How to help my daughter who is getting negative feedback for her essays
Hi
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
Reply 1
Original post
by AnonymousHi
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
I'd say do nothing. As you point out, she is getting annoyed with you, so let her work it out herself. It's very early days.
@Stiffy Byng might have some useful observations.
Reply 2
I agree, probably do nothing save give general words of encouragement. It is early in the academic year and things may improve.
Bear in mind also that at Oxford it is the opinion of the examiners which matters. The tutor's opinion of essays written in the first term of the first year will have no bearing on what classification the examiners award at the end of the third or fourth year. There is little to no formal marking of course work at Oxford, in most undergraduate subjects.
Also, there will be other subjects to come, with different tutors. It used to be the case that, to get a first, you needed what was called a leading alpha in seven out of ten papers. The modern equivalent is numerical, but even the best student can slightly fluff a paper or two and still do well overall.
Not every tutor has an easy personality or is a great communicator. The more old fashioned tutors tend to believe in throwing people in at the deep end, and see the learning process as a form of dialectic. My own main tutor, whom I liked and admired enormously, described the tutorial as "intellectual single combat between teacher and pupil". Sometimes the looked-for good working relationship with a tutor doesn't quite gel. But everyone will be taught by several tutors over the course of a degree.
The tutor's bark may be worse than his or her bite. Most tutors will be receptive to questions, and to a student saying "I don't understand."
Your daughter deserves to be at Oxford, of course.
Ideas when fed up: browse the books in the Norrington Room at Blackwell's. Walk around the prettiest part of your college (if it's a pretty college), or one of the most magnificent colleges (John's or Magdalen, for example; ignore any closed or no entry signs, you're a member of the university and the signs are directed at the tourists). Walk in Port Meadow or the Parks. Go to the Ashmolean. Stand in Radcliffe Square, and then go and sit in the Radcam or the Old Bodleian. "I belong here. This is my place."
Bear in mind also that at Oxford it is the opinion of the examiners which matters. The tutor's opinion of essays written in the first term of the first year will have no bearing on what classification the examiners award at the end of the third or fourth year. There is little to no formal marking of course work at Oxford, in most undergraduate subjects.
Also, there will be other subjects to come, with different tutors. It used to be the case that, to get a first, you needed what was called a leading alpha in seven out of ten papers. The modern equivalent is numerical, but even the best student can slightly fluff a paper or two and still do well overall.
Not every tutor has an easy personality or is a great communicator. The more old fashioned tutors tend to believe in throwing people in at the deep end, and see the learning process as a form of dialectic. My own main tutor, whom I liked and admired enormously, described the tutorial as "intellectual single combat between teacher and pupil". Sometimes the looked-for good working relationship with a tutor doesn't quite gel. But everyone will be taught by several tutors over the course of a degree.
The tutor's bark may be worse than his or her bite. Most tutors will be receptive to questions, and to a student saying "I don't understand."
Your daughter deserves to be at Oxford, of course.
Ideas when fed up: browse the books in the Norrington Room at Blackwell's. Walk around the prettiest part of your college (if it's a pretty college), or one of the most magnificent colleges (John's or Magdalen, for example; ignore any closed or no entry signs, you're a member of the university and the signs are directed at the tourists). Walk in Port Meadow or the Parks. Go to the Ashmolean. Stand in Radcliffe Square, and then go and sit in the Radcam or the Old Bodleian. "I belong here. This is my place."
Reply 3
What course is this for? That makes a huge difference.
Reply 4
21
I’d say the listening ear is the right approach. Part of the character building experience of uni is coming to terms with sub optimal teaching
Reply 5
Is she getting passing grades?
If she is, that's the main thing that matters. Getting passing grades and handing all her assignments in on time.
In 3 years time it's absolutely fine if she has a 3rd from Oxford instead of a 1st.
There are plenty of employers out there that would rather employ someone with mediocre social skills with a 3rd than poor social skills with a 1st.
Chill out. Relax. Perfectionism equals poverty. Paretoism makes sense.
She should enjoy the here and now. The day to day process of being a student at Oxford. The social life. The living in a city with a beautiful centre. Going to lectures and tutorials and learning stuff. The creative process of writing essays.
You may want to give her a gentle reminder that she's paying about £9,250 per year in tuition fees to this university.
Which sets the frame that she's paying them to teach her. And if they're not doing that well she should kick up a fuss in a polite assertive way. The same as she should for any service she was paying for where she wasn't getting value for money.
If she is, that's the main thing that matters. Getting passing grades and handing all her assignments in on time.
In 3 years time it's absolutely fine if she has a 3rd from Oxford instead of a 1st.
There are plenty of employers out there that would rather employ someone with mediocre social skills with a 3rd than poor social skills with a 1st.
Chill out. Relax. Perfectionism equals poverty. Paretoism makes sense.
She should enjoy the here and now. The day to day process of being a student at Oxford. The social life. The living in a city with a beautiful centre. Going to lectures and tutorials and learning stuff. The creative process of writing essays.
You may want to give her a gentle reminder that she's paying about £9,250 per year in tuition fees to this university.
Which sets the frame that she's paying them to teach her. And if they're not doing that well she should kick up a fuss in a polite assertive way. The same as she should for any service she was paying for where she wasn't getting value for money.
Reply 6
What follows does not relate to the OP's daughter.
The real cost of the tutorial system is much more than the capped tuition fee. Undergraduates are subsidised by their colleges.
Turning university into a series of transactions is one of Neoliberalism's many slaps to the face of the human experience. Oxford and Cambridge are probably in a position to resist the "buy your degree here" approach. Having taught in some less popular universities, I can say that other universities have succumbed to the coin in the slot model, with the result that students are awarded grades they don't merit, and some universities have simply become businesses, with no real interest in scholarship.
The real cost of the tutorial system is much more than the capped tuition fee. Undergraduates are subsidised by their colleges.
Turning university into a series of transactions is one of Neoliberalism's many slaps to the face of the human experience. Oxford and Cambridge are probably in a position to resist the "buy your degree here" approach. Having taught in some less popular universities, I can say that other universities have succumbed to the coin in the slot model, with the result that students are awarded grades they don't merit, and some universities have simply become businesses, with no real interest in scholarship.
Reply 7
Undergraduates at Oxford cost the college over £20k per year to educate so the £9k tuition fee doesn’t touch the sides! The colleges hugely subsidise undergraduate education from their endowments and make a big loss on every student (if they simply stopped taking undergraduates it would be vastly in their financial interests.)
More importantly, tutors are unlikely to be very receptive to an attitude of “I am a paying customer” which shrieks entitlement and lack of interest in learning and self-improvement. A much better approach is “I really want to improve and take feedback on board but I am struggling, can you help me?”
Finally there is not such a thing as a “passing grade” for tutorial essays; they are formative and are marked but almost never graded (there is a lot of pedagogical research showing that grading formative work leads to less good outcomes for students as it makes them take the qualititative feedback on board less.
OP - I think all you should and can do is be a listening ear and a sounding board. That will be much more useful than giving her advices Your daughter may not be doing badly, it could be more that at school level she is used to only getting positive feedback and so the Oxford method of robust criticism and questioning comes as a shock. This is quite common as students who get into Oxford are often used to being “perfect” at A level whereas the point of a tutorial essay is to provoke challenge and debate, not to “get it right”.
But she is struggling, she should write to her tutor and/or to her college welfare. Many colleges now employ mentors for students to provide extra academic support for study skills - does hers have anything like that?
More importantly, tutors are unlikely to be very receptive to an attitude of “I am a paying customer” which shrieks entitlement and lack of interest in learning and self-improvement. A much better approach is “I really want to improve and take feedback on board but I am struggling, can you help me?”
Finally there is not such a thing as a “passing grade” for tutorial essays; they are formative and are marked but almost never graded (there is a lot of pedagogical research showing that grading formative work leads to less good outcomes for students as it makes them take the qualititative feedback on board less.
OP - I think all you should and can do is be a listening ear and a sounding board. That will be much more useful than giving her advices Your daughter may not be doing badly, it could be more that at school level she is used to only getting positive feedback and so the Oxford method of robust criticism and questioning comes as a shock. This is quite common as students who get into Oxford are often used to being “perfect” at A level whereas the point of a tutorial essay is to provoke challenge and debate, not to “get it right”.
But she is struggling, she should write to her tutor and/or to her college welfare. Many colleges now employ mentors for students to provide extra academic support for study skills - does hers have anything like that?
Reply 8
Original post
by AnonymousHi
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
I agree with the responses above that suggest 'do nothing' is the safest approach, but a couple of things might give perspective.
First of all, most Oxbridge first years will find that academically, they've gone from the top to somewhere much lower in the hierarchy of brains. It stands to reason then that comments on essays will be tougher and more critical - it's only what all her school mates were getting last year!
Second, depending on the course and the tutor, sometimes the marking system is standardised to graduation (certainly was in my Cam MPhil). In other words, they are marking against what the final product, be that end of first year or end of third year, should look like. So it stands to reason that early grades and comments are harsher than later in the year.
Then finally, think of written work as part of the learning journey, not a character assassination. That's the reason Oxbridge students write so many essays, because that's where learning about structuring arguments, papers and the skill of academic writing comes from. They aren't assessing past learning, like an exam, they are teaching in another format.
Reply 9
Original post
by Dunnig KrugerIs she getting passing grades?
If she is, that's the main thing that matters. Getting passing grades and handing all her assignments in on time.
In 3 years time it's absolutely fine if she has a 3rd from Oxford instead of a 1st.
There are plenty of employers out there that would rather employ someone with mediocre social skills with a 3rd than poor social skills with a 1st.
Chill out. Relax. Perfectionism equals poverty. Paretoism makes sense.
She should enjoy the here and now. The day to day process of being a student at Oxford. The social life. The living in a city with a beautiful centre. Going to lectures and tutorials and learning stuff. The creative process of writing essays.
You may want to give her a gentle reminder that she's paying about £9,250 per year in tuition fees to this university.
Which sets the frame that she's paying them to teach her. And if they're not doing that well she should kick up a fuss in a polite assertive way. The same as she should for any service she was paying for where she wasn't getting value for money.
If she is, that's the main thing that matters. Getting passing grades and handing all her assignments in on time.
In 3 years time it's absolutely fine if she has a 3rd from Oxford instead of a 1st.
There are plenty of employers out there that would rather employ someone with mediocre social skills with a 3rd than poor social skills with a 1st.
Chill out. Relax. Perfectionism equals poverty. Paretoism makes sense.
She should enjoy the here and now. The day to day process of being a student at Oxford. The social life. The living in a city with a beautiful centre. Going to lectures and tutorials and learning stuff. The creative process of writing essays.
You may want to give her a gentle reminder that she's paying about £9,250 per year in tuition fees to this university.
Which sets the frame that she's paying them to teach her. And if they're not doing that well she should kick up a fuss in a polite assertive way. The same as she should for any service she was paying for where she wasn't getting value for money.
The idea that those who obtain firsts have no social skills is daft. The idea that those who obtain thirds are better adjusted socially is equally daft.
When seeking employment, a third won't do a person much good if they seek to enter the sort of career often followed by graduates of well known universities. It is, it may be noted, actually quite hard to get a third.
As already pointed out, anyone who took the position of "I'm paying for this" should swiftly be disabused of this notion. No UK Oxford undergraduate pays anything like the cost his or her course, and his or her college accommodation and catering are likely to be subsidised also, especially in the well endowed colleges. Undergraduates are cost centres, not profit centres for Oxford and Cambridge colleges.
Reply 10
Original post
by Stiffy ByngThe idea that those who obtain firsts have no social skills is daft. The idea that those who obtain thirds are better adjusted socially is equally daft.
When seeking employment, a third won't do a person much good if they seek to enter the sort of career often followed by graduates of well known universities. It is, it may be noted, actually quite hard to get a third.
As already pointed out, anyone who took the position of "I'm paying for this" should swiftly be disabused of this notion. No UK Oxford undergraduate pays anything like the cost his or her course, and his or her college accommodation and catering are likely to be subsidised also, especially in the well endowed colleges. Undergraduates are cost centres, not profit centres for Oxford and Cambridge colleges.
When seeking employment, a third won't do a person much good if they seek to enter the sort of career often followed by graduates of well known universities. It is, it may be noted, actually quite hard to get a third.
As already pointed out, anyone who took the position of "I'm paying for this" should swiftly be disabused of this notion. No UK Oxford undergraduate pays anything like the cost his or her course, and his or her college accommodation and catering are likely to be subsidised also, especially in the well endowed colleges. Undergraduates are cost centres, not profit centres for Oxford and Cambridge colleges.
Yes it would be completely stupid to say that those who obtain firsts have no social skills.
What does make a huge amount of sense is that good social skills trump getting a first over a 3rd when it comes to likely lifetime money earning AND general contentment in life.
And that there are a proportion of undergraduates that prioritise striving for a First over improving their social skills.
It is also fair to say that prioritising improving social skills over academic work to the point where a First would slide into a 2.2 or a 3rd would result in a more enjoyable time at uni.
The really clued in students prioritise improving their social skills whilst still getting Firsts or 2.1's.
And the most clued in teenagers of all don't bother with uni, They start businesses instead and become millionaires by the time they're 25.
The £9250 per year is all about frames and frame control. The uni can have whatever frame they want about this money.
Every student should have the frame that when they're spending £9250 per year on something, they should on no account accept something they're not happy with.
Reply 11
The above post implies that what students should be “happy with” is just being told their work is wonderful. Surely students should prefer to get honest and constructive feedback so that they can improve while there is still time and come out with a better degree? That is what they are paying for.
There is no point paying circa £9k for a pat on the head. Even the best students will be getting criticism and comments on where they can do better along with comments on what they are doing well. Even their tutors will be getting brutal feedback on their own articles and books from the process of peer review. There is no such thing as a perfect piece of academic work, and engaging with academia means taking criticism on board and learning from each occasion how to change things for next time (or how to defend your work in the face of criticism). The nature of the tutorial system is also about debate, and tutors will sometimes challenge a statement or argument as part of that.
As others have said, that can be quite a brutal transition for new students if they are used to feedback from school being just praise, and it is natural for OP’s daughter to feel dispirited, but it is also about the tutor wanting to do the best by them and being ambitious for them. A Level essays can be “correct” and get full marks - that just isn’t the case at university level. Sometimes tutors can forget how sharp a transition it is for new students who are used to getting everything right all the time.
I’m assuming that the negative feedback is constructive, not that the tutor is just writing “absolute rubbish” on every essay with no further comments. Obviously that would be a different scenario.
There is no point paying circa £9k for a pat on the head. Even the best students will be getting criticism and comments on where they can do better along with comments on what they are doing well. Even their tutors will be getting brutal feedback on their own articles and books from the process of peer review. There is no such thing as a perfect piece of academic work, and engaging with academia means taking criticism on board and learning from each occasion how to change things for next time (or how to defend your work in the face of criticism). The nature of the tutorial system is also about debate, and tutors will sometimes challenge a statement or argument as part of that.
As others have said, that can be quite a brutal transition for new students if they are used to feedback from school being just praise, and it is natural for OP’s daughter to feel dispirited, but it is also about the tutor wanting to do the best by them and being ambitious for them. A Level essays can be “correct” and get full marks - that just isn’t the case at university level. Sometimes tutors can forget how sharp a transition it is for new students who are used to getting everything right all the time.
I’m assuming that the negative feedback is constructive, not that the tutor is just writing “absolute rubbish” on every essay with no further comments. Obviously that would be a different scenario.
Reply 12
Original post
by AnonymousHi
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
My daughter is only in week 3 of her first year, but she has had not great feedback for her first two essays and is finding the one on one tutorials very intimidating and struggles to decipher what the tutor is talking about. She is reading lots and her other tutorial is going well.
She is understandable questioning whether she deserves to be at Oxford.
When I speak to her she is getting super irritated with me, what can i do to help. Maybe it is better to try not to give advice and just listen, but I'd welcome any advice.
Thanks
My advice would be to listen.
Transition to university in the first year can be challenging.
The lecturers should be providing constructive feedback with areas for improvement. If this is not happening, she could approach the module lead, or personal tutor. If the cohort are experiencing similar issues they can speak to their year rep to voice concerns at the student staff meetings (if these exist).
She could also seek support from the university study skills/academic center/library for support if these support systems exist.
The last resort would be to seek out a private tutor, but this will cost. Private tutors have the time to explain and provide feedback, they can also help build confidence in speaking to lecturers.
Often the part of essay writing that students struggle with is critical writing and evidence base. Identify what aspect she is struggling with - the subject knowledge, critical writing, sourcing evidence? All the best
Reply 13
Original post
by RadTutorMy advice would be to listen.
Transition to university in the first year can be challenging.
The lecturers should be providing constructive feedback with areas for improvement. If this is not happening, she could approach the module lead, or personal tutor. If the cohort are experiencing similar issues they can speak to their year rep to voice concerns at the student staff meetings (if these exist).
She could also seek support from the university study skills/academic center/library for support if these support systems exist.
The last resort would be to seek out a private tutor, but this will cost. Private tutors have the time to explain and provide feedback, they can also help build confidence in speaking to lecturers.
Often the part of essay writing that students struggle with is critical writing and evidence base. Identify what aspect she is struggling with - the subject knowledge, critical writing, sourcing evidence? All the best
Transition to university in the first year can be challenging.
The lecturers should be providing constructive feedback with areas for improvement. If this is not happening, she could approach the module lead, or personal tutor. If the cohort are experiencing similar issues they can speak to their year rep to voice concerns at the student staff meetings (if these exist).
She could also seek support from the university study skills/academic center/library for support if these support systems exist.
The last resort would be to seek out a private tutor, but this will cost. Private tutors have the time to explain and provide feedback, they can also help build confidence in speaking to lecturers.
Often the part of essay writing that students struggle with is critical writing and evidence base. Identify what aspect she is struggling with - the subject knowledge, critical writing, sourcing evidence? All the best
The OP's daughter is at Oxford, where the principal teaching method is the tutorial. Your comments could apply to a university which teaches mainly via lectures or in other large groups, with relatively little contact time between academic staff and students, but are not apposite to Oxford's system, which involves a lot of contact between academic staff and students in small groups, and sometimes one to one.
The OP's daughter is probably having two to three one hour tutorials each fortnight. The tutorials will be one to one, one to two, and in some cases one to three or four (one to two is most usual). The pedagogic model is one of learning through discussion.
Lectures are optional. STEM students tend to go to lectures, many humanities students might choose not to, and law students are somewhere in the middle as to this.
Oxford academics may be in frequent contact with students via emails and conversations, because students are usually living close to where they are taught (in their own college, in another college not far away, or in a faculty). The once a week office hour used at other universities is not so much of a thing at Oxford.
If the problem lies with the teaching style or personality of the tutor, then the college can sometimes assist. The usual path would be to talk first to the senior academic in the college in the student's subject, and thereafter to the Senior Tutor of the college (a post held in rotation by the full time academic staff).
Your suggestion that a student at Oxford might hire a private tutor appears to be indicative of unfamiliarity with the tutorial-based system which Oxford employs. The tutorial is Oxford's USP, Secret Sauce, or call it what you will. Cambridge has a similar USP or Secret Sauce but it calls it the Supervision.
The problem might, however, be the familiar one of making the big step from school to university, and taking time to hit your stride.
Also, older Oxford academics tend to be tougher markers than younger ones, and the older ones may sometimes have a somewhat austere manner and communication style. Sometimes, of course, an older tutor can be an excellent teacher with a warm personality, and a younger tutor can be a bit geeky and awkward and may be not the best teacher.
Term ended on 7th December, so by now the OP's daughter is hopefully at home resting, and I hope that next term (which begins in mid January) will go well for her. She might not have the same tutor next term.
Reply 14
I'm at Cambridge, and had a similar situation in my first year. Professor ripped into my first few essays (e.g. comment at the end = "this is all wrong", "no clear argument" etc). I finished my first year with a 1st and ranked very highly. Writing essays each week over and over, you simply get the hang of it.
Another girl in my year had awful feedback from her supervisor in the third term of first year. In second year, she got a 1st in exams and ranked v highly. And another guy I know 2 years ahead of me finished 1st year with a 2:2, with the examiner writing that the logic even connecting sentences together wasn't clear. He ended up graduating with a 1st.
The point is that plenty of people struggle initially. Virtually no one turns up at Oxbridge with the ability to coast by; their reputations are high because they are intense and difficult. The courses are designed to challenge students (they're at a much higher level than other unis), and so they are inevitably and unsurprisingly challenging.
I would reassure your daughter than, if she puts in a decent level of work, she'll almost certainly end up with a 2:1 (at least if it's a humanities subject). And, counter-intuitively, the exams and examiners are honestly a lot more forgiving than some supervisors as long as you bring a decent amount of knowledge to the papers. To be honest, it would be more unusual and concerning if she had zero negative feedback on the first two essays! It simply means she's being eased from an A-Level standard to an Oxford undergrad standard, and she has plenty of time to do so.
Another girl in my year had awful feedback from her supervisor in the third term of first year. In second year, she got a 1st in exams and ranked v highly. And another guy I know 2 years ahead of me finished 1st year with a 2:2, with the examiner writing that the logic even connecting sentences together wasn't clear. He ended up graduating with a 1st.
The point is that plenty of people struggle initially. Virtually no one turns up at Oxbridge with the ability to coast by; their reputations are high because they are intense and difficult. The courses are designed to challenge students (they're at a much higher level than other unis), and so they are inevitably and unsurprisingly challenging.
I would reassure your daughter than, if she puts in a decent level of work, she'll almost certainly end up with a 2:1 (at least if it's a humanities subject). And, counter-intuitively, the exams and examiners are honestly a lot more forgiving than some supervisors as long as you bring a decent amount of knowledge to the papers. To be honest, it would be more unusual and concerning if she had zero negative feedback on the first two essays! It simply means she's being eased from an A-Level standard to an Oxford undergrad standard, and she has plenty of time to do so.
Reply 15
Original post
by Mords123I'm at Cambridge, and had a similar situation in my first year. Professor ripped into my first few essays (e.g. comment at the end = "this is all wrong", "no clear argument" etc). I finished my first year with a 1st and ranked very highly. Writing essays each week over and over, you simply get the hang of it.
Another girl in my year had awful feedback from her supervisor in the third term of first year. In second year, she got a 1st in exams and ranked v highly. And another guy I know 2 years ahead of me finished 1st year with a 2:2, with the examiner writing that the logic even connecting sentences together wasn't clear. He ended up graduating with a 1st.
The point is that plenty of people struggle initially. Virtually no one turns up at Oxbridge with the ability to coast by; their reputations are high because they are intense and difficult. The courses are designed to challenge students (they're at a much higher level than other unis), and so they are inevitably and unsurprisingly challenging.
I would reassure your daughter than, if she puts in a decent level of work, she'll almost certainly end up with a 2:1 (at least if it's a humanities subject). And, counter-intuitively, the exams and examiners are honestly a lot more forgiving than some supervisors as long as you bring a decent amount of knowledge to the papers. To be honest, it would be more unusual and concerning if she had zero negative feedback on the first two essays! It simply means she's being eased from an A-Level standard to an Oxford undergrad standard, and she has plenty of time to do so.
Another girl in my year had awful feedback from her supervisor in the third term of first year. In second year, she got a 1st in exams and ranked v highly. And another guy I know 2 years ahead of me finished 1st year with a 2:2, with the examiner writing that the logic even connecting sentences together wasn't clear. He ended up graduating with a 1st.
The point is that plenty of people struggle initially. Virtually no one turns up at Oxbridge with the ability to coast by; their reputations are high because they are intense and difficult. The courses are designed to challenge students (they're at a much higher level than other unis), and so they are inevitably and unsurprisingly challenging.
I would reassure your daughter than, if she puts in a decent level of work, she'll almost certainly end up with a 2:1 (at least if it's a humanities subject). And, counter-intuitively, the exams and examiners are honestly a lot more forgiving than some supervisors as long as you bring a decent amount of knowledge to the papers. To be honest, it would be more unusual and concerning if she had zero negative feedback on the first two essays! It simply means she's being eased from an A-Level standard to an Oxford undergrad standard, and she has plenty of time to do so.
You make good points.
I have taught at five universities, one at the top of the league, three mid ranking, and one low ranking. The differences in teaching methods and academic standards between top, middle, and bottom are huge.
The standards at the top are way above A level standards, those in the middle are significantly above A level, and those at the bottom are abysmally low, perhaps below A level standard.
We politely pretend that all universities have high standards, but the reality is that some do and some do not.
Oxford and Cambridge have not dumbed down their undergraduate courses, and those courses are still rigorous and demanding.
I have seen some signs of dumbing down in some (not all) Oxbridge postgraduate degrees, where rigour has been abandoned. This is probably driven by money.
But the undergraduate degrees are not for sale and have to be obtained the hard way.
The step from sixth form study to undergraduate study at Oxford is a very big step.
We don't know if the OP's daughter has a tutor who is sub par, or if the OP's daughter is experiencing a fairly typical increase in the academic pace.
Reply 16
Just be with her, it’s way too early to make any conclusions. Sometimes, we just need time to let things unfold. Honestly, I completely understand how overwhelming life can feel, especially when juggling multiple responsibilities. To be completely transparent, I used ukwritings.com/coursework-service services when I felt completely exhausted from all the college work. It was a game-changer for me, allowing me to relieve some of the stress and regain focus. It helped me personally by giving me the time and energy to really focus on what mattered most in my life. Taking a break to recharge doesn’t mean you’re giving up—it’s about preserving your well-being.
(edited 10 months ago)
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