Grades have improved, how do I improve them even more?

I am returning to university as a second-year student in September, I study Drama.

In Semester one, my grades were really bad, they were averaging between 39% and 49%. The final assignment came back yesterday, all marked. My grades have been between 48% and 68%. I can see this is a massive improvement.

However, the first year doesn't count towards the final grades. I want to do a Master's, I already know the uni and Master's I want to do, they require a first. How do I improve my grades? I want to go to this university, if I continue with the way my grades are now, I won't get in.

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I am returning to university as a second-year student in September, I study Drama.
In Semester one, my grades were really bad, they were averaging between 39% and 49%. The final assignment came back yesterday, all marked. My grades have been between 48% and 68%. I can see this is a massive improvement.
However, the first year doesn't count towards the final grades. I want to do a Master's, I already know the uni and Master's I want to do, they require a first. How do I improve my grades? I want to go to this university, if I continue with the way my grades are now, I won't get in.

Hi.

Firstly, it is great to hear you're determined to complete your Master's degree. Motivation definitely helps.

I would 100% make use of the services available to you at your university. For example, my university has a department dedicated to helping us with our academic skills. I frequently booked appointments with the team to help with my essay writing skills or statistics for handling data. Make use of the library team, too. They will often hold online seminars to help with referencing and finding relevant literature.

It is all part of the package you are paying for, so make use of it!

I also watched a few university study YouTubers, such as Dr Amina Yonis. I found some of their tips quite helpful. To add, I'm not too sure how your degree is mostly assessed, being a drama degree, so keep in mind those differences.

And finally, a degree is challenging, so don't be too hard on yourself. You might find that actually doing a Master's isn't the right path. Be open to other options!

I wish you all the best!

Ana - BCU Student Rep.

Reply 2

username5972212

You need to be able to decipher each assessment brief so that you know (a) what you're being asked to do and (b) how it is being assessed - weightings within the module and within each assessment. Also, make sure to do everything that is mandatory within an assessment. Referencing should always be meticulous - never leave till the last minute, always do as you go along and be sure to use the system required. Make sure you attend any session where an assessment is being discussed, especially if it involves the person who is marking it. This is the minimum.

Reply 3

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I am returning to university as a second-year student in September, I study Drama.
In Semester one, my grades were really bad, they were averaging between 39% and 49%. The final assignment came back yesterday, all marked. My grades have been between 48% and 68%. I can see this is a massive improvement.
However, the first year doesn't count towards the final grades. I want to do a Master's, I already know the uni and Master's I want to do, they require a first. How do I improve my grades? I want to go to this university, if I continue with the way my grades are now, I won't get in.

Hi there,

It can be tricky knowing what to write in assignments to get the top grades so I thought I'd share some things that help me when I am writing an assignment.

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Firstly, always read the assessment criteria closely and pick out all of the things that you will need to do in order to get a high grade. If I've really been struggling with an assignment, I sometimes print out the assessment criteria and you can highlight which parts are important so that you can keep referring back to this as you are writing the assignment and make sure you are including everything you need to do.

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I also try and get the reading done in advance. This is easier said than done when you have other things going on but it does help to try and do some reading each week when you are learning about that specific thing so that you can then refer back to this later on rather than having to read everything when you are writing the assignment as this can take time and can also be quite a lot of information to take in at once. This leaves you more time to focus on the actual content of the assignment and make this as good as you can.

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Another thing which may seem obvious is just allowing enough time to write the assignment. I always try and write them in time so I can do another draft or two, depending on how happy I am with it. Leaving it to last minute can make it rushed and sometimes you don't have time to read over it all and fix things that you might want changing.

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Talk to your tutors if you are stuck. They are there to help you and there is no harm in asking them to clarify things if you don't understand parts of the assignment or you just want more clarity on what you actually need to do to get a higher grade. Most tutors will have time to answer your emails or ask them in class! Some will look over your work for you too and give you some feedback so it's worth asking if they can do this.

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Along the same lines, if you have an academic advisor at your uni then use them! They are there to help and mine has been really helpful in sometimes just clearing some things up or answering some questions that I might have about my assignments.

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As others have said, use the resources you have available! Hallam offers lots of support sessions through the library- from helping with referencing to critical writing skills there is lots of help available. It's there for you to use so you might as well utilise the resources you have available!