University lecturers have been asked to stop using capital letters when assigning work to students - citing the argument that using upper case could 'generate anxiety'.
The memo was sent out to staff of the journalism department at Leeds Trinity University, and suggested ways in which lecturers could address their students so as not to 'scare them into failure', including writing in a friendly tone and avoiding overbearing or negative language.
The memo said: "Despite our best attempts to explain assessment tasks, any lack of clarity can generate anxiety and even discourage students from attempting the assessment at all."
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It advised against using capital letters for emphasis and the overuse of 'do' or 'don't'.
According to the Express, the memo insinuated that writing a word in capital letters could make the task seem more difficult to students, in turn worrying them.
However, one unnamed lecturer reportedly said capitalising words helped ensure people didn't miss an important part of the assignment, telling the paper that despite students being intelligent, many feel the education system wishes to treat them like children.
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The lecturer said: "We have some excellent students but it's a constant battle against a system that wants to treat them like little kids. We are not doing our students any favours with this kind of nonsense."
A spokesperson for Leeds Trinity told the Express the advice was simply sharing 'best practice from the latest teaching research', adding: "We take pride in supporting our students to be the very best they can be."
The news follows reports that the University of Manchester had banned whooping and clapping and replaced those with 'jazz hands', in order to make campus life more accessible.
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The idea was tabled by the University of Manchester's Liberation and Access officer Sara Khan, who proposed replacing traditional clapping with British Sign Language (BSL) clapping - something that involves waving with both hands.
The 'Making Senate More Accessible' motion called for the softer method be introduced to protect students who suffer from sensory disabilities, and was quickly passed by the Student Union's Senate and means clapping will be banned from union debates, panels and talks.
Never one to shy away from a debate, Piers Morgan also got involved and had his say, telling Good Morning Britain viewers: "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands' - that's going to have to go now, isn't it?
"If you're happy and you know it and you want to clap your hands, be careful - it may trigger anxiety. So, if you're happy, don't clap your hands, children."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Leeds, Students, News, UK