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How would you feel getting 61 on a second year essay?

How would you feel getting 61 on a second year essay for a Humanities subject?

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Reply 1
Very disappointed.
Reply 2
I have some extenuating circumstances.
Reply 3
I thought you were asking how I would feel about it, not how I should feel about how you feel about it.
Don't be disheartened, we all have weaker subject areas and a 61 in one essay won't stop you from getting a decent degree classification. Take your essay feedback on board, learn from your mistakes and read up on the topics to get your knowledge up to scratch.
Reply 5
But seriously, it's an average grade, it's not awful, it's just not great. I don't know why you wouldn't be ok with it if there have been some negative circs impacting on you during the writing period.
Reply 6
Original post by TiggerTash
Don't be disheartened, we all have weaker subject areas and a 61 in one essay won't stop you from getting a decent degree classification. Take your essay feedback on board, learn from your mistakes and read up on the topics to get your knowledge up to scratch.


Can I still get a first overall despite getting just a 61 on this essay?

(This essay is 30% of a module which counts for a sixth of this year.)
Reply 7
I got a third in a piece of coursework in my second year (don't remember how much it was worth in that specific module though). I still got a first overall in my degree.
Reply 8
Original post by gjd800
But seriously, it's an average grade, it's not awful, it's just not great. I don't know why you wouldn't be ok with it if there have been some negative circs impacting on you during the writing period.


It's just that even the lecturer who anonymously marked it said 'you seem capable of producing much better work'. I know that my extenuating circumstances have stopped me reaching my ability. My last four essays of first year (which didn't count) were 67,67.68 and 63.

I seem to be getting worse and I am just worried that this 61 has diminished my chances of getting a first massively.
Reply 9
Original post by Tomm98
It's just that even the lecturer who anonymously marked it said 'you seem capable of producing much better work'. I know that my extenuating circumstances have stopped me reaching my ability. My last four essays of first year (which didn't count) were 67,67.68 and 63.

I seem to be getting worse and I am just worried that this 61 has diminished my chances of getting a first massively.


I assume your second and third years are weighted? if so then I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. You can recoup in the third year with strong assignment/exam performance, but I understand what you are getting at.

Do you think without these circumstances interfering that you are capable of pushing a 70-75?
Reply 10
Yeah, my second year counts for 40% and third year counts for 60%.

I definitely think that for the amount of work I did, I should be pushing 70-75, and am more than capable of doing so.
Absolutely! You could still get a first on the remainder of this module, and even if you don't it is more than possible to still get a first overall!
Reply 12
Suppose overall if I got something like 68%, but had suffered from quite severe and evidenced mitigating circumstances. Would the University consider this and potentially increase my classification to a first given the circumstances?
Reply 13
Original post by Tomm98
Yeah, my second year counts for 40% and third year counts for 60%.

I definitely think that for the amount of work I did, I should be pushing 70-75, and am more than capable of doing so.


Maybe you are stressing for no real reason, then! Did the marker include feedback? Was it fair and useful? The reason I ask is because in my experience, about 50% of students don't even bother reading all the feedback. They just look at the grade then email asking millions of questions which have been answered in the feedback, haha.

you could always contact the marker and ask them how you might tweak the paper to up the grade to a first. I can't imagine that they'd have any problem with that -you might find that there are just a few small things to tighten up on.
Reply 14
Original post by Tomm98
Suppose overall if I got something like 68%, but had suffered from quite severe and evidenced mitigating circumstances. Would the University consider this and potentially increase my classification to a first given the circumstances?


Usually (but I can't speak for every institution) they would consider mitigating circs on an assignment-by-assignment basis, so you might struggle to get them to consider the whole classification.
Reply 15
Original post by gjd800
Maybe you are stressing for no real reason, then! Did the marker include feedback? Was it fair and useful? The reason I ask is because in my experience, about 50% of students don't even bother reading all the feedback. They just look at the grade then email asking millions of questions which have been answered in the feedback, haha.

you could always contact the marker and ask them how you might tweak the paper to up the grade to a first. I can't imagine that they'd have any problem with that -you might find that there are just a few small things to tighten up on.


Yeah, they wrote comprehensive comments on their feedback sheet and to be fair, they are true and constructive.

I was feeling quite down when I wrote the essay and to be honest, this whole term. I just know that I am capable of so much more.

No one worked harder at me in school. However, because I am struggling to handle the social/independence side of Uni (I have mild Aspergers that causes me difficulties), I am struggling to perform to my potential there.

I do have an appointment with the module leader on Thursday to discuss in more detail and possibly have a cry.

I just work so hard and feel that this dent in my confidence may continue my slide and reduce my chances of getting a first.

I did work out though that the essay counts for 2% of my entire degree.
Reply 16
Original post by Tomm98
Yeah, they wrote comprehensive comments on their feedback sheet and to be fair, they are true and constructive.

I was feeling quite down when I wrote the essay and to be honest, this whole term. I just know that I am capable of so much more.

No one worked harder at me in school. However, because I am struggling to handle the social/independence side of Uni (I have mild Aspergers that causes me difficulties), I am struggling to perform to my potential there.

I do have an appointment with the module leader on Thursday to discuss in more detail and possibly have a cry.

I just work so hard and feel that this dent in my confidence may continue my slide and reduce my chances of getting a first.

I did work out though that the essay counts for 2% of my entire degree.


Sounds to me like you are already doing all the right things, especially in going and having a natter to the convener. I reckon you're a little too focussed on this one slightly disappointing grade - your last sentence just about sums it up. You can and will do better, just make sure that you tell the institution about the help you need and then take advantage of it. They will have things in place to support you, but it relies on you not being too proud to ask.

I really wouldn't get too worked up, it's not the end of the world and it seems like you know how and where you can improve next time out :biggrin:
Original post by Tomm98
Suppose overall if I got something like 68%, but had suffered from quite severe and evidenced mitigating circumstances. Would the University consider this and potentially increase my classification to a first given the circumstances?

One of my final year exams I was allowed to retake due to extenuating circumstances (I wasn't well and my mum was undergoing cancer treatment, among other things). Anyway, I was granted an option of an uncapped resit with the chance to graduate on time (think they referred to it as Graduation with Reassessment, the other was Graduation without Reassessment). My grade went from 53 to 75 in that particular exam (course work for the module was also a first). I was granted these options at graduation because I hadn't actually failed anything, hence was allowed to graduate regardless. So if possible you could look into submitting extenuating circumstances, and they might allow you to redo things that have been detrimentally affected by your extenuating circumstances. Might get a similar outcome to me?

The only times I can think of when they bump classifications up is when you've completed your degree and you're a borderline case. They may decide that you have enough work to warrant a higher overall classification because you already have enough credits in that higher range. I had 120 credits at an overall first class in my second and third/final year (30 of which related to my dissertation/final year project - some universities state your dissertation has to be of the higher classification to get the classification upgrade), and my degree mark was 69 - my university bumped me up to a first. Some other universities have other policies though to see whether or not borderline cases are "worthy" of the higher classification though, you'd have to check your student handbook.
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Tomm98
How would you feel getting 61 on a second year essay for a Humanities subject?


61 what? 61%? 61 out of 100? What grade is that equivalent to?
Dead inside.
I got a 63 in my third year, essentially because my lecturer is simply of a different opinion.
I wrote the most comprehensive dissertation progress report as well, got a 67 for it.
Wrote the most comprehensive essay on one of the other modules that I have, praised as best essay in the whole class; got a 67 for it.

I am not the kind of person who thinks I deserve more if I didn't; I got a 3rd once and I embraced it. I acknowledged I got the question entirely wrong.
My classification is essentially sealed now. Don't take humanities, kids.

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