It's kind of appalling that students often ask professors this question: "how do they want us to answer this?"
This is on exams, homework assignments, labs--all of which were written by the professor.
It seems there's some sort of disconnect between the student and the professor. As if the professor is just a conduit or an intermediary between the textbook and the student. This goes back even farther than college, as I recall this happening in high school.
Maybe the fact that some teachers were given such strict curricula that they could barely deviate without upsetting someone was the reason for this behaviour.
What's interesting is observing the professor's face immediately after hearing a question phrased this way. The expression reads: "am I a they? am I anonymous to my own students?" Basically the professor can realize at this point that he or she can make the questions harder and still have a non-corporeal entity to dump the blame on. Or the professor can realize that the train has left the station.
