How to write 1st class psychology essays? Any advice would be appreciated

Hi, I'm not too sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but I was wondering if anyone knows how to write 1st class level essays for Uni.
I'm currently going into year 2 and was told that every assignment I do now counts towards my final grade. I averaged between 64- 68% last in my first year and I thought I was meeting all of the outcomes and critically arguing enough but I am not unsure about what I need to do in order to push my scores into the 70% category.

I'm so sorry for the long message and I understand that this may be personal or not exactly the right place to ask but any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Reply 1

Scotland Yard

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

Original post by Username 1712

There's a lot that you could do to improve... do you follow APA style? Do you use a wide variety of references? Is your analysis deep enough?

In my experience, what people often fail to do (myself included) is to do enough analysis of your own. It's all well and good to write an essay and spit out a bunch of facts, but you have to analyse them. Why are they important? Come up with your own conclusions about them.

Another thing you can do, is that you should have a marking sheet for essays available to you. I would check that to make sure you're hitting everything the mark scheme is looking for. Failing that, your university might run essay workshops (usually through the library services) which will be well worth attending, or even asking for more detailed feedback from your academic advisor.

Reply 2

eeeli

The exact criteria for a first varies from uni to uni but the principle is the same - my uni expressed the criteria for a first as 'originality' which I found quite useful in understanding what to do. A first class essay goes beyond putting together the material you've read; instead you have to demonstrate your own approach to it. There are lots of ways you can do this. It is good to read beyond reading lists and add extra material to your essays. Follow your own interests regarding the essay topic and have a look for some extra papers, maybe ones that present a new angle, challenge accepted findings you've been taught or investigate things in a different way. You should also be engaging critically with things you read independently. You might be taught some critiques of studies or read others' criticism but you have to go beyond that and come up with your own stuff. What I found useful for this was putting some time into really understanding experimental design and statistics and reading methods and supplementary materials carefully. No study is perfect and methods is often the place where you can find things to criticise. It can also help to consider the implications of those study weaknesses; for example, what might need to be done to improve in future work? If the conclusions of a study you read aren't well founded, what does that mean for other work in the area? Can you find any other attempts at replicating the study/investigating a similar topic? Critique does not just mean finding fault either - are there studies you think are particularly good, or make an especially original or valuable contribution to the literature, and why do you think that? Does a study leave you with more questions, and what kind of experiment or other research might need to be done to answer those questions?

It is also useful to check your university's marking rubric which you I hope should be able to find somewhere (assignment briefs or the course handbook is where I would usually look). Make sure you are hitting all the necessary points including more basic things like spelling, grammar, academic writing style and accurate referencing. You could write a first class essay conceptually but miss a first class mark because the execution lost you marks in these areas. Also if you have a personal tutor or any smaller group contact with teaching staff you could ask them for some guidance about what distinguishes a 2.1 from a first class essay.

Reply 3

joseabuya

Hi,
Try to focus on deepening your critical analysis by questioning evidence and exploring different perspectives; for example, instead of just stating a theory, discuss its limitations and alternative views. Also ensure your essays are structured clearly, with each paragraph linking back to your main argument, like using topic sentences to guide. Also engage with high-quality academic sources, such as peer-reviewed journals, to support your arguments and add depth to your analysis. Lastly, take any feedback from your first year seriously; for instance, if you received comments about needing more evidence, be sure to incorporate more examples in your future assignments.