Today was my first foray into academic marking... an interesting, enjoyable and mostly fun experience, from which I learned a lot.

I was 'moderating' which is not the same as marking or second-marking... The scripts had already been marked by a very experienced tutor, and my role was two-fold: to see if the marking felt right (i.e. that I felt it was all in the right ball park) and to ensure that it was fair (i.e. that all scripts were treated with equity).

I confirmed what I've always know - I am a pedant on grammar and formatting (truly I am my mother's daughter)!

I'm glad I have the opportunity for another round of moderating later in the year so that I can feel a bit more confident before next year needing to start marking academic work I've set (eek!) as I am not sure I've really grasped how to 'pitch' the criteria.

On a lighter note, it was interesting and amusing to read reviews of a book by someone I led occasional joint services with in Glasgow, in which the story is told of a young, inexperienced minister who, many years later I worked with on CoP26!