolerate lateness in favor of getting it/understanding the material. Lastly, my favorite teacher was the one who gave me many chances to do rewrites of a ‘bad essay’ and gave me as much time as needed (of course still within like the semester or even month but I never took more than two weeks) because he wanted me to do well. I ended up with a 4 in AP exam though so that’s good.

Late work has a whole new meaning with virtual learning. I am drowning in late work (via Google Classroom). I don’t want to penalize students for late work as every home situation is different. I grade and provide feedback timely (to those who submitted on time). However, I am being penalized every weekend and evening as I try to grade and provide feedback during this time. I would love some ideas.

Hi Susan! I’m in the same place–I have students who (after numerous reminders) still haven’t submitted work due days…weeks ago, and I’m either taking time to remind them again or give feedback on “old” work over my nights and weekends. So, while it’s not specific to online learning, Jenn’s A Few Ideas for Dealing with Late Work is a post I’ve been trying to put into practice the last few days. I hope this helps!

Graded assignment flexibility is essential to the process of learning in general but especially in our new world of digital divide

It is difficult to determine who is doing the work at home. Follow up videos on seesaw help to see if the student has gained the knowledge or is being given the answers.

This is some good information. This is a difficult subject.

I love the idea of a catch-up cafe! I think I will try to implement this in my school. It’s in the same place every day, yes? And the teachers take turns monitoring? I’m just trying to get a handle on the logistics – I know those will be the first questions I get.

I really enjoyed this post. I think it provides a lot of perspective on a topic that teachers get way too strict about. I just wonder: wouldn’t it be inevitable for students to become lazy and care less about their understanding if there wasn’t any homework (or even if it was optional)? I know students don’t like it, and it can get redundant if they understand the content, but it truly is good practice.

Hi Shannon,

Glad the post helped! Homework is one of those hot educational topics, but I can’t say I’ve personally come across a situation or found any research where kids become lazy or unmotivated if not assigned homework. In fact, research indicates that homework doesn’t really have much impact on learning until high school. I just think that if homework is going to be assigned, it needs to be intentional and purposeful. (If students have already mastered a skill, I’m not sure how homework would provide them much benefit.) Here’s an article that I think is worth checking out. See what you think.

I like how you brought up how homework needs to be given with the understanding that not all kids have the same resources at home. Some kids don’t have computers or their parents won’t let them use it. There is no way of knowing this so teachers should give homework that requires barely any utensils or technology.

I think having students help determine the due dates for major assignments is a great idea. This works well with online schools too. Remote jobs are the future so helping students learn how to set their own due dates and to get homework done from home will prepare them for the future.

This year I am trying something new. After reading this article, I noticed that I have used a combination of some of these strategies to combat late work and encourage students to turn work in on time. I only record a letter grade in the grade book: A, B, C, D, F. If a student turns in an assignment late, I flag it as late, but it does not affect their “grade”.

If a student wants to redo an assignment, they must turn something in. If they miss the due date, they can still turn it in, but lose the opportunity to redo the assignment. Students will meet with me one last time before they turn it in to get final feedback.

At the end of the grading period, I conference with the student about their final grade, looking at how many times they have handed work in on-time or late. This will determine if the student has earned an A or an A+ .

I really appreciate how your post incorporates a lot of suggestions for the way that teachers can think about and grade homework. Thank you for mentioning how different students have different resources available as well. As teachers, we need to be aware of the different resources our students have and tailor our approach to homework to match. I like the idea of grading homework based on completion and accepting late work for full credit at any time (substituting a zero in the grade book until it is turned in). This is definitely a strategy that I’ll be using!

So glad the article was helpful for you! I will be sure to pass on your comments to Jenn.

I also have been teaching for a long time and I have found that providing an END OF WEEK (Friday at 11:59) due date for assignments allows students to get the work completed by that time. It helps with athletes, and others involved in extra curricular activities. I feel this is fair. I give my tests/quizzes on the days assigned and the supplemental work on Fridays.

I personally, as a special education teach, would allow my SPED students extra time to complete the work they have missed. This is in alignment with their IEP accommodations. I would work with each one independently and have remediation with the content that they are having difficulty. This setting would be in a small group and separate classroom.

I really like the idea of a work habits grade. I struggle with students who turn things in late regularly earning the same grade as those who always turn things in on time. A work habits grade could really motivate some learners.

I’ve been in education for 37 years and in all manner of positions. I share this only to also say that things have changed quite a bit. When I started teaching I only had one, maybe two students in a class of 34 elementary students that would not have homework or classwork finished. Now, I have two classes of about 15 each. One group is often half the class on a regular basis not having homework or not finishing classwork on a regular basis- so far. Additionally parents will pull students out to go to amusement parks, etc and expect all work to be made up and at full credit. I believe that the idea of homework is clearly twofold- to teach accountability and to reengage a learner. Classwork is critical to working with the content and, learning objective. We can all grade various ways; however, at some point, the learner has to step up. Learning is not passive, nor is it all on the teacher. I have been called “mean” because I make students do their work in class, refocusing them, etc. I find that is my duty. Late work should be simply dealt with consistently and with understanding to circumstance IMO. You were out or it was late because mom and dad were upset, ok versus we went to Disney for three days and I was too tired. hmm- used to be easy with excused/unexcused absences, now there is no difference. Late with no absence? That can be a problem and I reach out to home and handle it individually at my level.

Hi Jennifer! I really like your sharing about this topic! Late work is a problem that every teacher encounters. Thank you for your consideration of this issue and the many wise ideas you have provided. Your ideas also remind me to reflect on whether my overall program of assignments and grading is in a healthy place. I was inspired by the preventative measures you listed in this post. I want to try to include my students in setting deadlines, especially for some big projects. Students will feel respected by teachers and will be more willing to complete the assignments before deadlines! As you mentioned, some teachers have made homework optional or self-selected, or even stopped assigning homework. I partially agree with that opinion. I indeed try to reduce the amount of students’ homework or even stop assigning homework sometime, but doing related practice in class instead. I believe that the purpose of homework is to aid pupils in mastering the knowledge; it is not a necessary thing.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Yang. Jenn will be glad to know that you found the post inspiring!

Thanks so much for all your insights on giving assignments or homework. All are very helpful as I prepare to return to work after an extended medical leave. It is good to refresh! Anything we require of our students should be purposeful and meaningful to them, so they will give their best to meet whatever deadlines we set. I also like asking our students when is the best time they can turn work in; this is meeting them halfway. And if one strategy does not work, there are more to try; just read this post. Thanks a bunch!!

Jenn will be glad to know the post was helpful for you, Jo!

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How to Write an Application to Ask My Professor to Accept a Late Assignment?

Find sample late submission assignment letters here!

Late submission of assignments is something that many college students go through. Emergencies happen, students go through heartbreaks, work and study schedules clash, and student-athletes and artists get busy with their practice. Sometimes, students become tardy. Sometimes, they fall ill. Sometimes, they become careless and forget about an assignment. 

However, most students with genuine reasons for submitting an assignment late manage to get an extension from their professors – as they request it ‘before’ the deadline. Most teachers understand students’ predicaments. If they deem that a student has a valid reason for submitting an assignment late, they grant him or her an extension of 2-7 days.

The problem arises when you delay submitting an assignment even though you have NOT been granted an extension. In such a case, the professor may refuse to accept your assignment and award you an F (fail) grade in the assignment. Or they may accept the assignment and give you penalty marks.

In the age of online assignment submissions, almost 65% of college students submit their assignments at the last minute. And then, there are 10% of students who submit assignments late with predictable excuses like:

My laptop/device developed a technical glitch.

Professors hear these excuses as:

• I have been lazy and failed to do my homework on time.
• I am so tech-tardy that I failed to ask for online assignment help and find a way to do it on time.
• I am so lazy that I couldn’t even find a better and novel excuse for late assignment submission.

At GoAssignmentHelp , we often receive requests from students across the US to write effective and convincing applications for late assignment submissions or how to apologize for a late assignment.

You may also check out:   How To Ask For Assignment Extension With Request Letter Sample?

Different reasons why students submit assignments late (and sample late submission applications)

A study by Megal Nieberding and Andrew F. Heckler published in June 2021 found that students who procrastinate in writing assignments have lower course grades. The study also found that 90% of students do not delay completion of an assignment intentionally, and those who did were two to three times more likely to earn D or E grades.

Another study published by Mehmet Kokoc et al found that students’ online assignment submission behaviour does not change semester after semester. One can predict their end-of-term academic performance depending on their assignment submission behaviour at the beginning of the semester. GoAssignmentHelp’s assignment assistance experts aim to provide appropriate intervention to students on a timely basis.

How to apologize for a late assignment when you forget the submission deadline?

A 2015 research by Keith Gregory and Sue Morgan revealed that if an assignment has a long deadline, more students submit it late. In such cases, students tend to forget when they have to turn in the assignment. If you also forgot to do a task assigned by your professor long ago, you may write the following email for late assignment submission:

Dear [Sir or Ma’am],

I sincerely apologize for the late submission of my assignment [assignment number/topic/question]. I am so sorry for causing you inconvenience and hope that you wouldn’t have to change your schedule when you accept this assignment.

I [fell sick/had to attend my sister’s wedding/broke my leg/or any other excuse] and that’s why my assignment submission got delayed. This is my first mistake and I hope you could excuse me this time. I did not procrastinate intentionally and promise never to submit my assignment late again.

Please accept my assignment along with my heartfelt apology. I am attaching my completed assignment here.

Best Regards,

Attaching a doctor’s prescription to prove that you really had an accident or fell sick, or a signed letter from your parents to prove that you had a family emergency could increase your chances of getting your assignment accepted when you submit it late.

Late submission email to a professor when you have valid academic reasons

Sometimes, students need more time to research a topic some more to analyze it better and to provide a better piece of work. Students who ask teachers time to improve the quality and substance of their writing are rare – and often teachers’ favourites. The chances of their late assignments being accepted are quite high.

Here’s a sample apology email to the professor for late submission because you needed more time for research or analysis:

I am sorry for turning in my [thesis/essay/assignment] on [Topic] late. As I was working on my assignment, I found a few sources [list of sources] which I thought were critical to my research. It took more time than expected to examine them and use them while doing my research.

I understand that I should have approached you earlier to get an extension on the assignment submission deadline but I miscalculated the time I would need to complete my research work and write my assignment. I apologize for not planning my assignment work better but I assure you that I was late only because I wanted to do my best while writing it.

I hope you will be able to review my assignment without much inconvenience. I’ve spent a lot of time on it and am looking forward to your feedback and recommendations on it.

Warm Regards,

You may also want to seek assignment help from our assignment writing service experts to get high-quality answers and academic essays written within time to avoid such a situation.

How to apologize to a professor for a late assignment?

 An apology letter to the professor for late submission must include these three things:

• A Plausible, Believable Excuse:   Experienced professors know all the commonplace excuses students use to get out of tight spots when it comes to submitting assignments on time. But if you give a creative and credible excuse, the chances of it getting accepted increase.
• A Sincere Apology:  Teachers and professors have busy schedules. Apart from giving lectures in class, they have to prepare curriculum, class activities, prepare notes, and go through a pile of assignments, academic essays, dissertations and theses. Assignment submission deadlines are their way to make time to correct your assignment. When you submit an assignment late, you inconvenience them by disturbing their entire schedule. So, they are justified in feeling irritated. Hence, if you submit an assignment late, you owe them a sincere apology.
• A Promise of Being More Cautious in the Future:  You can never take a teacher’s acceptance of your apology for granted. With the late assignment email, you must always include a promise never to repeat that mistake. Remember, such apology letters or emails work their magic only once. If you repeat them too often, they lose their power.

Need help with an application for late submission of assignments?

You can use these samples to officially apologize for submitting assignments late. An apology letter or email also serves as a reminder to the instructor of the date on which you submitted the assignment. Assignment writers on our leading online assignment help platform help students across Canada , including those in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Quebec City, and more.

Besides these late assignment submission email samples, there are tons of different ways to apologize to the professor for a late assignment. If you are wondering how to write an email for a late assignment that works, get help from GoAssignmentHelp experts.

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Apology Letters , Letters

Apology Letter for Late Submission of Documents

Timely submission of documents and assignments is extremely important in every organization or institution. This is one of the attributes that a company will use when evaluating the performance of their employees. The same happens to student, assignment delay can lead to a cancellation or a poor score at the end of the term. In most cases, there are genuine reasons that cause the delay, but that does not make it right.

If you have not submitted your project on time, you should write an apology letter to your boss or teacher. It will not only give you a second chance but will also explain why you did not submit the work on time. Reading a sample apology letter will save you time and help you know how to write a convincing one. Here is one that you can modify according to the situation.

Apology Letter to the Principal for Late Submission of an Assignment

The Principal,

Xyz School,

Respected Sir/Ma’am,

I, ABC (your full name), am a student of your school in class (say). I am writing this to apologize for late submission of my assignment because I had an emergency at home. We had to take one of our family members to the hospital and it affected my ability to complete the project on time.

Kindly forgive me, this will never happen again. Currently, I am working on the project and will submit in less than 24 hours.

Yours Faithfully,

(Your class)

Apology Letter for Delay in Submitting Business Documents

(Your name)

(Company name)

(Street address) (City, ST ZIP Code)

(Recipient’s name)

(Street Address) (City, ST, ZIP Code)

Dear Sir/ Ma’am,

I was supposed to submit some business documents about (write the subject) by (date and exact time. I am writing this to express my sincere apology for the late submission. I was ready to submit when I realized the project’s synopsis was missing.

It was a mistake on my side, but I did not want to submit incomplete work. I assure you this will not happen again in future. I also hope it’s not too late to submit the documents and that you will accept my apologies.

Apology Letter for Late Submission of Application

Dear Sir/Madam

Please accept my apologies for my extremely late application. I had unforeseen events of a road crash that left me in the hospital for several weeks. This contributed a lot in delaying my submission despite having prepared the application letter in time.

I am sincerely sorry and request you to assess this application without considering my lateness. It shall not happen again, that’s a promise.

Kindly pardon me.

Yours sincere,

(Signature)

Elements of a good apology letter for late submission of documents

• Show that you regret sincerely due to your mistakes.
• Promise not to repeat the mistake.
• Chose words wisely; they should be polite and kind.
• Write the apology letter as soon as possible.
• Use salutation at the beginning of the letter and end it the same.
• Give good reasons when explaining yourself.

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A Polite and Professional Late Assignment Email: Mastering the Art of Writing 

Why crafting a late assignment email matters.

When you're in a rush and an assignment deadline is looming, it’s easy to panic. But don't worry, sending a polite and professional late assignment email can save the day. You’ve got a valid reason, but it’s essential to communicate this respectfully. A well-crafted email can maintain your credibility and demonstrate responsibility. So, let’s dive into how you can master the art of writing a late assignment email that’s both polite and professional .

Addressing Your Instructor with Respect

First things first, address your instructor properly. Begin with a polite salutation like “Dear Professor [Last Name],” to set the right tone . Showing respect from the get-go helps establish a positive rapport. Avoid overly casual greetings like "Hey" or "Hi" when writing a late assignment email. Your goal is to convey sincerity and respect. Remember, your instructor is more likely to be understanding if you approach them courteously. Respectful communication is the foundation of a good late assignment email.

Explain the Situation Clearly and Concisely

When you explain why your assignment is late, clarity is key. Be honest but keep your explanation brief. Long-winded excuses can come off as insincere. For instance, you could say, "Due to a family emergency, I was unable to complete my assignment on time." Providing a straightforward reason helps your instructor understand your situation without unnecessary details. You don’t need to delve into every aspect of your predicament. Clear and concise communication is essential in a late assignment email.

Take Responsibility and Apologize Sincerely

Taking responsibility is crucial in a late assignment email. Acknowledge that you missed the deadline and apologize sincerely. Phrases like "I apologize for not submitting my assignment on time" show that you recognize the importance of deadlines. Avoid shifting blame or making excuses. Your instructor will appreciate your honesty and responsibility. A heartfelt apology can go a long way in mending any potential issues caused by your late submission.

Propose a Solution or New Deadline

Suggesting a solution or a new deadline demonstrates your commitment to completing the assignment. Propose a realistic new date by which you can submit the work. For example, "I am requesting an extension until [specific date] to complete and submit my assignment." This shows that you're proactive and dedicated to resolving the situation. Make sure the proposed deadline is achievable for you. Being realistic about what you can accomplish prevents further delays and builds trust.

Offer to Meet and Discuss in Person

If possible, offer to meet your instructor to discuss the situation in person. This can show your willingness to take extra steps to make things right. A face-to-face meeting can also provide a chance to explain your situation more thoroughly. You might say, "I would be happy to discuss this in person at your earliest convenience." Personal meetings can often lead to more understanding and empathy from your instructor. It’s an extra effort that can make a significant difference.

Emphasize Your Commitment to Quality

Reassure your instructor that despite the delay, you are committed to submitting quality work . You could say, "I am committed to ensuring that my assignment meets the high standards of your course." This demonstrates your dedication and respect for the course material and the instructor’s expectations. Emphasizing quality over hastiness shows that you value the learning process and the effort you put into your work. It's a critical point to highlight in your late assignment email.

Be Mindful of Your Tone

Maintain a polite and respectful tone throughout your email. Avoid sounding defensive or entitled. A calm and professional tone reflects well on you and helps in maintaining a positive relationship with your instructor. Politeness can go a long way in ensuring your email is well-received. For instance, instead of saying, "I couldn’t do it because I was too busy," you could say, "I encountered unexpected circumstances that affected my ability to meet the deadline." Subtle changes in wording can make your email more professional and considerate.

Express Gratitude and Acknowledge Their Time

End your late assignment email by expressing gratitude and acknowledging your instructor's time and consideration. A simple "Thank you for understanding" or "I appreciate your consideration" can leave a positive impression. Gratitude shows that you value their time and effort in considering your request. It’s a small gesture that can make a big difference. Always thank your instructor for their patience and understanding.

Follow Up If Necessary

If you don't receive a response within a reasonable time frame, don’t hesitate to follow up politely. Sometimes emails get overlooked, and a gentle reminder can be helpful. You could say, "I wanted to follow up on my previous email regarding the late assignment submission." Following up shows that you are still concerned and responsible. It also keeps the communication lines open and ensures that your request hasn’t been forgotten. Did you know that you can use EmailMagic AI to help you on how to craft a late assignment email?

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid common pitfalls like using an overly casual tone, giving vague excuses, or failing to propose a solution. These mistakes can undermine your sincerity and professionalism. Stick to the guidelines mentioned above to ensure your email is effective. For example, saying "I just forgot" without any context or responsibility can come off as careless. Instead, explain your situation thoughtfully and with responsibility.

Sample Late Assignment Email

Let’s put it all together with a sample email. Here’s how you can structure your late assignment email:

Subject: Request for Extension on Assignment Submission

Dear Professor [Last Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to apologize for not submitting my assignment on time. Due to an unforeseen family emergency, I was unable to complete the work by the deadline.

I take full responsibility for the delay and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I am committed to producing quality work and would like to request an extension until [specific date] to complete the assignment.

If you would like to discuss this further, I am available to meet at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your understanding and consideration.

[Your Name]

This email template incorporates all the essential elements: respect, clarity, responsibility, a proposed solution, and gratitude. Customize it according to your specific situation and ensure it reflects your voice and sincerity.

Final Thoughts on Writing a Late Assignment Email

Writing a late assignment email doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right approach, you can convey your situation respectfully and professionally. Remember to keep your tone polite, explain your reason clearly, and propose a realistic solution. Expressing gratitude and taking responsibility can greatly influence how your email is received. With these tips, you’re well on your way to mastering the art of writing a late assignment email. Good luck!

Continuous Improvement and Reflection

Lastly, reflect on the reasons behind your late submission and strive to improve your time management skills. Learning from this experience can help you avoid similar situations in the future. Maybe set reminders or plan your tasks more efficiently. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow and become more responsible. By addressing the root causes, you can enhance your academic performance and reduce the need to send late assignment emails in the future.

Building Better Communication Skills

Writing a late assignment email is also an exercise in honing your communication skills. Effective communication is crucial in both academic and professional settings. The ability to convey your message clearly, respectfully, and professionally can set you apart. This experience can be a valuable lesson in articulating your thoughts and navigating difficult conversations. Embrace it as a learning opportunity that will serve you well beyond the classroom.

In conclusion, mastering the art of writing a late assignment email involves respect, clarity, responsibility, and a positive tone. Whether you're dealing with unexpected emergencies or managing multiple deadlines, knowing how to communicate effectively can make a significant difference. Use these guidelines to craft an email that is polite, professional, and persuasive. With practice, you’ll become adept at handling such situations with grace and confidence. Don’t forget to use EmailMagic AI to help you on crafting a late assignment email. Happy Emailing!

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Apology Application to Teacher (with Samples & PDFs)

I have listed sample templates to help you craft an effective and professional apology application to teacher.

Also, I would like to point out that you can also download a PDF containing all the samples at the end of this post.

Apology Application to Teacher for Unintended Misconduct

First, find the sample template for apology application to teacher below.

Subject: Apology for Misbehavior in Class

Respected Sir/Madam,

On that day, I realize now that I was not following the decorum of the class and disrupted the teaching process, which I deeply regret. I understand that my actions might have caused inconvenience to you and my fellow students, and for that, I am truly sorry.

I assure you that my misbehavior was not intentional and it was a moment of immaturity. I have always respected you as my teacher and I understand the importance of discipline and respect in a learning environment. I deeply regret my actions and I promise you that such an incident will not repeat in the future.

I earnestly request you to kindly forgive me this time considering it as a childish mistake. I am ready to accept any punishment that you think is suitable for my actions. I promise to uphold the values and discipline of our school in the future.

Thank you for your understanding and patience. I look forward to learning and growing under your guidance.

Yours sincerely, [Your Name] [Roll Number] [Date]

Application for Apology to Teacher for Late Submission of Assignment

To, The Class Teacher [Teacher’s Name], [School’s Name], [City, State, Pincode]

I, [Your Full Name], a student of class [Your Class], section [Your Section], would like to sincerely apologize for the late submission of my assignment on the topic [Assignment Topic].

I kindly request you to accept my late submission and consider it for evaluation. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience caused and I highly appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Thanking you,

[Your Full Name] [Roll Number] [Date]

Application for Apology to Teacher for Misbehavior in Class

I understand the importance of maintaining discipline and respect in the classroom, and I regret that my behavior did not meet up to those standards. I acknowledge that every student has the right to learn without interruption, and my actions infringed upon that right.

Once again, I apologize for my actions and look forward to your guidance for performing better in the future.

Yours sincerely, [Your Name], [Roll Number] [Date]

Application for Apology to Teacher for Not Attending Online Class

Sub: Apology for Not Attending Online Class

Respected Madam/Sir,

Due to unavoidable circumstances, there was a sudden power cut in my area that day. As a result, my internet connection was disrupted, and I was unable to join the online class. Despite trying multiple times, the issue could not be resolved in time.

I kindly request you to share the recorded session of that class, if available, or any class notes that were distributed. I would be highly obliged and will ensure to study the missed concepts diligently.

I promise that I will make every effort to avoid such situations in the future and will maintain consistent attendance in all forthcoming online classes.

[Your Name] [Roll Number] [Date]

Application for Apology to Teacher for Breaking School Property

To, The Principal, [School Name], [School Address], [City], [State], [Pin Code]

Subject: Apology for Breaking School Property

I, [Your Full Name], a student of Class [Your Class], Section [Your Section], would like to bring to your kind attention an unfortunate incident that occurred on [Date of incident].

On the aforementioned date, I accidentally broke a windowpane in the school library while playing with my friends. I realize that my action was irresponsible and not in line with the code of conduct of our esteemed school. I deeply regret my actions and the inconvenience it may have caused.

I promise that such incidences will not be repeated in the future. I am ready to bear the cost of replacing the broken windowpane, and to serve any penalty deemed necessary by the school authorities. I understand that the care of school property is a shared responsibility and I failed in discharging my duties this time.

Thank you for your understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Application for Apology to Teacher for Not Completing Homework On Time

I kindly request you to consider my situation and allow me extra time to complete and submit the homework. I promise to work harder and be more responsible towards my academic duties henceforth.

How to Write Apology Application to Teacher

Some writing tips to help you craft a better application:

Related Topics:

I am sure you will get some insights from here on how to write “apology application to teacher”. And to help further, you can also download all the above application samples as PDFs by clicking here .

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Sample Apology Letter For Late Submission Of Assignment

If you were late in submitting your assignment, here is a sample template you can use to write an apology letter or late submission of an assignment .

[Client name]

Subject: Apology for Late Submission of Assignment

Dear [Name]

Sir/Ma’am, please accept my sincere apologies for the late submission of the assignment that had been handed out on [Date]. It was supposed to be submitted on [Date]. However, I had unexpectedly faced some unavoidable circumstances [Explain the Reason]. I had tried my best to submit the assignment on time but failed to do so. 

I promise never to repeat this in the future. I hope you can forgive this instance of an unintentional mistake and accept my assignment. I will be grateful for your help and consideration.

[Your name]

[Your designation]

Home » Letters » School » Apology Letter to Teacher for Late Submission of Assignment in School – Sample Apology for Assignment Late Submission

Apology Letter to Teacher for Late Submission of Assignment in School – Sample Apology for Assignment Late Submission

Table of Contents:

• Sample Letter

Live Editing Assistance

How to use live assistant, additional template options, download options, share via email, share via whatsapp, copy to clipboard, print letter, sample apology letter to teacher for late submission of assignment in school.

To, The Class Teacher, _________ (Name of the Teacher) _________ (Name of the School), _________ (Address of School)

Date: __/__/____ (Date)

Subject: Apology for late submission of assignment for _________ (Student Name)

Respectfully, I am _________ (Name of the Student) a student of class ________ (Class) having roll number _________ (Roll Number).

Through this letter, I apologize to inform you that I have delayed the submission of ________ (mention assignment name) and the reason behind the same is _________ (not well/ ill health/ was absent/any other) and due to which I failed to deposit the assignment for the subject on the required date i.e. __/__/_____ (date). I ensure that the mentioned assignment would be submitted by __/__/____ (Date), and I ensure that there would be no more delays.

I request you to kindly accept my genuine apology for the delay in the submission of the same.

Thanking you Yours Faithfully/Sincerely, __________ (Name), __________ (Signature), __________ (Roll Number)

Live Preview

The Live Assistant feature is represented by a real-time preview functionality. Here’s how to use it:

• Start Typing: Enter your letter content in the "Letter Input" textarea.
• Live Preview: As you type, the content of your letter will be displayed in the "Live Preview" section below the textarea. This feature converts newline characters in the textarea into <br> tags in HTML for better readability.

The letter writing editor allows you to start with predefined templates for drafting your letters:

• Choose a Template: Click one of the template buttons ("Start with Sample Template 1", "Start with Sample Template 2", or "Start with Sample Template 3").
• Auto-Fill Textarea: The chosen template's content will automatically fill the textarea, which you can then modify or use as is.

Click the "Download Letter" button after composing your letter. This triggers a download of a file containing the content of your letter.

Click the "Share via Email" button after composing your letter. Your default email client will open a new message window with the subject "Sharing My Draft Letter" and the content of your letter in the body.

Click the "Share via WhatsApp" button after you've composed your letter. Your default browser will open a new tab prompting you to send the letter as a message to a contact on WhatsApp.

If you want to copy the text of your letter to the clipboard:

• Copy to Clipboard: Click the "Copy to Clipboard" button after composing your letter.
• Paste Anywhere: You can then paste the copied text anywhere you need, such as into another application or document.

For printing the letter directly from the browser:

• Print Letter: Click the "Print Letter" button after composing your letter.
• Print Preview: A new browser window will open showing your letter formatted for printing.
• Print: Use the print dialog in the browser to complete printing.
• Your name, class, roll number, a sincere apology for the late submission, a specific reason for the delay, the assignment's name, the original submission date, and a proposed new submission date.
• Yes, mentioning the assignment's name helps the teacher understand which assignment is being referred to and the context of the apology.
• Address the teacher respectfully, using "Respected Sir/Madam" or "Dear Sir/Madam."
• Yes, expressing regret demonstrates accountability and respect for the teacher's expectations and guidelines.
• Yes, providing contact information allows the teacher to communicate with you if needed regarding the late submission or any related matters.

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What Happens If You Submit Coursework Late?

Everything you need to know about late submissions.

There’s nothing worse than working really hard on a piece of coursework and accidentally missing the deadline, especially if you’re just a few minutes late. Universities have strict rules around coursework deadlines and turnitin submissions and if you do submit a piece of coursework late, you will have to deal with the penalties, which can be really scary if the coursework makes up a large part of your degree.

Whether you’ve actually submitted a piece of coursework late, or you just want to know what to expect in case you ever find yourself in that situation, here’s what you need to know about late submissions.

What’s the reason for the late submission?

Ok, so you’ve known about this piece of coursework for weeks but when it comes to the deadline, you’re late. There could be a few reasons why you’re submitting coursework late, and some of them are more acceptable than others.

Universities are pretty strict when it comes to deadlines, but let’s say there were genuine factors that prevented you from handing your work in on time. For example, your wifi cut out meaning you missed the deadline by a minute, or there was traffic on the way to hand in your coursework in person, or there’s been a genuine emergency involving you or a family member. These reasons are obviously, much more valid than you just simply woke up late, forgot the time, or hadn’t finished your coursework in time.

If you do have a genuine reason for late submission, you’re going to need some form of evidence to back up your claims and some lecturers may be more forgiving than others. In-person late submissions may be accepted, but turnitin normally shuts off from accepting submissions after the deadline, which could land you in trouble.

Lecturers have probably heard every excuse in the book when it comes to late coursework, but if you do have a genuine and valid reason it’s best to talk to them straight away to explain what happened. If you don’t have a genuine reason, you can still attempt to hand in your coursework late, but you will have to face the penalties.

In-person vs. online submission rules

The golden rule of coursework, check whether it needs to be submitted in person as well as online.

Unfortunately, if you submit your coursework online but fail to do it in person and visa versa, many universities will still consider this as a late submission and may automatically fail you. Some universities aren’t too bothered about in-person submissions anymore and only want you to do it online, whereas others want both a physical and digital copy. This is normally because the digital copy submitted on turnitin is scanned for plagiarism , and the physical copy may be marked and annotated and given back to you afterwards.

Online and in-person submissions may have different rules and be due at different times, so on submission day you’re going to want to make sure you’re prepared. If you do need to do a in-person submission, it’s probably best to print it out the day before (lecturers won’t care if you ran out of printing credits or the printers weren’t working) on the day, and to get to the submission desk bright and early to avoid oversleeping or traffic.

If you need to submit online, it’s best not to leave it until the last minute. You can normally submit coursework as soon as it’s done, so as soon as you’ve completed a piece and you’re happy with it, upload it before you forget. Yes, your wifi could genuinely cut out 30 seconds before the deadline, but your lecturers will just ask you why you left it until the last minute or didn’t go to the library to use the public and more reliable wifi there.

Triple check deadline dates and times

You might have multiple pieces of coursework due in the same week that all require physical and digital submissions, so the only way to make sure you’re sticking to deadlines is to triple check.

Unfortunately, it is easy to accidentally mess up the days or misread the time but as easy as it is, universities probably aren’t going to be very lenient if you miss a deadline purely because you thought it was due at 1pm and it was actually 12pm. Being a student is all about being accountable for yourself, and if you do mix up the deadline date it will be your own fault even if it is a super easy mistake. So, we can’t stress enough double and triple check your deadlines! Write them on post it notes on your wall, set timers on your phone an hour before, and don’t leave it until the last half an hour to try and get everything done.

Speak to your tutors or university

If you do submit a piece of coursework late, the first thing you need to do is email your tutors or go and speak to them in person. If you’re too late to submit via turnitin, you need to email them as soon as possible to let them know what’s happened and with a copy of your work in case they’re willing to accept it late and they will be able to advise on next steps.

Sometimes, genuine emergencies can come up last minute which are definitely more important than a coursework deadline. If on the day before, or the day of your submission something comes up, for example a family member is rushed to hospital, email your tutors as soon as possible before the deadline to let them know what’s happening and to ask for an extension. Your tutors are much more likely to be lenient about late submissions if you’ve already told them in advance that it’s going to be late.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with your coursework and don’t think you’ll make the deadline or are really struggling with your mental health, try and let them know a few days in advance and request a possible deadline. Your tutors want you to do well and if they know there’s something going on, they will be much more likely to grant an extension or hold off on penalties for late submission if you’ve given them a heads up in advance.

What’s the penalty for late submission?

Unfortunately, late submissions are treated quite seriously by universities. The penalty will depend on your university, your reason for late submission and by how late you were at submitting, eg. were you one minute late to your in-person hand in or are you 4 hours late? It’s best to check on your universities website to find out the exact penalties for late submission, but some universities will deduct marks.

Your work could be reduced by anywhere from 5-10%, or if you’re really late capped at the pass mark, so you won’t receive a grade higher than 40. You might also fail the whole module. Penalties and mark deductions are normally based on how late you submitted your work, so if you leave it a few days you’re much more likely to have your work capped at a pass mark, but if you’re only a few minutes behind your mark might just be reduced by 5%. This is why it’s best to let your tutors know as soon as possible that you need an extension or that your coursework is going to be late, as the longer you leave it to submit the more severe the penalty will be.

Your tutors and Students’ Union should be able to help you out and offer advice on what to do based on your personal circumstances if you do submit a piece of coursework late.

For more uni advice, check out how to avoid plagiarism here.

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How to Write Email

How to write a polite email to your professor for a late assignment.

Desperate for an extension on a late assignment? Learn the art of crafting a professional email to your professor for a favorable outcome.

• Personal illness, family emergencies, technical difficulties, overwhelming workload, and unforeseen circumstances can all be valid reasons for submitting a late assignment.
• When crafting the email, it is important to have a clear and concise subject line, a respectful salutation, and to clearly state the purpose of the email.
• In the email, provide a brief and honest explanation for the delay, express understanding, and offer a sincere apology for the late submission.
• Requesting an extension should be done regretfully, acknowledging the importance of timely submissions, explaining any technical issues that impeded progress, and assuring the use of extra time for thorough research and high-quality work.

• Students may need more time to complete an online assignment due to personal illness or health issues, such as experiencing a sudden migraine or being unable to focus due to a fever.
• Family emergencies or unexpected responsibilities, like having to take care of a sick relative or attending to a sudden family crisis, can also lead to a late assignment submission.
• Technical difficulties or computer malfunctions may occur, causing students to be unable to access the necessary materials to complete their work on time.
• Additionally, overwhelming workload and time constraints can result in students needing a deadline extension to ensure the quality of their submission.
• Unforeseen circumstances beyond one's control, such as a sudden power outage or internet connectivity issues, can also contribute to a late assignment submission.

Table of Contents

Can I Use the Same Polite Tone for an Urgent Email?

Should I Use the Same Polite Tone When Sending a Follow-Up Email to My Professor for a Late Assignment?

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Make your message stand out with a p.s. in email.

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Using “P.S.” for Added Punctuation and Clarity

Best Practices for Using “P.S.” in Email Communication

Writing “p.s.” in the body of the email.

Adding a Personal Touch with “P.S.”

Considerations for using “p.s.” in email marketing campaigns, ensuring proper use of “p.s.” in your email or letter.

• Keep the “P.S.” short and concise to maintain its impact.
• Use the “P.S.” to convey important information or emphasize a key point.
• Avoid using “P.S.” multiple times in a single email or letter, as it may diminish its effectiveness.
• Proofread your email or letter to ensure that the “P.S.” is grammatically correct and supports your overall message.

Utilizing “P.S.” as an Additional Means of Communication

Tips for writing an effective “p.s.”, how to make the most of “p.s.” in your email’s main body, adding an afterthought with “p.s.”, understanding the importance of “p.p.s.” in email communication, using “p.s.” in personal email messages, optimizing email engagement with “p.s.”.

How do I write “P.S.” in an email to make my message stand out?

Why should i use “p.s.” in my emails, can i use “p.s.” in email marketing campaigns, when is it appropriate to use “p.s.” in my emails or letters, how can i make the most of “p.s.” in my email’s main body.

How to Write a Professional PTO Request Email

Planning to request time off but not sure how to approach it? Learn the art of crafting a PTO request email with professionalism and gratitude.

• PTO is a valuable benefit that contributes to employee happiness and prevents burnout.
• Understanding the formal request process for PTO is essential, including advance notice and completion of a leave request form.
• Crafting a persuasive PTO request email involves clearly stating the dates, providing a valid reason, expressing willingness to be available for emergencies, using a professional tone, and offering to make coverage arrangements.
• Tips for successful time off requests include planning ahead, stating dates and reasons clearly, following up with managers, and communicating with the team before and after the time off.

• Plan Ahead : Request time off well in advance, especially for longer vacations or during busy periods. This allows your manager and team to plan for your absence and ensures a smoother transition.
• Be Clear and Concise : When writing the PTO request email, clearly state the dates you're requesting for time off and the reason for your absence. Use a professional and polite tone in your email.
• Offer Coverage : If possible, offer to make arrangements for coverage during your absence. This shows consideration for your team and helps ensure that work continues smoothly in your absence.
• Stay Available : Express your willingness to be available for any emergencies that may arise during your time off. Providing a contact number or email address where you can be reached shows responsibility and commitment to your role.

Can I Use the Same Format for Requesting PTO in an Email?

How to Write a Catchy P.S. in Your Email

Yearning to master the art of email persuasion? Uncover the secrets of writing a compelling P.S. that leaves a lasting impact.

• The P.S. in email is a powerful tool for enhancing communication and marketing strategies.
• Proper formatting and punctuation of the P.S. is important for clarity and impact.
• The P.S. allows for added emphasis, personalization, and strengthening of relationships.
• The P.S. can be used as a compelling call to action, prompting immediate action from the reader.

• Use 'P.S.' or 'PS' without trailing punctuation to capture attention and reinforce the message effectively.
• Consider the audience and formality to decide on the appropriate usage of 'P.S.' in the email.
• Place the 'P.S.' after the signature to ensure it's noticed at the end of the email.

Can I Include P.S. in an RSVP Email?

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• Learning Tips
• Exam Guides
• School Life

 Penalty for Late Submission of Assignment: Full Guide

• by Judy Jeni
• February 21, 2024

Late submission of academic assignments is common in most institutions of higher learning. All learners cannot be able to submit their assignments on time because of various reasons.

Some are unable to complete because of genuine reasons while others are simply lazy and careless. Even if the assignment has been done correctly, late submission attracts a punishment.                                                                                                                               

Penalty for Late Submission of Assignment

Penalizing students for late submission has its fair share of advantages. Universities take specific actions to instill discipline among students so that they can know the value of timely submission. 

Nonetheless, the penalty needs to apply after a specific university body has done its investigation. This is necessary to establish the root cause of the late submission. 

Uncontrollable circumstances such as illness should be forgivable as long as the student has submitted the assignment and it is done correctly. However, all universities have their own rule and regulations regarding the late submission of assignments.

Penalty for Late Submission in Different Universities

Why Universities Penalize Late Submission           

1. enhancing student responsibility.

Universities instill tough punitive measures for late submission to make students more responsible.

Knowing the repercussion of late submission or plagiarism makes you work hard and complete it before the deadline day.

In many ways, it will make you more passionate about the assignment and develop a sense of stewardship in your entire learning.

If universities condone late submission, there is a higher likelihood of students becoming irresponsible. 

2. Learners Will Maximize Their Studies

Punitive measures such as getting a zero are very demoralizing. As such, a student will maximize and exploit his or her potential to ensure there is no late submission.

If you are doing your assignment amidst the fear of getting a zero, there is no doubt that you will rush to finish your work and ensure it is done correctly. 

However, the rush to complete the work can compromise the quality. Most students tend to put more emphasis on beating the deadline but not on the quality of the work.

If universities permit late submission as long as the student has genuine reasons , there will be more concentration on quality. 

3. Good Assignment Completion Rates

No professor enjoys frequent late completion of assignments from students. To avoid this, universities punish students to improve the assignment completion rate.

Deadlines that prohibit late submission will propel students to complete their assignments on time.

It makes it easy for professors to determine the true academic ability of these students. 

4. Preparing Students for a Real-World Situation

Universities do not only focus on the academic achievements of the students. They also want them to be ready for the already competitive job market in the real world. In reality, real-life has deadlines.

The current job market is very competitive. Workers have a penalty to pay if they miss a deadline which can cost the company. There is even the risk of dismissal for frequently missing out on deadlines. 

Accepting late assignments in universities will make students lack the preparedness of fitting into real-world situations. School assignment deadlines are a good way of mimicking what is taking place in the real world. 

5. Promoting Fairness

As usual, late submission of the assignment is not for all students. There are still those who struggle to complete in time despite their busy schedule of life. That is to say, accepting late submission is unfair to students who made it within the deadline time.

It will be a discouraging sign for the efforts they put to finish their assignment in time. Penalties for late submission will be fair for students who rush to complete their work.

6. Course Pacing

Current university courses are very compressed and tight. It takes hard work and sheer commitment from the professors and students to complete a course on time.

To achieve successive pacing of these courses, universities can deter late submission by instilling punitive measures. 

A typical university course has a lot of work. Moreover, the available time for completion of these courses is minimal because of a higher number of intakes.

Professors have to put deadlines to keep the pace so that students can complete the course in time.

Allowing late submission only makes it difficult to complete available work. Through harsh penalties, universities can minimize the cases of late submissions that drag others behind. 

7. Inconveniencing the Lecturers

Instructors have a lot of work to do so that students complete and graduate. Late work only means instructors will have to work extra hard to be able to grade all the students.

They have to mark and grade all assignments before moving to a different subject or topic. If several students turn in their assignments later, this will be difficult to achieve. 

8. Lose of the Assignment Value

Long time delay of assignments by students is likely to reduce their value. The academic work will no longer align with the current activities of the class. Even more importantly, if you submit your assignment late, there are chances the corrections have already been done.

Your professor may already be preparing the students for a new topic by the time you make your submission. In this case, the professor has the option of giving you a zero.

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20 Good Excuses for Late Assignment Submission Your Teacher won’t Refuse

When it comes to late assignment submissions, honesty and accountability are key. Failing to submit work by the allotted time is a constant dread during the academic years. While students try their best to keep up with their studies, sometimes certain unfortunate occurrences can force them to go off-track.  

There are times when the stress of keeping up with everything can prevent them from meeting assignment deadlines. Often enough this is also the result of being careless but there are genuine cases when a student is unable to finish his or her work on time. In such a scenario the student can request for an extension. Though, the reason for the delay in submission has to be substantial in order to get the necessary extension period.

Be careful about making excuses for late assignment submission as it has to be backed by good reasoning. Below are the 20 Excuses for Late Assignment Submission :

1. Backpack Stolen

I got my backpack stolen:  use rampant crime among high school students to your advantage. No teacher in his right mind would expect you to turn in that big assignment if it got stolen the very day it was due. Although most teachers won’t follow through, filing a missing backpack report might not be a bad idea. 

2. Family Trouble at Home Last Night

My mom and dad got in a huge fight last night  and the cops came and I couldn’t concentrate on the assignment: Domestic violence isn’t something to lie about…unless it’s done to save your grade. This excuse works on so many levels:

• (1) Your teacher will never bring this up to your parents; and
• (2) you will garner sympathy for the rest of the year. The only way this could go wrong is if your teacher reports this to your guidance counselor and your counselor contacts your parents. That’s probably not going to happen. 

3. Mandatory Travel

I stayed at my dad’s this weekend  and left it there and my mom refuses to let me go back and get it: Teachers are suckers for dysfunctional family stories. This is an all time classic. 

4. Leaving Binder in Mom’s Car

I left my binder in my mom’s car and she’s at work across town:  This is a twist on the easy to see through “I left it at home” excuse. A teacher can reasonably expect someone from home to bring your homework, but not even the meanest teacher would expect your mom to leave work. 

5. Untimely Sickness

I was really sick yesterday and unable to do anything.  The only reason I came is because I didn’t want to miss any more work: Teachers will admire your perseverance and give you the extra day. 

6. Severe Pain from Monthly Period

It’s that “time of the month”:  If you’re a boy, don’t try this. This only works for females on male teachers. 

How about you avoid submitting your assignment late? Hire our assignment experts!

7. Death of a Loved One

Grandma died:  Even if the teacher doubts the veracity of your grandma’s death, he’s not gonna call you out on it just in case it’s true. There are obvious problems with this excuse, including the guilt you’ll feel if your grandma does die that week. 

8. An Issue with Pet

My dog died  and I was too upset to do my homework: This is rarely used, but effective, especially if your teacher has a dog. Only a heartless task master would not cut you a break over losing your best friend. 

9. Taking Care of Sibling

I had to take care of my baby sister who was up last night throwing up:  Another underused classic. Be careful your teacher isn’t an e-mailer or he just might e-mail your parents for an update on your baby sister who doesn’t exist. 

10. Tell the Truth You Weren’t in Your Best Mental State

Tell the truth:  This is a revolutionary excuse. Often if you just go to your teacher in the morning and tell him or her the truth, you’ll get some additional time.

11. Your Team Members screwed you Over in a Group Assessment

Teachers  hate  group work assignments, too. We usually set them because we have to embed it into a degree as an ‘employability skill’.

12. You’ve had Writer’s Block

This extension excuse gets points for honesty. If you come to your teacher and say “Look, I’ve read  all  of the readings, but the creativity just hasn’t come” then your teacher might just give you a little extra time.

13. Work called you in for Extra Shifts

When explaining that work has called you in for extra shifts, make sure your teacher knows you needed that money. You don’t need to cry poor or ask for the sympathy card. But let them know: I pay my own way through life, so the extra money meant a lot to me.

14. Computer Issues

This can get an eye roll.

Blaming technology issues is a cliché excuse that teachers tend not to take too seriously.

It’s used too often and we expect that more often than not it’s a lie rather than a genuine problem.

If you want to get sympathy for this excuse, provide evidence. Here’s some valuable forms of evidence, in order from best to worst:

• A receipt or quote from a computer repairman that contains the current date;
• Evidence you’ve been to see the university’s IT department to see if your data can be recovered;
• A photograph of the broken computer equipment.

These are some additional excuses you can give.

15. Physical Illness

Illness : In case you genuinely are not physically fit to do your homework. This reasoning must be authentic and you are required to provide your doctor’s note. Even in case if someone in your family needs your immediate attention or the student has had a mental breakdown. All of them can be strong reasons to ask for an extension in submission date.

16. Other Paper Due

Other paper due:  In case the student has to prepare for another important paper in the same time frame, he or she can take it up with the professor and request for a late submission. This makes for a valid reason and one can put in an application informing the teacher about the circumstances.  

17. Job Interview

Job interview : This excuse is for slightly older learners. If a student has to appear for a job that is directly related to their subject or area of study then they can be excused for late submission.  

18. You have a Learning Disability

If you have a learning disability, you need to tell your university in advance. There’s really no other way around this one.

Nearly every university these days has support plans for students with learning disabilities.

The most common one is dyslexia. This is the condition in which students struggle with accurate and speedy reading and spelling. It can make university really tough, but universities try to be accommodating for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

19. You are a Carer

Something that has blown me away as a university teacher is just how many students care for their chronically sick or disabled parents, partners or children. Carers are, frankly, inspiring people, and you’ll get sympathy from your teacher.

I’d recommend letting your teacher know in advance about your situation.

20. Others Excuses

There are other unforeseen circumstances that can range from a natural disaster or even an unfortunate incident like an accident. In all such scenarios, students are excused.  

Although Late submission is a common situation during school or college days, there must be a good excuse for the same. Here is an email (or application) format you can use to request your teacher to accept your late submission.

A sample apology letter for being late in assignment submission

Dear Sir/Madam,

This letter is to present my sincere apologies for late submission of my assignment that was due (Insert Date). I understand the inconveniences my lateness might have caused you.

The delay occurred because (Insert your excuse for lateness). I have completed my assignment and can guarantee you that no such mistake will ever happen.

Please accept my sincere apologies.

(Student Name)

Avoid late submission ever happening again. Use our services by placing an order for cheap essay.

• Teaching and Learning Delivery

Visual identity

Guidance on late submission (to accompany the Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment)

Please note : this Guidance was updated in November 2023 to clarify the example scenarios relating to the procedure for cases where a student receives a pass mark for an assignment (including dissertations) but then fails the unit due to the deduction of marks as a penalty of late submission. New wording has been added under paragraph B 9 in the revised document, with example scenarios 9.2 and 9.3 being slightly revised to provide clarification. A new paragraph (A 5) has also been provided to confirm the aims of the Guidance.

This Guidance accompanies the Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment.

For a full PDF version of the Guidance, please see below:

• Guidance on late submission (PDF)

A. Background

B. Guidance

C. Communications to students

A.      Background

• The Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment was revised and approved in June 2015 for implementation from September 2015. It sets out the University’s policy on the process of submission and sets out the penalties associated with late submission. Updates were also made to the Policy in February 2019 for implementation from September 2019.
• As noted in paragraph 4.5 of the Policy, there is a standard University penalty for all work that is submitted late. This must be used by Schools in relation to large pieces of work (e.g. dissertations/projects) [1] ). It is also the default penalty for all other pieces of work, unless alternative arrangements are agreed by the relevant Faculty. Schools are required to make a case to their Faculty for any exceptions to the standard penalty and, if agreed, any variation must be made clear on each piece of assessment. Faculties should review any variations annually.
• For small pieces of work, in exceptional circumstances a Unit Lead may decide not to accept late submission of assessed summative work. These circumstances must be approved by the Faculty and be detailed within Unit Specifications, and the rationale and consequences must also be clearly articulated in Assignment briefs (see paragraph 4.10 in the Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment).
• The following guidance is provided for Schools to assist in their implementation of these aspects of the Policy. Reference should also be made to the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degree Regulations , which provide more information in relation to assessment and progression, including compensation and referrals.
• This guidance aims to avoid unnecessary resits/referrals where that is appropriate. The application of the guidance should not lead to exclusion/early exit of students on the basis of a single assessment attempt being subject to a late penalty, unless the student’s total resit allowance has been exceeded.

B.      Guidance

6. Definition of late submission

Any work that has been submitted after a deadline has passed is classed as late except in cases where an extension has already been agreed via mitigating circumstances procedures and DASS extensions.  There should be no discretionary periods or periods of grace.  A student who submits work at 1 minute past a deadline or later will therefore be subject to a penalty for late submission.

This guidance relates to first attempts/first sits only (including deferrals).  Students who submit referral assignments (including carried forward failed credit) after the deadline will be automatically subject to a mark of zero. There should be no sliding scale in operations for resits/referrals and there are no further resit opportunities for referred assignments that are submitted late.

7. Application of penalties for late submission

In cases where a piece of work does not represent an entire assessment or unit, the penalty applies to the individual piece of work , not the total assessment or unit.

No calculations should be made for part-days.  Any work submitted at any time within the first 24 hours following the published submission deadline will receive a penalty of 10% of the maximum amount of marks available.  Any work submitted at any time between 24 hours and up to 48 hours late will receive a deduction of 20% of the marks available, and so on, at the rate of an additional 10% of available marks deducted per 24 hours, until the assignment is submitted, or no marks remain.

If a piece of work is not marked out of 100, the deduction per day is proportional to that for work marked out of 100. For example, for a piece of work marked out of 60, the deduction would be 6 marks per day/24 hours. The reduction is therefore 10% of the total assessment value , rather than 10% of the mark awarded for the piece of work. 

The Policy relates to 24 hours/ calendar days , so includes weekends and weekdays, as well as bank holidays and University closure days. If an assessment deadline is at noon on a Friday and the student submits it just before noon on the following Monday, their penalty would be a 30% mark deduction, based on being late by three days/72 hours.  Schools are therefore advised to consider the implications of deadlines (particularly for hard copy submissions) and are encouraged to avoid deadlines on a Friday.

Schools must make it clear to students that submission dates and times are in UK local time and it is the responsibility of students to ensure that they check the relevant time zone. (This may be of particular relevance to distance learning students).  

Should Schools require both online and hard copy submission of an assignment, the late submission penalty would apply to the piece of work with the earliest submission date.

8. Professionally accredited programmes

The requirements of Professional and Statutory Bodies can take precedence over the requirements of the Policy. Therefore, PSRB accredited programmes which have a deadline/time related Intended Learning Outcome (ILO), for example related to professionalism, are permitted to apply a zero tolerance approach and issue a penalty of zero marks for late submission.

Conversely, in areas where students need a mark/credit for PSRB purposes, they should still be given a mark for work submitted late, if that is a PSRB requirement.

9. Procedure for the handling of cases where a student receives a pass mark for an assignment (including dissertations) but then fails the unit due to the deduction of marks as a penalty of late submission

Students whose assignment mark falls below a pass as a result of a late penalty should not be asked to resubmit the assignment; instead, the original assignment will be used in lieu of a referral, and normal resit/referral procedures will apply*, with unit marks receiving a suffix of ‘C’ or ‘R’, as described below.  If a student’s original unit mark before the application of the penalty was a pass , the mark recorded for the unit will not fall below the minimum compensatable pass mark for the programme.

*If a student has exhausted all their resit credit allowance, the standard regulations (as contained within the Degree Regulations) will apply, in terms of students being required to repeat the level, be issued with an exit award, etc., as appropriate. For students in the final year (level 6) of a UG programme, as reassessment is not permitted in the final year other than for PSRB requirements, if a student’s original mark was a pass before the application of a late penalty, arrangements for dealing with the reduced mark would be carried out via the standard regulations for special compensation in final year.

Example scenarios :

9.1          In cases where a student’s overall unit mark is in the compensation zone (following application of a late submission penalty) and the student has compensation credit remaining, normal compensation procedures will apply. For example, UG marks after the penalty of between 30 and 39 are recorded as 30-39C. PGT marks after the penalty of between 40 and 49 are recorded as 40-49C.

9.2          In cases where a student’s overall unit mark is in the compensation zone (following application of a late submission penalty) but the student has exhausted all their compensation allowance or the unit is a core/compulsory unit which does not permit compensation , the original assignment submission is treated as a referral and the mark is capped, with the final unit mark recorded with a suffix of ‘R’ to denote its treatment as a referral.*

9.3          In cases where a student’s overall unit mark falls below the compensation zone , (following application of a late submission penalty), and has resit allowance remaining the original assignment submission is treated as a referral and the mark is capped, with the final unit mark recorded with a suffix of ‘R’ to denote its treatment as a referral. For example, UG course unit marks that were pass marks before the penalty but that after the penalty fell to below 30 are recorded as 30R (i.e. the minimum compensatable pass mark). PGT course unit marks that were pass marks before the penalty but that after the penalty fell to below 40 are recorded as 40R.

Programmes with minimum compensatable pass marks that are different from the above should adopt an approach that is equivalent but that reflects their pass mark.

10. Procedure for the handling of cases where a student’s original mark was in the compensation zone before the deduction of marks as a penalty of late submission

Students whose assignment mark was in the compensation zone should not be routinely asked to resubmit the assignment*; instead the student’s original mark will be used in lieu of a referral with the students’ unit marks being capped at the lowest compensatable mark (normally 30 for UG and 40 for PGT programmes) and the mark receiving a suffix of ‘R’ to signify that it is being used in lieu of a referral. For example, a UG student whose assignment makes up 100% of the unit and whose original assignment mark was 35, and receives a mark of 5 for the unit as a result of late submission penalties, would have their unit mark recorded as 30R.

*However, if the student has exhausted all their compensation allowance or the unit is a core/compulsory unit which does not permit compensation , the student would need to take a referral of the unit for progression purposes, and would receive an ‘R’ suffix.

11.    Shared units/students undertaking units from another School

In the case of shared units/students undertaking units from another School, it would be good practice for the application of any late submission penalties to be clearly communicated to the student’s programme owning School.

12.    Work submitted more than 9 calendar days late

If work is submitted more than 9 but less than 10 calendar days late, this is considered as a  late submission and a penalty will be applied that results in the mark being reduced to zero. The work should still be marked and feedback given.

If the work is submitted more than 10 calendar days late, then it is considered as a non-submission and a mark of zero applied.

13.   Providing feedback in relation to work submitted late

Work submitted within 10 calendar days of the deadline should be marked and feedback provided; the feedback should reflect the mark achieved before the penalty was imposed. If a student submits work more than 10 calendar days late, there is not a requirement for the work to be marked or feedback provided. However, Schools may choose to mark and provide feedback.

C.      Communications to students

14. Schools should ensure that they make clear to students the deadlines for submission of work and how the students are expected to submit (i.e. the format – online or hard copy, etc.)  Students should be advised via the handbook of the penalties that will be applied if they submit late and the implications for feedback. 

15. Students should also be advised that if they submit referred assignments late, a mark of zero will automatically be given.

[1] Large pieces of work, for this purpose, are defined as being single pieces of assessed work carrying a credit weighting of 30 credits or more.

Version 1.5, November 2023

• Policy and guidance
• Assessment and feedback
• Policy on Marking
• Guidance on Moderation, Fairness and Consistency in Marking
• Policy on Submission of Work for Summative Assessment
• Guidance on late submission
• Policy on Feedback to Students
• Grade Descriptors
• Retention of Teaching and Learning Materials
• Policy on Alternative Assessments
• Assessment for Disabled Students
• Policy on Religious Observance
• Guidance for the presentation of Taught Dissertations
• Ethical Approval of research on human subjects

Word & Excel Templates

Printable word and excel templates.

Apology Letter for Being Late in Submission

When we must submit our work to someone, we are required to fulfill a kind of commitment. Sometimes, we have to face deadlines also. When we don’t submit our work within the time specified by the deadline, we cause inconvenience to other people.

In this letter, you let the reader know that you are feeling sorry for being late in submission. After that, you write the reason for the delay so that you can prove that your late submission makes sense.

Sometimes, you find yourself in a situation where an apology letter is the only thing that can save you. However, you are expected to apologize in such a way that after reading it, the reader can easily let you off. For instance, a student needs to apologize because late submission may result in poor grades. Writing a perfect letter is critical. Therefore, below are some tips that you can follow:

• Write with an apologetic tone:

You should not sound rude when you apologize for something. Your tone should express that you are regretful for being late in the submission.

• Discuss the reason:

Let the reader know that you had a genuine reason for the late submission. Don’t try to use it as a justification as it might offend the reader.

• Assure that it will not repeat:

Make the reader know that you will not repeat this mistake because you are regretful already

Read the sample letter given below

I am ABC, a student of grade X, section C. My roll number is 423.

Please accept my apologies for being late in the submission of the assignment. I was supposed to submit the assignment on 5th June at 11:59. However, I submitted it after 3 hours.

I know that you told us to submit the assignment within the given deadline. I was also trying to follow your instructions. But my mother fell ill. I had to take her to the hospital. I started working on my assignment as soon as I reached home.

Luckily, I was able to complete it in time but, when I opened the portal to submit it, there was so much load on it as lots of students were trying to submit it at that time.

I tried my best to submit it on time but things were not favorable. Therefore, my submission was late. I know you gave us a considerable amount of time for finishing our work and there is no justification for not doing it in the given time frame. However, I had a genuine issue.

It is my humble request to you to please forgive this mistake at least for this time. I assure you that this will not happen again. I will be very careful in the future. Please don’t deduct my marks this time. I shall be very thankful to you for this act of kindness.

Size: 24 KB

I am writing this letter to express my regret for being late in submitting the project report. I know I was given a reasonable amount of time for completing this report and it is my responsibility to submit the work within the deadline. However, there was some problem in data collection that led to the late submission of the report.

I know that the late submission of a report might have caused you inconvenience as you also had to work on it. I respect your time and my commitment to you to submit the work in time. In addition, I had no intention to submit my work after the deadline.

Please accept my sincere apologies. I promise that you will never see any late submission from my side ever again. I hope that you will forgive me for this mistake as it happened the first time to me.

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Write A Apology Letter To Teacher For Late Submission Of Assignment In English

Mr Thomas Lyly English Teacher City Government School Kochi

02/03/2023 Teacher, This is Arohi F from 8th C class. I am writing this letter to apologise to you for the late submission of the assignment. I am very sorry for the late submission of the assignment. There is no correct explanation for the reason for my late submission.

Yes, I put off my work because I was lazy. I understand that there was sufficient time for doing the assignment and submitting it on the said date. I am very sorry for being irresponsible and not punctual. I know the importance of these values in a student’s life.

I kindly request that you accept my apology. I also request that you check and evaluate my assignment, which was submitted today, two days after the due date. I promise you that I will never repeat this mistake and that I will always be punctual.

Yours faithfully Arohi

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Using proration, you can calculate proportionate earnings and deduction amounts whenever payroll-relevant data changes during a payroll period.

For example, you can calculate proportionate earnings and deduction amounts if:

A person joins or leaves an organization in the middle of a payroll period

A person's pay rate changes during a payroll period

If you want to prorate an element, such as basic salary, assign a proration event group to the element with proration points that affect a person's salary. You can use the predefined event group, or create a new one. When you create an event group, you select the events that activate proration calculation, such as changes to:

Hourly or annual pay rates

Working hours

Allowances or deductions

Assignment changes, such as grade or position

Retroactive processing ensures that your payroll run for the current period reflects any backdated payments and deductions from previous payroll periods. A retroactive event group defines the types of changes that trigger a retroactive event notification. These types of changes are Entry Changes for Retro and trigger notifications when changes are made in a prior payroll period. You can make additional events trigger the recalculation process by editing the group or creating a new event group for the element. All events trigger in real time.

Within a retroactive event group, select the events that produce notifications if a backdated change occurs. Specify the entity, update type, and attribute, as shown in the examples provided in the following table.

To disable notifications for an element, within the Manage Element UI, query the 'base' element that you no longer want to be processed by retropay and remove the specified 'Retroactive Event Group'. This prevents new events from being triggered.

Event Actions

An event action links a process to the events within an event group. When an event occurs, the process is triggered based on a set of conditions defined on the event action. You can use event actions to control the submission of features, which use event groups of type action such as generate HCM Rates and time card reprocessing. Event actions control the aspects of submission such as, if the process is automatically submitted when an event occurs or when submitted through a payroll flow.

There are two event action submission types:

• Manual: The application processes the event action notifications using the ‘Process Event Action’ flow. Schedule this process to run on a regular basis to ensure your information is kept up to date such as your stored rate values. Also, add this task to your payroll cycle flow so it is submitted before you calculate payroll.
• Automatic: The application automatically submits processes such as retropay late hires, each time an event action notification is generated.

There are different types of event actions, each with its own set of submission control rules such as:

Resubmission of time cards

Retropay for late new hires

Absence resubmission

• HCM Rates Recalculation

Mexico SDI calculations

Use HCM Data Loader to create an event action.

Related Topics

• How Retroactive Pay Is Calculated
• Set Up Element Proration
• Overview of Loading Event Actions and Event Action Groups

How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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