GOGSoc goes forth

Oxford historian ... can't get much easier (unless you study English) in terms of contact time but in reality subjects are what you make of them! Reason I know that quote is because it's from the very last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. It's perhaps the most poignant moment in modern British television.

There's that much work in getting a PhD place?! You have to be experts on your proposal(s) to that extent? :scared:

Nor do I, and I've had this conversation with a lot of people, including the Faculty Dean. Something to do with accreditation (which drives me mad because it doesn't get me any exemptions from professional bodies!).

I just don't get econometrics. Linear regression just goes woooooooooosh over my head and it's got lots of letters that mean **** all.

"e" for example. What is the point? It means nothing! It's an imaginary thing that some economics or maths guy came up with!

Never a truer word said. Almost all arts subjects can be total dosses or virtually 24/7, depending on how much effort you put in. Sadly, from what I've seen, wherever you fall on this you're likely to end up with a 2:1.

Such is the scale of the 2:1 boundary. I know people who did naff all and scraped a 2:1, I know others who worked their backsides off and got a 2:1...

And here's me still slightly annoyed about doing almost naff-all and not getting a 1st

Almost all arts subjects can be total dosses or virtually 24/7, depending on how much effort you put in. Sadly, from what I've seen, wherever you fall on this you're likely to end up with a 2:1.

Yes to the first sentence. As far as the second goes though, I'm not sure about that. This is where the question of natural flair comes in. If a talented student really does work ludicrously and still gets a 2:1, they're probably just not working in the right way.

Congrats on your engagement by the way. I'm engaged myself, and my ring is actually very similar to Helen's (= good choice!)

Yes to the first sentence. As far as the second goes though, I'm not sure about that. This is where the question of natural flair comes in. If a talented student really does work ludicrously and still gets a 2:1, they're probably just not working in the right way. [...]

I do miss it, but working for a living has its perks

I agree with you here, you need to find out *how* to work, not just to work a lot. In my final year, once I worked out exactly how much reading I needed to do and how to use it properly I started getting very good essay marks, despite dedicating probably the same amount of time to essays as I had been in my 1st and 2nd years. Something just "clicked", so to speak.

Haha always the way isn't it? I feel like that about my MA, if I'd done just a little more work...
Hopefully though, I'll be able to put that behind me next Sep and start afresh but can't see it happening *sighs*

How's all things health wise?

Yeh that seems a common trend.
I cottoned on to a good argumentation style half way through my second year, which was what got me a first that time round. It wasn't until third year that I found a way of writing up a three thousand word essay in three hours on two days reading and still getting predicted firsts.
The annoying thing is that this sort of skill isn't obvious and academics and teachers behave as though its some great secret. They should just tell students how to not waste time and think properly. I had an absolutely wretched first year, losing nights of sleep reading far more than physically healthy.

Yeah that is true, about the secret thing. At undergrad we received so little guidance on how to structure and write essays. It was basically just trial and error and sometimes 3/4 years just isn't long enough to figure it out, especially if you receive poor feedback on your essays. A levels really don't prepare you properly, IMO, especially when it comes to silly but important things like how to take notes properly so it saves you time when referencing. The amount of people who I knew at uni that spent a whole day going back through their essays to reference and having to go back to the library to check the books again...!

I have to teach a group of first years tomorrow in the capacity of 'Academic Writing Tutor'. I've marked one batch of their essays so far, and I really don't know where to start. I have fifty minutes to get through to them, but at the moment their basic style, structure, and content is all so wrong I honestly have no idea where to begin. I envisioned being able to, as you say, divulge all the 'secrets' that your lecturers don't tell you, but I don't know if these secrets are going to be of any use to them when the standard is so low. It's a bit of a nightmare really. I don't want to patronise them, but at the same time the level of the class is going to have to be so basic that they'll probably end up feeling very patronised or babied.

Teaching is so hard

It may be an appalling thing to admit (thank god for internet anonymity!), but when I was a first year I found the essay writing portions of this book extremely useful. And in the end, it did what was promised to me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Get-First-Essential-Routledge/dp/0415317339/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_i#reader_0415317339

So you may suggest it or get a hold of it yourself and base a seminar on those chapters.
Also, one way I've done passive how-to-write-an-essay-teaching as a long-term strategy is to make up an essay question around the topic of a seminar. Go through how to pick apart the question with them, and then formulate a discussion around what the key concepts are, what the contention is, guiding the arguments and how to synthesize a conclusion from the collaborative class discussion. My room had a whiteboard so that helped a lot.

I have to teach a group of first years tomorrow in the capacity of 'Academic Writing Tutor'. I've marked one batch of their essays so far, and I really don't know where to start. I have fifty minutes to get through to them, but at the moment their basic style, structure, and content is all so wrong I honestly have no idea where to begin. I envisioned being able to, as you say, divulge all the 'secrets' that your lecturers don't tell you, but I don't know if these secrets are going to be of any use to them when the standard is so low. It's a bit of a nightmare really. I don't want to patronise them, but at the same time the level of the class is going to have to be so basic that they'll probably end up feeling very patronised or babied.

Teaching is so hard

Wait. First years get an 'academic writing tutor'? Is this because of such low standards of essays or what?

Have to say my experience of undergrad essays was that advice was available if you were prepared to be an adult and actually ask for it. No hands being held and people in my year did fail some first year assignments. Referencing wise, it was all in the handbook which you ignored at your peril. Remember a comment on a friend's third year essay saying 'good referencing but refer to handbook again.... Never mind, it's too late for you'