It’s November, it’s raining and I’m behind with my seminar reading… An all too familiar situation that confirms I’m back for my second year at Uni! It’s hard to believe that I’m almost half way through my degree already – things begin to get much scarier when supervisors start mentioning plans for the dreaded dissertation. In actual fact it’s not the topic, but the daunting prospect of getting my thoughts and ideas down on paper that is proving the main issue. A summer spent agonising over essays that were eventually cobbled together far too late and handed in only half an hour before the deadline seriously sapped any confidence I had regarding my ability to write. This together with the fact that due to a combination of unfortunate circumstances I feel like I spent the majority of my first year struggling to keep up with the other students on my course meant that I had serious doubts about whether or not I would actually come back to York. | "I was told that virtually every student has similar fears when the essays starts to pile up" | |
The fact that I was told that virtually every student has similar fears when the essays start to pile up and those marking guidelines hidden in the back of the degree handbooks actually apply to the work being handed in, did little to reassure me. As far as I was concerned everyone else was effortlessly reaching the top grades and making deep and meaningful contributions to seminars regarding an article that they’d just happened to come across whilst taking a break from re-reading ‘War and Peace’. There was only one solution, I was going to have to swallow what remained of my pride and admit that I needed help. So rushing off an email that reeled off a random list of problems I was having with essays to my unsuspecting tutor I waited nervously for a reply. By the end of the day much to my surprise and relief we had arranged a meeting. Still certain that my concerns would be dismissed as something that an undergraduate should have intelligence to confront by themselves I went to his office at the appointed time. It was soon clear however that I needn’t have worried. Far from dismissing what seemed to me stupidly basic questions I was reassured that a lot of students had asked for similar help and having advised me about structuring, researching and the four hours (I previously allocated 45 minutes to this task) that should be devoted to planning an essay, he agreed to meet the following week to see how I was getting on! It may seem simple but the relief this personal contact and advice provided was amazing. I’m not saying I now dash off essays without a second thought and get a first every time but there’s much less time devoted to agonising over whether there’s any point in struggling to write something that will probably barely scrape a pass. It was also great not to feel completely isolated as the only student finding degree level work a lot harder that A levels. Take it from someone who’s made the mistake for you, if you are struggling don’t be afraid to ask for help! Veronica | 
