Durham General Chat Thread

Don't bother. I've just got back my very first summative essay from Level 2. Meaning the very first piece of work I've done at university that actually counts towards my degree.

I spent the best part of TWO WEEKS researching and writing that essay. I had numerous sources, some of which were the leading academics in the field. I wrote it over two days, and printed it out twice, reading it through and making corrections before a final printout. I thought it was perfect.

I got it back today and got an awful grade for it and some semi-insulting remarks on the feedback form. I am now in a state of mourning my degree. If I can't get an essay right that I spent that much time and effort on, what are my chances in the exams?

Seriously considering several "radical" options (including switching my degree...if it's even possible at this point!)

Also I may be ending my lovely registration to TSR. I need to sort my degree out, quick.

Yes, it was that module! I can't stand it either. I'm so glad you thought so too! Does my head in. Ita's very nice, but that's it! It was the project that I was doing, I think the essays are for another couple of weeks, thank goodness, but I think they'll be on La Dolce Vita or Il Sorpasso. So I might have to take you up on your offer of help, thank you very much!

What counts as an 'awful grade'? And do you seriously spend that much time on TSR that it'll affect your degree?

I could have written both your recent posts Dobbs and I'm going through pretty much exactly the same thing.

I got an essay back that I actually got a worse mark for than yours (and I'm a third year) and although I knew it was poor I never expected to get the mark that I did. My real problem though has been the second essay I got back. I put weeks of solid effort into it (more probably than I've ever put into any essay), I read more than ever, I drafted and redrafted it and none of it was written the night before. And I ended up with a worse mark than I've had for essays read and written pretty much in 24 hours. So I now can't see the point of trying if I'm going to do terribly anyway. I've not been feeling good about being here for a while and so I set myself a minimum grade that if I didn't get for this essay I'd leave but I set a target so low I thought I'd easily get over. And I didn't. It's shaken me so much.

Hope things get better for you.

Shame, but what you have to realise is that essay mark counted for 33% of one of my modules - the other 67% coming from an exam. Many of my friends may have a lot more work (i.e. little tests, lab books, etc.) but they all count for like 5% of a module or something stupid like that.

I hate how they put such a high weighting on just ONE essay. I'd seriously rather do 20 essays which counted each for 2% rather than one that counted for 40%

It is only 2% of your total degree, you know. And we all have crappy essays from time to time. Still, I know how stuff like that can just build up on you and make you feel like dog poo. Why don't you get out of Durham this weekend - just go home for the day or something?

Hope you feel a bit happier soon. *hug*

I have a tutorial I have to prepare for on Tuesday (a 2min speech and two-300 word statements on whether we should colonise the moon!). I have to do background reading on Liverpool and Art Galleries, and from tomorrow I will have to do reading on Social Representations of Scale. Yep, it's all piling on top of me!

1) Don't colonise the moon, it's further away than Stockton
2) Liverpool is where scallies and the Beatles come from. They have no art.
3) Social scale is...erm...big

There, I've done your work for you. Don't suppose you know anything about court masques in Caroline times, do you?