I feel like I try so f***ing hard to do well in my courses and I always come up flat on my face. The highest mark I’ve gotten on an essay is 71. My average in highschool was 89. I knew I was going to get lower marks then that in first year, but it just seems so much. Every time I get an essay back I dread looking at the mark and then when I do, I feel like crying. Maybe I’m being overdramatic but when I don’t do well at something I want to give up and quit. So, I guess I should get to the question. Does it get better? Will my (apparent) ‘bad’ writing improve? Thanks anyway.
———————————————
Hey there. We have all been there. I remember having a 91 average in high school and getting my first mark and being like, “what 65???” University is hard and it sometimes is frustrating and it always makes you want to give up. But you’re commited to it, right? And it will get better.
As you progress into further years, your classes will get smaller which will be a big help. Seek out independent studies and seminars – which will allow you to direct your research into your personal favourite topics of study and allow you to work more intensely with a professor. Get involved with your student union. And use your college writing centre, which will completely guarantee a boost in your essay grades. They hire trained editors to go over student essays and help you write a more formidable argument. The women at the Innis Writing Centre are complete geniuses and have saved me time and time again! Best of all, it’s free!
The secret to doing well in university is going to class, reading all the material, and using the library (and your research materials) effectively. Academic writing and discourse is an entirely different way of writing, but once you master it and understand it – you will go far. Maybe talking to your prof or one of your registrar’s will make you feel a little more assured, so you can improve your grades next year?
Another amazing resource is the Academic Success Centre, which offers drop-in consultations with a professional about how to write and study more effectively and workshops on writing and rhetoric. I’d definitely look into that.
I guess what I’m saying here is that everyone struggles with the transition from high school to university, and first year, with its giant introductory classes and huge tutorials is bound to be intimidating. But there are resources for you, and I know that you can do it.
xoxo, Askastudent