If you are asked to assist with marking, make sure you know what is expected of you. Ask yourself:

What are the expectations of the person setting the questions?
Is there a marking scheme/rubric?
Will there be ‘check-marking’ of the assignments by the lecturer and/or other markers?
What sort of feedback is expected by the lecturer and the students?

Some tips on marking: Have clear marking guidelines so that your grading is consistent. Use a random selection of assignments to get an overview of the student grasp of the topic. Select ‘good’ and ‘not so good’ papers to guide your grading. To get a general impression of the student’s work read the paper (quickly) before you begin to mark. If there are other graders, discuss with them the criteria. It might be useful if each grader picks a question and grades all the students’ responses to that question.

Scenario: What should I do if someone attacks my marking?

Make sure that you are using a marking schedule. The course coordinator should provide this. It makes it easier to be fair and consistent, particularly if there are multiple streams. Go over the assignment with the student. It may be a simple query, such as marks being added up wrong, or a question you have obviously marked wrongly or unfairly. Acknowledge that you have made a mistake, and correct the students’ mark.
If they are attacking something and you disagree with them, then try explaining to them why you gave them that mark. They may just need it to be clarified for them.
If they persist, then you could tell the student that you are happy to get someone else to look at their work and refer them to the course coordinator. You don’t want to appear uncooperative or unwilling to accommodate students’ queries.