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Failed second Masters essay

I've received results from my second essay on a module for my MA.

The first essay I scraped a pass with 51 - as literally everyone else did. This second essay however I failed, getting 48 while others got between 57 and 68. I've never failed a university essay and even got a distinction in my undergrad, so this has been a really shock and hard to process.

Any advice from people who have turned around from failing essays to getting good marks? I need light at the end of the tunnel!

Reply 1

cheadle

There is always a bedding in period with a new course, learning about how things are marked, how the different tutors mark, etc. The 48% has been a shock and the tutor has clearly decided to hold you at a fail rather than giving you a pass grade of, say, 50%, so your mission is to work out why - you need to dissect the feedback and work out what went wrong. Hopefully, there will be something obvious which you can fix next time round. A bad mark does not define you, no matter how much it feels that way. Treat this as a learning experience to move on from. Come back if you want to chew over the feedback.

Reply 2

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

Original post by Crotation

@Crotation

Don't doubt your writing ability!

When you are writing essays and assignments and you are not getting the results you would expect, then I think it's really easy to start thinking things like ' I can't write well. I am not the writer I thought I was. I am not a good writer. I would not have got this result if I was good at writing etc... etc...'

It's important to remember that different types of writing requires different skills and that it might be you are not structuring your writing in an expected manner or that the content of the work either lacks material or there's so much material that it's not flowing well.

If you can get feedback, do, so you can understand what it is specifically they are looking for from your work. Try and remember great pieces of writing that you've done in the past so that you can boost your confidence. Finally, read anything that inspires you. I find if I am struggling to write well, reading great writing helps me to express myself better.

Hope that helps,

Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield

Reply 3

YSJstudents

Official Rep

I'm currently studying my masters as well, and have found the jump in difficulty and workload quite large, when compared to undergraduate. Your not on your own, as many students also struggle with the jump from undergraduate degrees to postgraduate degrees. Have you read through your feedback yet? Maybe book a meeting in with your lecturer to ask on what a pass grade would look like or for some further feedback and advice.

Suzan - Student Ambassador