Department to Abolish Gov 98 Essay Exam

The Government faculty voted Monday to abolish the Gov 98 junior essay exam beginning next year. There will be no change in procedure this year. Francis G. Hutchins '60, head tutor, said yesterday.

Abolishment of the four-day take-home essay will mean that a student's tutor will determine his tutorial grade. Currently half of the grade is based on the essay, which is marked by a committee of professors.

The decision was made after Hutchins and other faculty members talked with concentrators and teaching fellows in separate meetings on March 20 and 21.

"Both the students and the teaching fellows voted overwhelmingly to have Gov 98 graded exclusively by the tutor and to abolish the present essay exam procedure," Hutchins said. Approximately 10 per cent of the concentrators and 50 per cent of the tutors came to the meetings.

The faculty rejected an earlier proposal to allow juniors to submit any long paper written during the year instead of writing the four-day take-home paper.

Hutchins said that the faculty kept the junior essay system this year because the committee and the procedures are already set up. He added that some stu- dents expecting to write the essay might be at a disadvantage if it were eliminated or they were asked to submit something written earlier. For example, some tutorials may write few papers in anticipation of the essay exam