unhappy with dissertation result

[sunshineNdaisies]

Okay so I realise I probably am, but hear me out and I want some inside into how the grading might work as I was last in education about 15 years ago.

I've just submitted a postgraduate masters research dissertation and got a provisional grade of 65%. It goes to the external examiner and I'm not sure what the likelihood of it being increased is? Because tbh I was hoping for a higher grade, a distinction.

The reasoning for this is that my original supervisor kept telling me I would definitely get a distinction, and that if I wanted to progress onto a PHD, then I needed a distinction grade. Throughout my course, she kept telling me what a high standard my work was, encouraged me to present at conferences, submit articles etc. Her area of research is similar to mine.

She went on sick leave in April though, and I had another supervisor who I felt was much more strict and nitpicky but I took her advice on board, thinking it's good to get different opinions after all. Her area of research is not in my area but is almost identical to another student (who we will call E) and I understand that E got a lot of information and resources from the new supervisor to help with her own research.

New supervisor said that whilst the dissertation had to be between 15,000 to 17,000 words, it was okay to be a few hundred words over. I was 50 words over.

Anyway, long story short. I got 65% provision and E says she got "an A" which will be anything from 70%. I feel pretty disappointed as I think the fact she had the same topic area as our supervisor and had additional support from that supervisor played a part.

I feel angry that I was led to believe by the original supervisor that I would get a distinction and then I do not. The original supervisor did not give me any materials etc despite having a similar research area, unlike the new supervisor with E. I just felt that the original supervisor actually understood what I was doing better.

In addition, it was a 2 year course, but 3 of us submitted a year early. All of us have full time jobs and kids. I'm also disabled. I just feel that I put more work in and had to struggle more than the others.

Can anyone advise on whether the external examiner is likely to increase my grade? Do you think my new supervisor was wrong to say it was okay to go slightly over my word count and would that have played a part in my grade? I submitted my dissertation a month before the deadline but E told us she was still writing it on the last day of submission.

I've got this desire to prove myself I must admit, I've always felt I wasn't good enough and I had gotten my hopes up of a distinction as a means to prove to myself and those who bully me in work etc that I am good enough.

Can anyone make me feel any better?

I'd question it. I got a mark at university from a tutor much lower than my usual standard. We submitted one every 6weeks so I knew what my standard was. When I met with tutor he actually said I can only give out so many high grades. WTAF that meant I've no idea. He then conceded he was biased 'because in class you are very quiet in discussions, though now I realise you are personable & chatty one to one'. He then upgraded my paper. I interpreted this as my favourites who get into (dominate) discussions get top marks.

Those saying question it...her diploma marks before the masters top up we’re 50’s, 60’s and one 70. Does 65 not sound about right to you with those marks? Does to me, it actually seems very good.

If you feel somwthing has been unfairly marked check the appeal regulations and contact the team that deal with these. Rhey will work impartially at the university to check whether rmarking and moderation has been followed and obtain the EE report. You will also have the opportunity to submit your evidence

@screenburn, I tried to explain that but didn’t get a response. Yes, agreed. You have to get consistently high marks throughout the course, not just from the dissertation to get a distinction. And I think that’s being missed by the OP and other people. My lowest was low sixties, but I managed to pull that up with 80’s.

I feel angry that I was led to believe by the original supervisor that I would get a distinction and then I do not.

Your supervisor shouldn't have said that to you, it's not a guarantee. As PP's have said, be proud of your mark and go to your graduation, if you don't you might look back and regret it.

I sympathise with you regarding change of supervisor, when I did mine I was allocated the one person everyone dreaded, she was a nightmare. The very first thing she said to me at our original meeting was that she marked down heavily for bad grammar and also told me I'd made a wrong subject choice. I submitted at the last minute as I was determined to prove her wrong and I did. Word count guideline was 10% either way.

she marked down heavily for bad grammar

At Masters level, if a native speaker, your grammar should be pretty much perfect. No excuses.

If you feel somwthing has been unfairly marked check the appeal regulations and contact the team that deal with these. Rhey will work impartially at the university to check whether rmarking and moderation has been followed and obtain the EE report. You will also have the opportunity to submit your evidence

I'd love to know what institution you work at, because this is bollocks.

A lot of people who are not academics think they know more about how we work than we do ...

You cannot appeal because you think your mark is unfair. You cannot appeal academic judgement.

I don't know, the culture seems to be doing anything to keep the student consumer happy at places I've worked at (that's a general observation OP - I'm not digging at you).

@OhtheHillsareAlive yes that is true of course. I'm talking more in relation to other things therefore going off the OPs topic so I'll keep my beak shut now.

I don't think this mark should preclude your doing a PhD in the future, some unis are prepared to take students with 2:1s if otherwise convinced of their suitability. But one thing you would have to work on is your attitude. A PhD is very much about working independently, taking responsibility for your own work, finding your own material and working out your own questions and approach. The MA is supposed to be the first step along that route. Yet here you are telling us that you stopped working on your dissertation 30 days in advance because the supervisor didn't give you any more corrections. What about YOU? Wasn't it your job to work over that dissertation?

I deal with appeals for my area of the university I work at.
As others say, you cannot generally Appeal on issues of academic judgement. In my institution (and the two others I’ve worked at) the reasons are information which could not be known (so usually illness or bereavement) and material irregularities- I.e. you were not marked according to correct criteria, or the likes.
You should be aware that in most institutions that dissertations are double blind marked. An EE is not a third marker.
I think it sounds like you should be happy with, and celebrate your, merit award. It’s a good result and you should be proud of your achievements- time will no doubt temper how you feel.

@Dllrjr thanks for your input but no, it's not bollocks as you so elloquently state. If youve misunderstood what I was trying to say then I will explain. What is it that you think is "bollocks".

I haven't RTFT but OP, if you feel their has been something done wrong with the marking of your assessment and if marking and moderation procedures have not been followed correctly, for example and if there is clear evidence for this then you could have a valid case. It is, however not likely that your mark will be changed (as a remedy) usually students are given the oppprtunity to resubmit in cases loke this where there has been a material irregularity or evidence of exceptional factors (illness that negatively impacted you at the time of or immediately prior to the assessment deadline)
I have dealt with cases lile this where there was a material irregularity. However, given that you jave a very good grafe you should consider whether it is worth your while appealing. Students can usually only normally appeal too within a certain timefrane, usually a few weeks after the publication of results.

You havw a really good mark OP. You should also not let it discourage you from considering a PhD. Depending on your research area etc you may still find a suitable place to apply for somewhere.

You wouldn't necessarily have a valid case if you just wanted to appeal your grade because you thought you deserved a higher mark as that would be seen as a challenege to academic judgement.

Ex-academic here.

You did well and you should be pleased with it.

The 50 words extra will make no difference. We allowed 20% over before it becoming even a minor issue. It's the quality of the words which count.

" I just feel that I put more work in and had to struggle more than the others."

This really pisses me off. Very few people find a Masters degree easy. If you graduated 15 years ago you're old enough to know that life isn't about effort and whining that you tried harder than others unfairly puts them down and will turn those who support you against you.

Likewise, submitting work early isn't beneficial in terms of grades.

The person who got a better mark than you very likely did so because their work is of a better standard.

At Masters level, if a native speaker, your grammar should be pretty much perfect. No excuses.

Yes I agree but I felt insulted as it is not one of my weak points. Believe me I saw some shocking grammar in the course notes, hers included.

I can understand being disappointed but I think blaming the system because you didn’t get a distinction is going too far. You did actually get quite a lot of help from your supervisors. The fact that you had corrections at all would have been considered spoonfeeding where I did my masters. It was in the guidance that they could only review one chapter in any detail and certainly would not have been looking at multiple drafts offering corrections. The extent of any help I had was reviewing my 2 page proforma and advising on methods and contacts. I know some got more help because they were working on a project as part of broader research or had a particularly kind supervisor. Anyone on my course with your level of support would have felt that they had lucked out.

This really pisses me off. Very few people find a Masters degree easy. If you graduated 15 years ago you're old enough to know that life isn't about effort and whining that you tried harder than others unfairly puts them down and will turn those who support you against you.

Agreed. I don't remember ever even talking to my supervisor after we discussed what I was going to be doing. He acknowledged i had more experience than him in psychology experiments and just let me get on with it. Never went to him for help or to do corrections on my work, especially not multiple times. Its a masters. You do the work by yourself. Bachelors is where you get help. You will struggle with a PhD to be honest if you needed that much help.

Besides E tried harder than you. She worked on hers till the last minute. You assumed yours was fine. But you know that mistake now and can correct it.

I’m a university course admin and I agree with others that the EE will not change a mark. If the university is aware that you have a disability and this is noted formally on your record they will have likely factored that in already.

And the 10% above and below the word count would only apply to a set word count. You mentioned that there was a word count range for your dissertation and so going over it at all would be penalised where I work.

I got a merit on my masters and had a full funded scholarship for a PhD a couple of years later. I echo what most PP said: it's a great grade, it will have been double marked. Check the descriptors for a distinction, the answer is there, it might be the structure or too descriptive, not enough fieldwork analysis, not enough original thought, etc. My dissertation was also 65 and the feedback said that my theoretical background was really impressive but the analysis had not been deep enough. In hindsight, I should have realised, as the theory was over 2/3 of the thesis and the analysis just under a third.

*fully funded (fees and stipend)

I think you need to concentrate more on exploring ypur s struggles with feeling inadequate and getting those dealt with.

I'd do this with the support and help of a counsellor and then hopefully you'll be able to focus on your achievements and not make the focus about should have/could have /would have.

As others have said, you can't appeal academic judgement, so unless you have genuine grounds for appeal, don't waste your time.

Your university should give clear information about the grounds for appeal, which normally fall into two categories: 1. mitigating circumstances (but you need to explain convincingly why you didn't raise them at the time - lots of students mysteriously discover retrospective mit circs when they don't get the grade they wanted, and they generally get nowhere with their appeals), or 2. a major administrative screw-up by the university (nothing you described fits that category).

I don't think you've anything to lose by appealing your mark if this is possible?

This ^ isn't always true - it may delay your degree award and graduation. If you're not in a hurry to graduate, that's obviously not a problem, though.

Do be aware, too, that at some universities there is no scope for altering marks after a successful appeal - a successful appeal just means that you have the chance to write the essay/dissertation/take the exam again next year, to try to do better. Like the other things in your case (word limits, role of externals), though, it will entirely depend on your university's academic regulations, so you need to take a close look at what they say. I would also talk to your student union academic advice team - they should be able to give you advice and support.

I would say that the chances of an appeal on the grounds of mitigating circumstances would seem very slim in the case of a student who a) raised no concerns until they found they didn't like their mark b) submitted a month early

My dissertation mark actually went up 10 marks after going to the external examiner.