Paralyzing fear of failure about Masters essay, pls kick me up the arse

[NervousNellie19]

My marks have been ok (average is 64% for several other assignments) so far but have not handed in an essay yet! I am terrified it's going to be shit. I've written a few words but feel blank. Time is running away and I really need to start writing properly and feel like I know where it's going!

How do I put the fear aside and accept that if I get a shit mark well it's not the end of the world?

Am driving myself nuts.

Also, if I manage to come out of the Masters with an overall grade of about 65%, is that considered acceptable? I'm just worrying about all my results. I sort of feel like when it's a Masters degree you should get very high marks because you're so passionate about it? I do love my course though not getting high marks!

64% is fantastic, especially at Masters level! Go you!

Start writing, it doesn't have to be the introduction, there is no law that says you have to start at the beginning. Write about the bits that interest you the most and then you can form your argument around that. It is sometimes helpful to have a different document for each paragraph/section and the stitch it together later on.

You can do this :)

I was told that most people see their marks go up throughout the year as they adjust to expectations (to the extent that my institution takes account of which term you wrote submissions in and marks accordingly, & incidentally most people in the first term of my master's were worried about their 'low' marks), so there's every chance you'll continue to improve, but 65% is a great mark!

So how long have you got for this essay, and have you done most of the reading? We've all been there, don't panic. Do you have a general angle for the essay? Most people think as they write and find they have so much more to say once they're fully in the swing of typing than they thought they would. Also that vague ideas take many more words to fully hash out and make intelligible to someone who doesn't have access to your thoughts than you initially predict (ok well maybe that's just me and my poor theory of mind!).

You WILL hand something in, so don't worry too much about feeling blank at first

Thank you both!

I think what I'm most worried about is that my writing style doesn't sound academic enough for an essay?

I know what I want to say, but am afraid of saying it wrong!

It's been a long time since I was in education, think it's adding to the nerves too.

64 is fab :) I'm also day trying to structure am easy that covers everything buyout had no logical order.

If I were you, I'd take the diatribe approach. Open a blank document, and type. Just on a conversational way, don't try and make it academic, just get e everything down on paper. 'I think this, I think that, don't know if this is right but is it possible that...'

It kills the blank page syndrome, and makes you realise what you know. It's easier once it's there. Your thoughts are there, they just need sorting. Bullet point each thought maybe?

Worth a shot. You're doing well, don't knock yourself.

As for not sounding academic, some of the best articles are written in plain English...I'm very sensitive to this after spending the day in the library trying to decipher what I'm sure would be a fab article, if only I could understand it

Content over style every time x

Just get something down, anything! I'm a terrible procrastinator and will spend days and days staring at my laptop/phone and then have a crazy rush in the last 24 hours to get it all done. I don't recommend this approach but it works for me.

Start writing, you can organise it later and make it sound more academic if needed. Don't dry and force in too many big and clever words though, it's often very obvious!

A 65 is a Merit!

Your uni most likely will have guidance available on academic writing. Ask! In the meantime, feedback is important so get it done and handed in. If it's not as good as you'd like them the feedback will help you improve.

Use your reading list and back up your points with some sources.

You have the best problem! You know what to say - so do that, just write it in your normal style. If you're struggling, go somewhere without your notes and just write from memory, leaving gaps for references and any details you can't remember. In my experience wine helps with this stage.

That gives you the overall framework, so then all you have to do is tweak it, adding the missing bits and making the style more academic if you really feel like it needs it.

65% is very acceptable - equivalent to a 2:1. You are probably more passionate about your subject than a group of undergraduates but the work is harder!

Let's put it this way, if you submit nothing, the max you will get is 0%.
Submitting something, however awful, should get more than that plus info about how to improve the next one.
You have nothing to loose (except some time) by writing the thing, and everything to gain.

64% is a merit at masters level it’s an excellent mark! Do you have time to contact your tutor and see if they’re willing to help you go through it?

Have a listen to this podcast. Best thing I've heard on the subject of procrastination and perfectionism.

itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-life-coach-school-podcast/id870239631?mt=2

65% is a good mark! Have you got the marking scheme for the essay? You'll probably find only so many marks assigned to presentation, which may cover style, grammar referencing etc. There may be many more for content and analysis, so even if you do write too informally they won't fail you for it.

I don't know if this helps but I work on a Master's course and I promise we don't judge people for failing, especially not if you're an adult doing this course alongside family life. Some of the students I've been proudest of have failed a couple of early assignments.

I bet you won't fail though. The people worrying about this sort of thing tend to do very well, in my experience.

Whenever I get panicky about an assignment I start working on my bibliography or something format related like adding flow charts in. That way at least I feel like I’m doing something and then I feel like I’m more in the ‘mood’ and the actual words come easier.

The best thing you can possibly do with anything like this is write. It might be a shit first draft but that's fine - you then have something mess around with and add to and delete to make it better. Blank pages are so intimidating but don't judge yourself for what you write until the final draft. Even really good writers work like this

A friend of mine was in your boat and she just didn't write anything. She failed her whole year and was devastated. It isn't worth letting your self-doubt take over because you've shown yourself you can do well when you try. 65% is good. And definitely ASK FOR HELP. There will be someone who can help and get you on the path to better marks if you want that.

Pretty convinced that you’ll be fine. With my dissertation, I was utterly freaking out, but my dB convinced me that if you write your thoughts down in words that are roughly in the correct order and write language, you’ll be fine - you can tart it up later. Good luck.

Lol write in the right lNguage. Total fail and yep, I got a merit in my MA

Leaving the thread now in shame. Language. That is all.

1. 65 is GOOD
2. If you’re having Trouble starting off, the best thing to do is to set yourself a task of writing maybe 200 words. Once you’ve got that done things will start to flow. And that somebody had said before you don’t have to start with the introduction in fact you should start with more interesting bits and build the introduction and conclusion around what are you then right.

I write headings in my essays. It helps with the flow. I take them out at the end, for example.
Introduction of basket weaving.
How has basket weaving changed in the last ten years?
Is there a more sustainable alternative to basket weaving?
Conclusion.
I really struggled with essays last year with feedback saying they didn't flow well. Apparently you need something called a plan but I couldn't always plan because I didn't know where I was going with it. My excellent personal tutor this year told me that this is a perfectly good way of writing an essay. So think of some questions and headings to get you started. Good luck.

I agree with domton. I did a Masters with loooads of essays and now I do a lot of writing in my job, and this is exactly how I approach it. Just start typing. Free yourself from the feeling that it has to be ‘good’ and just try to fill a page with your thoughts. You can literally just type a stream of consciousness: ‘I think this... but maybe this... and might want to investigate more about this...’ etc. Do some reading around the subject and plonk in some relevant quotes wherever they relate to something you’ve just written, or stick them at the end with a note to yourself to maybe come back to this later.

Now you have something, anything, written down, you can come back to it after a cup of tea (or even after a few days if you like) and you’ll find that it’s much much easier to start editing and honing and adding to what you’ve already written, rather than trying to write it all from scratch.

I did this just last week with a huge 5,000 word piece I have to do for work. I was dreading it when I got to work this morning but then I opened the doc and found about six pages of notes from Past Me which suddenly made the whole thing feel more achievable!

And depending on the Masters, 64% is very good if not excellent! On some courses you can basically never expect to get more than about 75 so if you’re getting 64 on your first assignments you’re doing brilliantly! I suspect your grades will keep going up (I got a C- on my very first assignment and then graduated with an A) but even if you graduate with ‘only’ 65 you’ll have a merit!

I did an MBA. I didn't do a first degree.i realised early doors that the difference between passing and getting top marks was about twice the amount of time spent. As I had 2 kids and a full time job I aimed for 55 in everything. I hit is in every assignment apart from dissertation where I got 67. And a management science thing where I scrapped a pass.

Not doing a masters but doing a BA. Level 6 in England I think it is. 65 is really good, I can only dream of that. I understand exactly what you mean about writting style. I feel the exact same way about my essays and I am dreading my dissertation. I usually get through my essays by setting myself goals. So I will say, type 300 words and then watch an episode of coronation street/ go for a walk etc.
Sounds a bit childish but I feel less daunted by the amount of work I have to do.
I have results due tomorrow for an essay. I am guessing I will get 57/58. I am learning to be happy with that.

Following as I've just started my MBA and want results like this!

Tell yourself that this is just a draft. It doesn't matter if it is terrible, it's just a draft.
You can include info in bullet points. Its just a draft.
You can spell badly, it's just a draft.
You can leave gaps for quotes you haven't found yet. It's just a draft.
You can express yourself badly. It's just a draft.
When you have got all your thoughts down about on paper will probably find it's very nearly complete and just needs tidying.
Sometimes our fear of not being perfect stops us even trying.
Dont let that happen to you.
Good luck.