Am I cut out for College/University?!

[mrdii]

My course is English Lit btw.

So last week I got a grade for my essay. Luckily it wasn't a marked, but if I'm honest I did put some work in to it. My grade was a fail, at 33%. It was a pretty bad feeling as I'd put work into it - and was basically told that although I'd tried hard, it was flawed from start to finish.

Now, if this was a one-off I wouldn't care, but it's before Christmas I also got a grade back for an un-marked essay, which was a low 2:2. This essay was hardly the stuff of Shakespeare, but a 2:2 for something with little work wasn't bad (I dossed on this essay, unlike the fail). However, my tutor had a 'private chat' with me and similar to the other, told me the essay was a piece of shit. They both said it whilst everything was poor, it was mainly the failure of concepts which I sucked at.

On the one hand, this really depresses me. I passed my first year with a low 2:2 which was ok, as I dossed and it counted for 0% of the total course, it was basically a pointless year. However, I thought I'd improve this year. As for my work ethic, I am neither a dosser or work-horse and I do miss the occasional lecture, but for the most part do the required readings and go to every seminar. In the seminars too, it seems my views/concepts are good and articulate, but when it comes to an essay I suck.

Going back to the first year, I say I got a 2:2 but it wasn't that simple. In my exams I got 2:1's, some higher than others. However, the problem was essays. One of the essays was 38%, another fail. Luckily I passed the module by getting a very high 2:1 which evened it out as a 3rd for that module. At the time I thought little of it, and believed I had just answered the entire thing wrong. However, one year one - and I'm struggling to get 2:2's in my essays which is very worrying. I don't want to come out of University in a years time with a 3rd or 2:2 which are quite poor for job prospects.

At the same time, I know I have the potential to do much better. I mean, some of the people in my courses are fucking MORONS of the highest order, who get good grades through blagging and knowing how to work the academic system. My entire life I was rubbish at school but worked hard did well in A-levels and now it seems I'm out of my depth, albeit I know I can do better.

I will start by reading more as I admit my reading could improve. However, what the fuck is wrong with me?! I've asked tutors and they've responded with things like "It will be ok, you just need to work on structure and concepts" which is a very vague response. Any help on how to do good essays/get good grades?

[wub]

Nothing wrong with a Desmond.

[leyenda]

Scrapped an Attila myself back in 2010...few jobs and travelling since then as can't get anything careerwise anyway. Probs best you don't end up with a Douglas or even worse a Christian though or you'll be well and truly fucked.

[mrdii]

I have no idea what Desmond, Attila, Douglas or Christian mean.

[kay]

Sounds like the perrenial problem of knowing what you want to write about, but not being able to structure it in a way that reads well or makes sense to others or presents conclusions in a conclusive way. Your best bet would be to sit down with a sympathetic tutor/lecturer and ask how you can structure things better. For example, pick a point you want to make, point it out in the essay, and ask them "This is the point I want to make, how can I make it clearer?". Next would be to look at essays that have done well and pick out how they've been structured. Ideally, you should write in such a way as to guide the reader from the beginning all the way to the conclusion that you want them to believe in. A typical structure is:
- Introduction - Give a brief background about the topic, perhaps hinting towards the points/slant you will be discussing.
- Discussion - Systematically run through the aspects of the topic which you believe are important. Do not jump from point to point. Make sure each point is made, discussed and concluded before moving on to the next point.
- Conclusion - Bring together all the points and conclusions you've made to paint the big picture
The structure can of course change depending on the subject, and extent of your piece. But the key thing is to discuss your points clearly and succinctly (don't ramble!), and to make clear conclusions. Each essay/report is a story - you need to set your scene, set out your hooks and put in your expositions.

Finally, read and re-read anything you write from the perspective of someone who doesn't know much about the subject. Consider whether they would be able to follow what you've written. If they can't then you may need to re-write it so that they can.

I've just spent the whole of last year wrestling with technical reports written by people who can't write reports. It's not as bad there because all the reporting is based on hard data, as opposed to your subject area where it's more subjective. But most of the time the reports were of poor quality simply because:
a) The writer didn't understand the subject or goals of the experiment/project
b) The writer set-up a flawed experiment
c) The writer did not analyse the data/information correctly
d) The writer failed to draw useful/obvious conclusions from the data
e) The writer failed to conclude anything about anything.
f) The writer put in all the correct things, but wrote it in such a way that it was either very confusing, or jumped from point to point in a very haphazard way
g) The formatting was shit

[JBoy]

It doesnt matter what mark you get overall, you'll still end up working at mcdonalds.

[hutyluty]

It doesnt matter what mark you get overall, you'll still end up working at mcdonalds.

lol, whole reason i went to uni was to put off mcdonalds for a further 3 years before accepting the inevitable


Which uni are you at OP?

[cosmic_surgeon]

How much time you spend preparing for a tutorial? There's a particular skill you need to develop with writing essays in knowing how to structure it correctly and the appropriate amount of space to devote to certain sections, both of which come with practice. How much time do you spend writing and researching essays? If your university offer advice seminars or workshops to help you develop your writing technique, go along to them.

If you wanna do well at uni you really need to have a passion for what you do. Find something about the area you're studying which you love and write about it. At least once a month write something. Even if it's something not strictly/presently covered on your course, it will help you with developing your thinking and writing skills.

[scspkr99]

Not wanting to be a dick but this is the problem with looking at the first year as a doss because the marks don't count to the final degree. This year is supposed to provide you with tools including critical thinking and the ability to express those thoughts. You get to build a relationship with the tutors who'll be inclined to help more as well as other students. You are going to need to grind it out if you can be bothered.

Not that I think there is anything inherently wrong with going to university and dossing for 3 years I'm just not sure you can do that and suddenly realise what the fuck you need to start doing half way through the course.

[Neptune]

I do english lit 2nd year as well.

What books are you doing? Are you doing any further reading (critics) to get a better understanding of the concepts?

[Pedro Sánchez]

Go heavy on LSD, PCP and Skag for three years and get a better perspective of life than the academia one.

[wilson]

If you wanna do well at uni you really need to have a passion for what you do.

QFT

[cheshirebeats]

I almost failed out of college last year in science with a 53% average, 3 failed courses and a withdrawn course, and this year I'm doing English Lit, I'm sitting around a 70% and all is well. Took a lot of work to get here though. Its important to do something you really enjoy or you just won't do well.
Honestly if you're NOT a work horse... Start being one. English isn't a simple thing, its incredibly abstract and difficult, and you need to work hard to be good at it.

Visit your university writing centre, go to office hours, read all the feedback on your essay, and if you only read the book once through, read it again.. Twice.
You can't get everything out of these novels the first time you read them, I did so much reading before finals last term so I was prepared, I took notes, dissected concepts, read other sources, and generally worked my ass off to figure out what this stuff is trying to say.
And if you're not getting concepts right, look the books up on spark notes or something. Best way to figure it out is to have someone tell you what to look for and then you can start figuring it out for yourself.

[magma]

Scrapped an Attila myself back in 2010...few jobs and travelling since then as can't get anything careerwise anyway. Probs best you don't end up with a Douglas or even worse a Christian though or you'll be well and truly fucked.

I have no idea what Desmond, Attila, Douglas or Christian mean.

I'm going with... Desmond 2:2, Douglas Third and Christian Fail.

[wub]

Christian Bale = Fail
Douglas Hurd = 3rd
Archbishop Desmond Tutu = 2:2
Attila The Hun = 2:1

[volcanogeorge]

damien hirst: 1st?

[leyenda]

wub knows the score

damien hirst: 1st?

Also heard a 3rd called a Vorderman as that's what she got at uni

[slothrop]

My girlfriend lectures literature - I'm a maths and computers type so I know sweet FA about essays and stuff, but the impression I get from her is that a lot of people who do badly on essays aren't failing because they aren't clever enough, they're failing because they're doing simple stuff wrong. The standard ones are things like:
including a load of stuff that's irrelevant to the question you've been set
making statements that you don't support with quotations from the text
not having a coherent structure ie not starting off with an introduction and ending with a conclusion

And all of the above could be symptoms of not redrafting enough.

Dunno if that helps.

The other big thing seems to be taking on feedback properly and not saying "yeah but no but" if the person marking your work tells you to do something differently... they've done a lot more of this stuff than you, they're probably right.

[wub]

MP Simon Burns (Chelmsford, Con.) got a 3rd class honours degree, and as such has the nickname at the House Of Commons of "Third Degree Burns".

[dubloke]

im third year at uni and I hate it. cant motivate myself to work until a couple days before work is due in. This was ok in 1st/ 2nd year but 3rd year it royally fucks you. felt for leaving uni but come this far so may as well finish it. (typing this as I'm meant to be revising for a Retail Marketing exam on the 26th and need to start a 3000 word proposal for the application of some kind of E-commerce to a business due in on the 25th )