Examiner defends points for profanity

LONDON, June 30 (UPI) -- A chief examiner for Britain's General Certificate of General Education English tests has defended his practice of awarding points for proper profanity use.

The work of Peter Buckroyd, chief examiner of English for the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, and trainee examiners has come under scrutiny after it was revealed a student was awarded points for spelling and successfully conveying a meaning after answering a written essay question with a profane word for fornication followed by the word "off," The Times of London reported Monday.

Buckroyd said the answer -- which was given in response to an exam question instructing students to "Describe the room you're sitting in" -- met the requirements for minimum marks, including demonstrating "some simple sequencing of ideas" and "some words in appropriate order."

The student received two points out of 27, but could have gotten more if he had punctuated the response.

"It would be wicked to give it zero, because it does show some very basic skills we are looking for -- like conveying some meaning and some spelling," Buckroyd said. "It's better than someone that doesn't write anything at all. It shows more skills than somebody who leaves the page blank."