To be gutted at this grade for my dissertation proposal?

[goodgradeshavewine]

I'm in my third year at uni and worked so hard at my research and inquiry module, I worked really really hard and found it fairly easy because I'd been putting in the work for it.

Anyways I submitted my dissertation proposal 4 weeks ago and got results back this morning. I thought I would at least be mid 60s as I truly thought it was a well put together and thought out dissertation plan. I only got 60 %.

I'm totally gutted, I know that still leaves me in the 2.1 range but only just. I'm frustrated because my other module that I didn't follow nor understand I got higher results for both my assessments in that. Overall for this term I am sitting at 63 percent.

I'm just so upset and like demotivated now. At one point in the feedback he says I spoke in a detached manner and that it must have been difficult for me to write in the third person. I literally have an email from him confirming I was to write in the third person...on top of that my friend that really rushed hers got a first. We have different markers but the marking just seems so random at my uni.

AIBU to be so gutted about my grade? Am I being pathetic?

@Blossomtoes why is there a need on here to be so rude? Honestly. Why bother commenting? Hardly helpful.

Also consider the fact that the extent to which you have responded to feedback will be a significant factor in marking your final dissertation. I assume that the person who marked your proposal will be one of those marking your final dissertation and will not be impressed if you have ignored their advice.

[quote goodgradeshavewine]@Blossomtoes why is there a need on here to be so rude? Honestly. Why bother commenting? Hardly helpful. [/quote]
It’s called straight talk, not rudeness. You’ll encounter it a lot in life so better get used to it. It’s hardly rude to point out that you’ve been given feedback to help you improve your work so it’s a good idea to use it.

I can understand being privately disappointed, and thinking the grade is unfair - but nobody else will know. You got a 2:1, which is very respectable, and you don't need to ever apologise for or explain that.

@Blossomtoes eh no, but if someone in my place of work or my professor told me to stop 'whining' I wouldn't be impressed and would certainly submit a complaint. So it's not something I need to get used to, there are far better ways of putting things whilst still straight talking.

What course are you studying?

The feedback seems pretty clear, if the mark was just for the proposal then apply what they have said into improvise your Diss. Or am I missing something

OP, with respect, what your friend got is irrelevant, even if it was rushed. At uni, I was the person who pulled all nighters to do essays last minute and most of the time got high grades, whereas I had two friends who would spend weeks working on essays and get low 2.1s at most. I read their work and quite frankly, they were usually poorly written and argued points weakly. It’s nothing to do with how much time someone spends on something but their ability to write and argue well.

Work closely with your supervisor so you have a good working relationship and they can help you improve where needed and provide advice on how to improve your writing style.

@GorekyPark 'on top of that my friend that really rushed hers got a first'...how in the world was that rude? I shouldn't have compared, I agree, she obviously deserved a first and I didn't. And I now understand thanks to this thread that whether something was rushed or not doesn't matter when it comes to this type of thing. My comment wasn't rude though, had I said, 'my friend who is thick as fuck rushed hers and got a first' that would have been rude. I stated a fact.

I am an academic and comparing your dissertation to someone else's, frankly, does sound immature.
You are not a lecturer with years of experience of marking students' work and you cannot know what makes for a quantitative difference between your work and someone else's. Comparing your own marks to another student's only leads to tears.
You have a lot to work on in the methods and analysis section, so work on that, and aim to do better next time.

It sounds a bit rude because it comes across like saying your friend doesn't deserve to have got their grade as she didn't take as long doing it as you. It completely ignores that they might just be more talented in this area.

That's not random feedback - that is detailed and helpful feedback. It also looks like feedback written by someone who'd be approachable enough to talk things over with you. Your marker has clearly identified many positive aspects to your proposal.
You're not being unreasonable to be disappointed. YABVU indeed to think that, because you put in a lot of effort, you would automatically get the mark you think you deserve. Your tutor is recognising your effort but pointing out areas that need to be strengthened. And, it is, after all, only at the proposal stage.

@PurpleyBlue no but it is a bit demoralising when you have spent weeks on something and tried your absolute hardest and your friend hasn't and she gets much higher grade. It's okay for me to be disappointed at that.

Excuse my ignorance, I don't know that Uni's now did a proposal. I didn't know about/ hadn't heard of dissertation proposals. How does it work, does it count towards your final dissertation grade?

Unfortunately motivation, effort and hard work only take you so far along the academic process, and I often see students who have spent a quarter of the time on a piece of work outperforming others who I know have given it their all and committed themselves to long hours of study.

However, what these students have is drive, determination and dedication and these traits often serve them better in life and work compared to some of their peers who are more effortlessly achieving high marks in education.

@Oblomov21 no it doesn't count towards final dissertation grade, just my overall grade for this year.

[quote goodgradeshavewine]@PurpleyBlue no but it is a bit demoralising when you have spent weeks on something and tried your absolute hardest and your friend hasn't and she gets much higher grade. It's okay for me to be disappointed at that. [/quote]
That's life to be honest, there will always be people that find certain things easier, effort put into something isn't always reflected in the output of anything.

I’m really surprised at your original post going on about your mate and random marks when you’ve such comprehensive feedback on where improvements can be made and where you were lacking, the writing style is the least of the issues.

It’s been clearly detailed for you:

Would have liked more barriers and weaknesses identified that would have added marks for criticality.

Excellent resource with the facebook group. However, some thought needed as to how you will encourage participants to take part.

The questionnaire element was competent in its description but perhaps not the most effective way to achieve your aims.

Perhaps a consideration of face to face or online interviews might have been better.

Good analysis that is let down by unclear writing on the inferential statistics element and some lack of understanding about what this can actually achieve.

Please review carefully the statistics sections.

Need to be clearer regarding some jargon used and explain more fully how ethical disputes can be resolved.

Lots of other stuff regarding destroying the data, GDPR rules and access were not included

Very good balanced self awareness shown here. You identified a number of issues that either you chose nto to address or ran out of time to address them.
Most of them would have added to your proposal if they had been added in.

Minor issues with in text referencing

Your writing style was very third person but in a sort of detached manner - it must have been hard to write She will instead of I will, or perhaps more correctly the research will.

I am a university academic. You cannot appeal a 60 because you thought you deserve a 65. That is absolute madness. If need be approach your supervisor for feedback - but please dont go in gung ho saying your judgement of your own work at mid 60s was more accurate than the 60 you got. its not how it works.

I can literally imagine the student grade-grubbing email from the OP's posts. Please just dont.

@Bluntness100 going on about my mate 😂 I literally wrote one sentence out of my full OP about her.

If someone in my place of work or my professor told me to stop 'whining' I wouldn't be impressed and would certainly submit a complaint

Thus whining some more. Good luck with that. You need a thicker skin.

Ask for feedback - it sounds like it might not be as strong as you thought, and you want to fix that before you push ahead. Your friend rushing hers is not relevant, if it was focused and clear.

If this counts towards your final Mark you may also want to ask for it to be re-marked, but if it doesn’t there is no point.

@navigationcentral well you should have read the full thread shouldn't you? As I clearly state I'm not going to appeal or query my grades. Rather embarrassing for you...