Always the SAME grade 🙄

Former Member

I can't even complain, I'm passing all my classes BUT I'm working so hard and always get the SAME grade.

I can't ever get out of the C bracket. C1. Every single class, each subject. It's always a C1.

I always build off of previous feedback, I work so hard to get things right, and it's always the same.

It's so disheartening.

I don't know what else to do, I get told by tutors to just keep working hard. I am, and nothing ever shows for it.

I'm gonna end up graduating with a 2:2 if I don't start getting some better grades - and although that sounds decent, it won't get me into any postgraduate programs at any uni in Scotland. I'm really struggling here.

I don't know what to do if I'm honest and it's just so so disheartening.

Laura_tigger82

Hi @Anch0r33

Thanks for reaching out. Feedback to tell you to just keep working hard is really vague and frankly frustrating too as you are clearly determined and already working hard.

Is there any more specific advice that you have been given that I may be able to support you with understanding?

Have you got a criteria guide which talks about the criteria you would need for the next banding?

My Masters degree is in education and I really want to support you

I believe in you and thanks again for reaching out

Former Member

This is the grading scale. Each subject has its own guidelines and somehow I fall into the C bracket every time. I'll get the ones I'm working on just now

These are majority of my grades

Former Member

Grading system used for this specific essay. I got a C1 which feels harsh especially considering the feedback was generally good.

Laura_tigger82

Thanks @Anch0r33

I want to highlight how high on that scale a C1 is! A big congratulations.

Though no matter how well we are doing, if we want higher it is frustrating not to get it.

I am here to help you to get to where you want to be as I believe you can do it.

Is there a description of what they would be looking for to provide you with a B3?

For example, is it about being cohesive, a wide or deep knowledge base or analysis and evaluation, etc?

Laura_tigger82

Thanks lovely @Anch0r33

Sorry, your second post must have come through when I sent mine!

From the sounds of your feedback, it sounds like you need stronger links with theory.

When writing about concepts you could write something along the lines of "this is underpinned by X theory", "this is seen in X theory which..." or "this is supported/refuted by X theory which...".

Within the theoretical discussion, just make sure you are using the technical terms you would have learned!

If it is the technical terms you are struggling with, I would recommend keeping a module-specific dictionary for each module with the phrases and definitions.

When writing up about a specific theory, you can then refer to the words and see which matches what you are writing about the closest!

Make sure you are applying all theories and reading you have done to the topic you are focusing on. In the context of this specific assessment, you would have needed to apply the theories and reading to the experiences of mental ill-health. Make sure you are always linking theory and research to the title and question.

Also, when writing your conclusions, make sure you are explicitly addressing your introduction, title, and any key questions. For instance, if your question was "How many legs does a chair have?" in your conclusion you might start by saying "In conclusion, it has been found that a chair has four legs"

The other point is just making sure you read lots of secondary publications. This includes textbooks and journal articles. This means going beyond the reading list and the readings covered in lectures/seminars. You may use your University library or Google Scholar. On these, you can do an advanced search and search for all of the relevant material covering all of the key concepts. Going back to the chair example, this would be "chair" AND "legs". The recommendation is publications within the last 10 years so you would filter 2011 to 2021 (or soon to be 2012 to 2022).

Their feedback also implies that they would want you to be more engaged with the literature to push it up even higher! To do this, you might look at the generalisability, reliability, applicability, validity, and ethics of the research you include.

- Generalisability: Can it be generalised to other groups of people? - different ages? different genders? different cultures? different ethnicities? is it universal or are there exceptions? if there are exceptions, can you support this with a citation from your reading?
- Reliability: If the study was repeated, how likely would the results be the same?
- Applicability: How useful is the information in the real world?
- Validity: How accurate is the information? Have they calculated things correctly? Could there be alternative explanations for their conclusions? Are there factors that could have impacted their results which they did not take into account?
- Ethics - How safe was their research? Could their research have harmed anyone? Was consent gained? Was it explained to the participants in advance? Was there a debrief? Was wellbeing taken into account?

I hope this helps! If you have any questions or need anything to be clarified, please don't hesitate to ask