How difficult is it to get above 70%?

silaslang

I am only a first year doing psychology and im achieving on average 65%. I looked at a friends work who is getting on average 73% for every assignment and can see the difference in his writing compared to mine. We have basicly all the same studies and ideas as each other but his writing is really fluent and well structured.

studentphil

silaslang wrote: »

I am only a first year doing psychology and im achieving on average 65%. I looked at a friends work who is getting on average 73% for every assignment and can see the difference in his writing compared to mine. We have basicly all the same studies and ideas as each other but his writing is really fluent and well structured.

So basically a first is just about being good at English?

Gingernutmeg

studentphil wrote: »

So basically a first is just about being good at English?

No, not necessarily - I find it's more about using English properly. A lot of students try to copy what they see as 'academic language', and it just sounds pretentious ... using 'one', for example, or sentences that are too long, or using words that are out of context and that are clearly not understood. The best academic writing is often deceptively simple. Being able to write fluently does help though, but this is often mistaken as meaning that your essay should be 'informal' - I've read essays (seriously) where people have written 'do you know what I mean' at the end of sentences, or used text speak.

Getting a good mark also depends on getting the balance right between decription and analysis - at university level, you really need to start analysing the whats and whys, rather than just describing something.

And if you think that paying for a degree should guarantee you a first ... well, there are lots of online places that will do just that for you lol

yeslek

i think the idea of a first is not just to show what you have learnt and that you have understood it but to take what you have learnt and apply it to new ideas

studentphil

In a sense writing quality should not really be being marked unless your degree is in English.

studentphil

Gingernutmeg wrote: »

No, not necessarily - I find it's more about using English properly. A lot of students try to copy what they see as 'academic language', and it just sounds pretentious ... using 'one', for example, or sentences that are too long, or using words that are out of context and that are clearly not understood. The best academic writing is often deceptively simple. Being able to write fluently does help though, but this is often mistaken as meaning that your essay should be 'informal' - I've read essays (seriously) where people have written 'do you know what I mean' at the end of sentences, or used text speak.

Getting a good mark also depends on getting the balance right between decription and analysis - at university level, you really need to start analysing the whats and whys, rather than just describing something.

And if you think that paying for a degree should guarantee you a first ... well, there are lots of online places that will do just that for you lol

You see in a Philosophy degree you need analysis for a third let alone first.
I know people say that analysis is much more a PG skill or a first skill but you need it in some subjects for a third let alone anything more. So it really is very confusing as to what is needed.

Gingernutmeg

I think it's about the degree and depth of analysis - much of my degree is based around philosophy, and I've found that for essays when I've got really good marks, I've deconstructed literature to the point where I've been analysing single words, and looking at the difference that's made to the context of the statement. Of course you need a degree of analysis to get any kind of mark at university level (and even, really, at A-Level) but it's the depth that makes a difference.

Of course it depends too on the subject and the department. I'm doing a combined degree and you really do need to know both the conventions of your department and your subject really well to get the high marks. It's really the silly mistakes that can give you a 2:1 rather than a 1st ... for a first class essay, a tutor would not expect to see any kind of spelling or grammar mistakes, or mistakes with referencing ... often it's that kind of thing that can make the difference between a 69 and a 71. High firsts though, ARE hard to get - I really think that some students just have that kind of 'spark' which, when combined with an almost 'perfectionist' attitde to essays, give the really high passes.

studentphil

Gingernutmeg wrote: »

I think it's about the degree and depth of analysis - much of my degree is based around philosophy, and I've found that for essays when I've got really good marks, I've deconstructed literature to the point where I've been analysing single words, and looking at the difference that's made to the context of the statement. Of course you need a degree of analysis to get any kind of mark at university level (and even, really, at A-Level) but it's the depth that makes a difference.

Of course it depends too on the subject and the department. I'm doing a combined degree and you really do need to know both the conventions of your department and your subject really well to get the high marks. It's really the silly mistakes that can give you a 2:1 rather than a 1st ... for a first class essay, a tutor would not expect to see any kind of spelling or grammar mistakes, or mistakes with referencing ... often it's that kind of thing that can make the difference between a 69 and a 71. High firsts though, ARE hard to get - I really think that some students just have that kind of 'spark' which, when combined with an almost 'perfectionist' attitde to essays, give the really high passes.

It is funny you should say that as the number of questions that I see that are asking for defination of theories rather than evaluation, or compare and constrast questions where it is not clear what evaluation the question wants.

Diminutive

University isn't college or school, you shouldn't need a lecturer to hold your hand and baby you through everything.
This seriously what I hate about A level and GCSE's... they get people into this baby, spoon-feeding habbit, where people don't actually learn anything, they just learn how to pass an exam or get great marks.
Then when it comes to actually needing to learn something and show your own initiative, people ending up whining that they dont have an A to Z guide on getting 100%.

If a lecturer sets a report/essay or whatever, and says right you need to include this, this, this and this. Using this style, and make sure you use these examples because they are really relevant etc etc, then you're going to have a massive amount of near identical essays reguritated from whatever textbook was most relevant. University is about using your brain and researching and making a judgement about what will work best. If you get asked to do a report in the "real world" of work, your boss is going to tell you what to include, what style to use etc.

3plus1

It depends on your university and on your course.

For mine, for example, you start off with 80 points. For each mistake you make, you lose a point. So if you make 11 mistakes, you end up with 69 points, i.e. 69% and thus a 2:1. Making 10 or fewer mistakes in a foreign language is nigh on impossible when you're writing lengthy pieces of work as a non-native speaker, so I will have the utmost of respect for anyone who finishes my course with a first.

I've always found it unfair that you start with a 20% disadvantage, ie. the highest possible mark is 80%. I've always wanted to get a native speaker to write an essay for me, turn it in, and then see what mark comes back, just to prove how stupid the grading system is.