Professor had special rules about formatting in essays and expected every student to follow them, one student complied, but it wasn’t what he expected: ‘By the next essay, the formatting section of the syllabus had basically doubled in length.’

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María Cetra • Writer
Aug 19, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

If you want students to follow your instructions to the T, then make them clear enough for that…

I remember when I was in school, I was the kind of student who always complied with what the teachers asked. I used to be one of those students that only got A's and was always noted as "the good student" or "the model student". In the long run, it actually ended up doing a number on me as I started to get incredibly anxious about academics and obsessed with grades. But the good part was being noted and liked by teachers for my efforts and test scores. I remember that it got to a point where I was so advanced with class tasks that I went home and had no homework. I was always working towards doing my best and being the best at school. When, in reality, it wasn't really that important.

Because of how I behaved at school, I actually miss all the pranks and giggles that other students were doing. I was not included in them as I was too busy paying attention. I remember thinking I was better than other students because I actually focused in school, but later on I realized that I just missed all the fun. That's why in my last year I tried to chill a bit. I got more involved with other classmates and even pulled a prank with them. It was something really simple and not mean at all. It didn't even get us punished. But it was nice to get a peek of both worlds. Being the straight-A student and pulling a prank on the teachers.

Now that school has been over for a while for me, it's nice to have some fun memories to think about apart from just remembering myself studying all the time. With the story of u/DoublePreparation241, I got to remember the fun parts of school. Maybe this story is some kind of malicious compliance to the person that did it, but for me it seems just a funny, non-malicious prank to make the teacher more aware of himself. It didn't cause any real issues, and it made this user have a fun time doing it. So, staying in the funny pranks students pull in school, do you remember any that you did? 

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  • 01
    This was sophomore year, some gen ed English class I only took because | needed the credit. My professor, I will just call him Dr. H, was known across the whole department for being insane about formatting. Not the normal MLA or APA stuff, he had his own extra rules stapled onto the syllabus on top of that. Font, margins, spacing, where the page numbers had to go, all graded completely separate from the actual writing. About three weeks into the semester someone asked what happens if you do not
    via DoublePreparation241
  • 02
    A professor talking to a student at school. Scene shown is a visual representation.
    via ThisisEngineering

    A professor talking to a student at school.

    Scene shown is a visual representation. 

  • 03
    because I wrote it down out of spite, that if you follow his instructions exactly as written you get full formatting credit, no exceptions, no partial credit for close enough. Cool. Noted. So that weekend I actually read the formatting section of the syllabus line by line instead of skimming it like everyone else did. Two things jumped out. First, it said the title needs to be centered. It never said what the title had to say, just that it had to be centered. Second, it said your name needs to a
    via DoublePreparation241
  • 04
    said how many times. For the next essay my title was just the word "Essay," centered, huge font because there was no size limit listed either. My header had my name in it eleven separate times because technically that still satisfies "your name needs to appear in the header." I also put page numbers on every single page, including a blank works cited page that had nothing on it except the number seven. Turned it in feeling pretty proud of myself honestly.
    via DoublePreparation241
  • 05
    Got it back and he had docked me formatting points with a note that just said "unprofessional presentation." Next class I raised my hand and asked him to point to the specific rule I had broken. He couldn't, because I hadn't broken a single one, I had just followed them further than anyone expected anyone to. Then I brought up his own quote from a few weeks earlier, in front of the whole room. He was obviously annoyed but couldn't argue with his own words without looking ridiculous in front of 4
    via DoublePreparation241
  • 06
    syllabus had basically doubled in length and every loophole I used was individually closed. 10/10 would exploit a poorly written rule again.
    via DoublePreparation241
  • 07
    A classroom with a board, tables, and chairs for students to sit in.
    via Ivan Aleksic

    A classroom with a board, tables, and chairs for students to sit in. 

  • 08
    juntar74 I would have titled my essay "Centered", because the title has to be centered.
    via juntar74
  • 09
    arizonaraynebows As a teacher, I hate you. As a general rule- breaker, this is brilliant. I despise these professors who add an abundance of specific random rules for tge sake of being ultra pretentious.
    via arizonaraynebows
  • 10
    HaroerHaktak Share the formatting rules. We the hive mind can find more exploits to use and ab e.
    via HaroerHaktak
  • 11
    Anachronisticpoet >> "Not the normal MLA or APA stuff, he had his own extra rules stapled onto the syllabus on top of that. Font, margins, spacing, where the page numbers had to go," These are all aspects of MLA and APA, btw. Professors list them specifically because otherwise students don't do them.
    via Anachronisticpoet
  • 12
    vampyrewolf Reminds me of my grade 11 Chem teacher, he had 2 quirks... Always said "read the instructions first", and always handed out 3 or 4 different exams so your neighbors couldn't cheat. Every lab was sitting out on the front table to work through at your own pace, with clear target dates on them (ie "lab 4 by 10 Oct), as that was what the exams were based on. Those of us clearly ahead of the class got exams with instructions that more or less said " do the last 3 questions and hand it in"
    via vampyrewolf
  • 13
    Had a few exams with a "1/1 + 10 bonus" marks. There were other exams scattered throughout the room with similar directions but if folks don't read the instructions they're not going to figure it out.
    via vampyrewolf
  • 14
    Orsurac Well, this certainly is malicious. Nothing you described being malicious about complying with sounded unreasonable though tbh. Just sounds like you wanted to be malicious about someone who's style was to be more clear and structured in expectations than most. I mostly feel for that teacher.
    via Orsurac
  • 15
    Fabulous-Tartlet Or maybe spend more time on writing a good essay instead of messing with the formating rules just to off the teacher. Rules which actually make sense if pitching to say - a literary agent.
    via Fabulous-Tartlet
  • 16
    Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss So... you got full formatting credit for that paper, and then you got a zero for the rest of it because it had no content.
    via Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss
  • 17
    stellesbells Maybe I'm missing something here. Did your actions benefit future students in any way? It sounds like his written instructions became longer and more specific, but you don't mention people struggling to understand them in the first place, so, what? Now they just have more words to read through to end up in the same place?
    via stellesbells

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