How to deal with a messed up assignment?

I had a group project, I'm not trying to blame anyone because I was part of the group too and maybe I should have communicated better on my part, but I'm trying to give context. Many of my group members were too busy or "busy" to be in class, so I had to do a lot of the project alone. I messed it up and when I realised it, it was already too late. The group will ask questions I don't know the answers to and I'm too stressed about how I'm going to write a report when I don't even understand my own project anymore.

I think I'm going to fail this one, it's my second year of uni and first semester. I feel awful, incredibly awful about this failure and I'm embarrassed. The only good thing is that I know what went wrong with the project but it's too late to make any changes. I know that not every assignment will go the way I want, but it still feels awful and I really don't know how to deal with these feelings. I could speak to my professor but I feel like it's just embarrassing to admit to so many faults even if it makes me look human.

Reply 1

University of Strathclyde

Official Rep

15

Original post by Anonymous #1

I had a group project, I'm not trying to blame anyone because I was part of the group too and maybe I should have communicated better on my part, but I'm trying to give context. Many of my group members were too busy or "busy" to be in class, so I had to do a lot of the project alone. I messed it up and when I realised it, it was already too late. The group will ask questions I don't know the answers to and I'm too stressed about how I'm going to write a report when I don't even understand my own project anymore.

I think I'm going to fail this one, it's my second year of uni and first semester. I feel awful, incredibly awful about this failure and I'm embarrassed. The only good thing is that I know what went wrong with the project but it's too late to make any changes. I know that not every assignment will go the way I want, but it still feels awful and I really don't know how to deal with these feelings. I could speak to my professor but I feel like it's just embarrassing to admit to so many faults even if it makes me look human.

Hey Anon! So sorry to hear about how stressful this project has been ☹️ Like you say - you're only human and mistakes are made, and how we react to them can be a big learning curve in itself. Sometimes a big part of uni projects is evaluation, and being able to take a step back when you write the report and acknolwedge what could have been done differently will bring value to the report. I'd say speak to your professor in advance of the hand in and give some context of what went on within the project. Let them know that you've understood now what to do with hindsight and ask how to approach the reporting elements.

This also isn't all on you though. It sounds like your team members have let you down. Group work can be so challenging trying to bring everyone on board, and if they didn't get involved then they can't put all the blame on you. I'd say you should try tackle it head on with them, and admit it's not gone the way you wanted it to but be clear with what you need from them going forward and that you'd appreciate bringing the 'team' element back to try finish it off together.

What degree is it you're studying? Is the project weighed heavily across your year?

Caitlin 🎓️
Official University of Strathclyde Rep

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 2

cheadle

17

Just get the assessment in, do the best you can with it, go back over the assessment bief really carefully to make make sure you aren't missing anything out and covering all requirements. If there is a self-evaluation section, be honest and don't blame other people. Hopefully by doing all this, you will pass the assessment and then you can put it behind you and move on. My feeling is there is little point talking to your tutor because usualy in these situations they will say "it's a group project, and it's the group's responsbility to sort stuff like this out".

Original post by Anonymous #1

I had a group project, I'm not trying to blame anyone because I was part of the group too and maybe I should have communicated better on my part, but I'm trying to give context. Many of my group members were too busy or "busy" to be in class, so I had to do a lot of the project alone. I messed it up and when I realised it, it was already too late. The group will ask questions I don't know the answers to and I'm too stressed about how I'm going to write a report when I don't even understand my own project anymore.

I think I'm going to fail this one, it's my second year of uni and first semester. I feel awful, incredibly awful about this failure and I'm embarrassed. The only good thing is that I know what went wrong with the project but it's too late to make any changes. I know that not every assignment will go the way I want, but it still feels awful and I really don't know how to deal with these feelings. I could speak to my professor but I feel like it's just embarrassing to admit to so many faults even if it makes me look human.

Hi there,

This sounds hard and it can be very stressful when you feel like you have not done your best in an assignment.

Firstly I would say to not be too hard on yourself! Mistakes happen and you have acknowledged it. Also, it sounds like your group have not been very helpful- maybe if they had helped with the project, between you someone would've realised the mistake. So just explain the situation to them and explain that you felt left to do it all.

I would also say to talk to your tutor as they may be able to help you, or reassure you that it will be okay. Also, try and speak to your academic advisor as they may be able to help you with this too.

Feeling like you may fail is hard, especially now you are in second year but it's not the end of the world! You know what the mistake was now so you won't make it again and you can still make it up!

I hope this helps,
Lucy -SHU student ambassador

Original post by Anonymous #1

I had a group project, I'm not trying to blame anyone because I was part of the group too and maybe I should have communicated better on my part, but I'm trying to give context. Many of my group members were too busy or "busy" to be in class, so I had to do a lot of the project alone. I messed it up and when I realised it, it was already too late. The group will ask questions I don't know the answers to and I'm too stressed about how I'm going to write a report when I don't even understand my own project anymore.

I think I'm going to fail this one, it's my second year of uni and first semester. I feel awful, incredibly awful about this failure and I'm embarrassed. The only good thing is that I know what went wrong with the project but it's too late to make any changes. I know that not every assignment will go the way I want, but it still feels awful and I really don't know how to deal with these feelings. I could speak to my professor but I feel like it's just embarrassing to admit to so many faults even if it makes me look human.

Hey!

I’m so sorry you’re feeling like this - definitely been there with group work and know how frustrating and stressful it can be!

As suggested above, definitely reach out to the tutor and highlight how you had to deal with the majority of the workload and therefore struggled to fully understand/complete the assignment. They will understand that group work is tough and that people often do not participate, so hopefully will advise!! I would say contacting them as early as possible is always best as they can sort the problem asap, but in this case I’m sure they will be empathetic.

Best of luck with everything & hope it all works out!

Natalie
university of Kent Student Rep

Reply 5

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

16

Original post by Anonymous #1

I had a group project, I'm not trying to blame anyone because I was part of the group too and maybe I should have communicated better on my part, but I'm trying to give context. Many of my group members were too busy or "busy" to be in class, so I had to do a lot of the project alone. I messed it up and when I realised it, it was already too late. The group will ask questions I don't know the answers to and I'm too stressed about how I'm going to write a report when I don't even understand my own project anymore.

I think I'm going to fail this one, it's my second year of uni and first semester. I feel awful, incredibly awful about this failure and I'm embarrassed. The only good thing is that I know what went wrong with the project but it's too late to make any changes. I know that not every assignment will go the way I want, but it still feels awful and I really don't know how to deal with these feelings. I could speak to my professor but I feel like it's just embarrassing to admit to so many faults even if it makes me look human.

Anon,

How much is the group project worth for your module?

Hopefully, there are still a lot of marks that you can pick up from an assignment or exam, so try and keep things in perspective that even if this part of the module doesn't score well, you can still pick up good marks for the rest of it.

Also remember that the main thing is that you pass, so do check the marking criteria to see if there is anything else that needs to be done and try and engage the other group members to look at the work and to see what they think can be done to improve it.

If part of the assignment is reflection/evaluation as has been mentioned, use it to pick up marks. Remember that reflecting is not giving yourself a hard time and just being negative (reflecting can also be positive), but it's breaking down how the group project went. What can be learnt? How it has improved your knowledge? What did it encourage you to find out more about or look up? What you would do differently next time?

Everyone is responsible when things don't go well, so try not to blame yourself.

All the best,

Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield

How to deal with a messed up assignment?

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