I finally got my very first essay back yesterday. After spending two weeks trying not to think about it and imagining all sorts of scenarios from getting the highest mark in the class to the lowest, I can proudly say I received a distinction. Not bad, right, for my first essay? Then why was I disappointed??
I must have sat there for a good 15 minutes wondering why I couldn't possibly get a high distinction for my first masterpiece. Flicking through the essay, I expected to see red marks all over the place but instead I saw many ticks and the capital "G" in the word "Gods" crossed out! Anyway, once I came home, I went over it thoroughly and re-read the comments. Apparantly the structure, expression and writing style were "v. good" but unfortunately I needed more analysis of the text I was critiquing! A warranted comment seeing as I was so concerned with the look and flow of the essay and less with the overall content. This is the secretary in me.
I realised this morning that my massive ego was injured and a distinction is a great result for a first essay. At the end of the day, I'm at Uni to learn and I need to enjoy the experience. However, the perfectionist in me will continue to achieve my best - my ego needs to learn to take it easy and go with the flow!
There's nothing wrong with being a perfectionist!
ReplyDeleteI also got a high (first) grade for my first essay, Like you I thought I could have done better. In my case my analysis was good but my structure & punctuation/grammer let me down. I went straight to the graduate skills tutor to see how I could do better and he wasn't clear why I was there - apparently getting a high grade for a first assignment is rare & should be celebrated not fretted about! Also, not having to worry too much about your essay style & grammer will make it easier to concentrate on your analysis - which must have been pretty good anyway to get a high mark. Well done you!