Expletive in exam recieves marks

Political correctness in Britain has reached an all-time high, while educational standards have reached a new low.

Here is a story from the BBC news website on a case which is sure to anger most sane, rational people:

news.bbc.co.uk...

An exam board is to review its marking guidance after one of its top examiners gave marks for a script which contained only a two-word sexual expletive.

Apparently writing "F**k Off" warrants 2 marks out of 27, roughly 8%. The most idiotic statement made by the marker was that if an exclamation mark had been added to the end of the expletive, a further mark would have been given...

Reminds me of when i tore Jamie Oliver's cooking books apart when i did my english literature exam.

I got a B for what was essentially a crap-fest, albeit a well-spoken one.

I get the feeling whoever was marking my work was more impressed by my attitude (i,e; not giving a crap about passing, but more than happy to reveal Jamie Oliver as the arrogant retard he actually is) than my actual ability.

I can not make an informed decision on this simply because I do not know the context the remark was made. There are instances where profanity conveys meaning better than a more tame exclamation. That said, profanity is just so overused. For me, it's the same as listening to someone say "you know?" after each breath.

Agreed, which is why profanity is still used to good effect in literature.

However when an entire exam script contains nothing but the words "# off", and nothing else, how could that be an efficient use of expletives?

lol i wish ppl would do a study on where these words came from and maybe there would be less need for offense.

my two cents for what their worth