Your final grade has appeared, but you cannot see how your examination was marked. Perhaps the result is lower than expected, a question seems to have been overlooked, or you simply want to understand your mistakes before taking the next course.
Booking access to a marked exam is a useful first step. However, viewing the paper, checking the arithmetic and requesting a new academic assessment can involve different procedures.
Toronto marked exam reviews follow the rules of the institution, faculty and course involved. Before making an appointment, establish what the session allows and which deadlines remain relevant afterward.
Identify the Office Responsible for Your Exam
Start with the course outline and the official examination information for the unit offering the course. Your home department may not administer an exam taken through another faculty.
Prepare the course code, section, instructor’s name, examination period and student number. These details help staff locate the correct paper, particularly when several sections wrote different versions.
Ask whether you should contact the instructor, department office or registrar. At York University’s Faculty of Science, for example, students are directed to contact their course instructor to arrange a final-exam viewing. That appointment is separate from a formal departmental reappraisal request.
Use the instructions that apply to your course rather than assuming a friend’s booking process will work for you.
Decide What You Want to Learn
An appointment is easier to use when you arrive with a clear purpose.
You might want to understand why an answer received partial credit, confirm that all answer pages were considered, or compare your approach with the expected reasoning. You do not need to begin by alleging a marking error.
Write two or three questions before booking. For example:
- Was the continuation of my answer on the next page included?
- Does the total on the cover match the marks awarded inside?
- Which part of the question did my response fail to address?
Specific questions give the discussion a useful focus. “I expected a better grade” does not identify what needs checking.
Separate Viewing, Recalculation and Reassessment
A viewing provides access to the marked work. A recalculation checks arithmetic or omissions. A reassessment considers the academic evaluation of the submitted answers.
Toronto Metropolitan University’s policy distinguishes recalculation from reassessment and provides supervised access to final exams or other graded work that has not been returned. It also states that reassessment requests need academic grounds supported by evidence.
The distinction matters when choosing a form. If the marks shown on individual questions do not add up to the recorded total, describe that calculation issue. If you believe an explanation satisfies a marking criterion but received no credit, identify the criterion and the relevant answer.
An appeal may involve another procedure entirely. Ask which route addresses your concern before submitting documents.
Check Every Relevant Deadline
Record the deadline for requesting access and the deadline for any subsequent marking review. Do not assume they are identical.
University of Toronto Arts & Science’s viewing-request instructions normally allow requests within six months after an examination period, while directing students to the current deadlines for specific sessions. This is a faculty-specific example, not a deadline for all Toronto students.
Also establish what starts the clock: the examination date, publication of the grade, return of work or another event.
If the offered appointment falls after a possible reassessment deadline, contact the responsible office immediately. Ask what you must submit while waiting. Do not assume that booking a viewing automatically pauses another deadline.
Keep the response and your submission confirmation.
Confirm What the Appointment Includes
An exam-viewing session may provide access to the paper without a full teaching consultation.
Ask whether the instructor or marker will attend, whether written comments will be available and whether you can arrange a separate discussion about feedback.
York’s Faculty of Science describes its final-exam viewing as an opportunity to identify marking or addition errors, rather than negotiate the grade during the appointment.
Before travelling, confirm the location, appointment length, identification requirements and late-arrival procedure. For remote access, ask which platform is used and whether you need an active institutional account.
If you require an accessible format or an adjustment to the appointment arrangements, raise that need when booking so staff have time to respond.
Ask About Copies, Notes and Devices
Permission to inspect an examination does not necessarily include permission to photograph, download or circulate it.
Confirm whether you may bring a phone, laptop, calculator or course materials. Ask what notes you can make and whether those notes may leave the room.
Some examinations are available only through controlled viewing arrangements. University of Toronto’s Rotman Commerce guidance, for example, identifies exams for which students must request viewing appointments rather than obtain a copy.
Follow the instructions for your particular paper. If copying is restricted, ask how to record enough information to explain a marking concern through the approved process.
Do not upload examination questions or answer pages to group chats, public websites or external tools without authorization.
Review the Paper in a Consistent Order
Begin by checking that the paper belongs to you and includes the expected answer booklets or submitted components.
Then inspect the marks question by question. Compare the visible total with the recorded examination mark, keeping the exam mark separate from the final course grade.
Next, examine the comments and deductions. Look for an answer that appears unmarked, a continuation page that may have been missed or a mismatch between a stated criterion and the credit awarded.
Record permitted notes using question numbers and precise descriptions. Avoid spending the entire appointment on the first disappointing answer while leaving the rest unchecked.
If something is unclear, ask for clarification rather than interpreting every blank space or annotation as an error.
Prepare Evidence Before Requesting a Regrade
After viewing, decide whether you have identified a specific academic concern.
A useful explanation connects the original response to the assessment requirements. For example: “Question 3 required two limitations. My answer identifies them in the second paragraph, but the feedback states that none were provided.”
Refer to the relevant rubric, course material or instructions where appropriate. Explain the work that was actually submitted; do not replace it with a stronger answer written afterward.
Check the scope and possible outcomes before proceeding. University of Toronto Scarborough states that an exam reread can produce a higher or lower amended grade, and that the amended grade stands.
Consider whether you need feedback for learning, correction of an identifiable mistake or a formal reassessment. Each purpose deserves the appropriate next step.
Keep Records and Follow Through
Save appointment confirmations, permitted notes, submitted forms and written decisions in one folder. Include the course outline and grading scheme where you are allowed to retain them.
If a discussion happens verbally, send a short, accurate follow-up recording what you understood. Keep the tone factual and identify any outstanding action.
Students approaching graduation or leaving a program should also plan for continued access to official correspondence. Our guide to Toronto student account closures covers backing up important records before institutional access ends.
After a correction is approved, check that it appears in the official record. If the result remains unchanged, use the feedback to identify what to practise before the next assessment.
Note: Viewing arrangements, fees, deadlines and review procedures vary by institution and faculty. Consult your own school’s current rules. For an official example explaining the distinction between reassessment and recalculation, see Toronto Metropolitan University’s Policy 162(a).
