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In some cases, when they find out your average grade, they take away your worst, or so I'm led to believe...
Actual grade aside (don't worry about it too much, seeing as it's your first one), most universities tend to use your first submission as a 'practice' (although it's still graded and typically still counts!) for you to develop your academic writing style. I wouldn't worry about; just absorb the feedback you've been given and try to amend your mistakes in future submissions. :smile:
Reply 3
Grades at university (as far as I know; I believe the OU is a bit different) work on the following scale:

70%+ First
60%-69% 2:1
50%-59% 2:2
40%-49% Third
39% or below, fail/ordinary degree

So 58% isn't bad at all :smile: You want to come out with a 2:1 at the end of your degree, if at all possible, or above. But considering that it's your first assignment, it might not even count towards your degree, you're still learning how things work, and you're only 2% off a 2:1 anyway, that's really not bad going at all. Don't drop out! I'd recommend talking to your tutors/etc to ask what you can do to improve, because that's general good practice whenever you get work back, but I really wouldn't be too concerned about that :yep:

(Other posters, feel free to correct me if I have the grades/percentages system wrong - I'm but a first-year :tongue:)
Similar thing happened to me when I had to do an essay last year, and it was a bit of a downer.

I don't think you should drop out, but I know very little about your situation other than that one grade.
i got 42% in my first but should get a 1st class overall
Reply 6
Original post by kerily
Grades at university (as far as I know; I believe the OU is a bit different) work on the following scale:

70%+ First
60%-69% 2:1
50%-59% 2:2
40%-49% Third
39% or below, fail/ordinary degree

So 58% isn't bad at all :smile: You want to come out with a 2:1 at the end of your degree, if at all possible, or above. But considering that it's your first assignment, it might not even count towards your degree, you're still learning how things work, and you're only 2% off a 2:1 anyway, that's really not bad going at all. Don't drop out! I'd recommend talking to your tutors/etc to ask what you can do to improve, because that's general good practice whenever you get work back, but I really wouldn't be too concerned about that :yep:

(Other posters, feel free to correct me if I have the grades/percentages system wrong - I'm but a first-year :tongue:)


Thank you!! That's made me feel better haha! Yeah I've got appointments for feedback & stuff so that'll be really helpful! Don't know how it's been for you but I've been absolutely swamped with essays these past couple of weeks - so much for 1st year being easy eh?!

Thanks for the reply, really helpful :smile:
no keep at it... 40% is a pass... 70% is a first...
58 out of 70 is pretty good going ...
your still getting used to the change of assessment, moving away from college way of doing things into uni way of doing things...
58 is something to be proud of... i spent my last year praying just for a 40... lol


oh and that swamped feeling you'll get used to it.. lol
x
Reply 8
Original post by L'Amour Toujours
Actual grade aside (don't worry about it too much, seeing as it's your first one), most universities tend to use your first submission as a 'practice' (although it's still graded and typically still counts!) for you to develop your academic writing style. I wouldn't worry about; just absorb the feedback you've been given and try to amend your mistakes in future submissions. :smile:


Thanks , yeah that's kinda what I was hoping! Yeah definitely, keep telling myself I only need to pass to get through it at first haha! Feeling a bit like I've been thrown in at the deep end haha!
Thanks for your reply :smile:
Reply 9
Your grades in the first year are completely downweighted to the overall outcome of your degree. By this I mean that your grades in Year 1 only account for maybe 5% of your actual degree grade, so you shouldn't worry. In fact, my first year didn't at all go toward the outcome of my degree, it was based on an average of scores across year 2 and 3 and my dissertation.

58% is not bad for a first assignment, but you need to speak to your personal tutor and find out what they were looking for, what you didn't achieve, as well as what you did, so you know what you got right and can continue with the positives.

Not worth dropping out over, just put the effort in.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 10
Original post by Charlottey!
Thank you!! That's made me feel better haha! Yeah I've got appointments for feedback & stuff so that'll be really helpful! Don't know how it's been for you but I've been absolutely swamped with essays these past couple of weeks - so much for 1st year being easy eh?!

Thanks for the reply, really helpful :smile:


'Your second year of sixth form/college is easier than your first year of university' is a lie they tell you to persuade you to go to university, I think :teehee: I don't have essays (I do maths, so there's not so much to write about :wink:) but I have problem sheets galore.

I'd also recommend finding out what percentage your years count in :smile: Obviously you want to try and do as well as you can in everything you do, but you might be in the happy situation that your first year doesn't count towards your degree class - mine is 7% of my degree overall, and I know a lot of people who only need to get 40% or more in order to progress to second year, and nothing else matters. Universities know you'll be finding it hard to settle in and balance workload/freedom/cooking for yourself/etc, and they tend to make the first year count for less to compensate for that :smile:
Original post by Charlottey!
Thanks , yeah that's kinda what I was hoping! Yeah definitely, keep telling myself I only need to pass to get through it at first haha! Feeling a bit like I've been thrown in at the deep end haha!
Thanks for your reply :smile:


It can be a little disorientating, but it's definitely not worth dropping out when you're so close to a 2:1 and especially if you're otherwise enjoying your course. Practice makes perfect and all that jazz; you just have to stick with it and things will undoubtedly improve as you get into the swing of it!
Reply 12
Original post by Charlottey!

Original post by Charlottey!
Thank you!! That's made me feel better haha! Yeah I've got appointments for feedback & stuff so that'll be really helpful! Don't know how it's been for you but I've been absolutely swamped with essays these past couple of weeks - so much for 1st year being easy eh?!

Thanks for the reply, really helpful :smile:


I was led to believe so too. It's a general myth in my opinion. They probably mean that 1st year is easy compared to 2nd and 3rd year.

Anyway 58% is good enough and you're just on the borderline to getting a 2.1 so I'll just advice you to work hard and concentrate on your next piece of assignment and stop worrying about this previous one. It's still 1st year so you can make all the mistakes now which will make you a better student ready for 2nd and 3rd year :smile:
Are you kidding me? That's great!
Okay, so it seems low when you look at it but considering it's your FIRST assignment...I don't see the problem?!
Of course it's going to seem crap compared to what you got in sixth form but that's because you're getting to grips with a totally different level of work.
Original post by Charlottey!
Just not too sure how they grade it at uni and it seems reaaally **** compared to what I used to get at sixth form and that haha :/
Basically should I just drop out haha?!?!


I got 52 on my first essay, finished the year with a solid 2:1. It's very normal.
Reply 15
My first assignment for Philosophy is first year was absolutely dire! I got a St Andrews 9 which is a 3rd and that terrified me! I had had a gap year and had only done science A-levels so my essay writing ability was pretty poor. However, I went to the tutor for feedback and before doing the next essay I approached my tutor to bounce some ideas off him. I then got a 19 in the next essay which is a very high first. It just took some time to find my feet with writing a Philosophy essay and now my essay grades are consistently high. It's all about learning to adapt your writing style to the task and you will, with a little work, come round to it. Don't worry! :biggrin:
During my first essay feedback I was told that I shouldn't be at university and should drop out

I'm doing a bit better now.
Reply 17
Get the feedback and use it to improve your marks on future work, it's a big part of the educational process. They actually expect your first few assignments to be a bit sucky and you're really not doing badly at all.
It's an opportunity, not a problem;-)
Reply 18
I got around 57 i think, still came out with a first overall :smile:
Reply 19
Original post by Aeschylus
During my first essay feedback I was told that I shouldn't be at university and should drop out


:eek: I know feedback is hardly meant to be needlessly flattering, but... that's a bit far - I think I would actually seriously consider dropping out if a tutor said that to me :s-smilie:

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