Hello All,
I'm in the 1st year of MA in History, and finding coursework quite challenging (I come from a non-history BA)

I was wondering what are the key challenges (and marks) for students in MA modules in History or Ancient History in the UK... wondering how my experience is going in comparison to you guys.... Here some questions:

a) Are all modules/coursework set too hard to achieve Distinction?
b) What is the hardest challenge of all ? (finding topic, research, organising notes, writing...?)
c) Do marks improve as you go along, or do coursework gets harder? What's your average beginning to end?
d) How often is it to get Distinction in say, 3 modules ?
e) How often is it to get Distinction in dissertation ?

Many thanks everyone - get forum btw!
Sofia

No experience with history MA but I would go with:

A) no
B) person-dependant
c) Yes, yes, 65%
d) person-dependant
e) check with uni

I did mind in (recent) political history and found the modules ok, but that I had to invest a lot of time into reading before writing. As an undergrad it probably isn't advisable but its certainly doable to read and write at the same time so things can come together quite quickly.

My biggest challenge was time management as I was self-funding so worked 25+ hours in a regular job with my shifts juggled about to fit my university timetable.

The modules were pretty much equally difficult the whole way through, so your marks should improve as you learn how to cope and get a sense of what it is the lecturers want from you.

I think I only got a distinction in one module and merits in the others. I've found that once the degree was finished the fact that I have a masters is what matters, its less dependent on the type of award you receive than a bachelors is.

It's a piece of cake. Read loads. Read EVERYTHING. Write esssays with ten footnotes per page and a four-page bibliography. Just right everything you've got on that particular subject. They'll throw a merit at you. For a distinction, just structure it slightly.

Thanks TreeofLife -- I read that Distinction is given against the average of students of that year, ie., they mark the average to use it as indicator for the top and bottom of marks. If that's correct, then "outstanding quality" becomes a different ball game...

Thanks HuntAnthem -- I'm working too and it is very demanding indeed. The research/topic I'm OK with, but I prefer to take notes of everything and structure the essay before start writing... it def takes time!

thanks Eds - the thing is, how to make sure you are achieving a "higher quality" if each coursework is marked against the average. That's my main concern.

Well; it's lucky then that it isn't marked like that :)

Thanks Eds. Would you have any other insights into how frequent is a Distinction ? You seem an expert ;-) Reason being, I do want to move onto a PhD and since I my BA is not history, I feel a need a Distinction if I dream of getting any funding.

My MA was in a Literature specialism, with a smattering of History.

a) No, a distinction is definitely achievable on each assignment, in theory. But don't expect to do that out of the blocks. The MA is a training exercise, not a one / two year assessment exercise. My MA was with distinction. My dissertation was published. My first essay only just scraped a Merit.

b) As Tree' says, it depends on you. I found having thoughts easy and organising them challenging. Writing was fine if I'd planned well and gave myself space to fine-tune. Think about your essay topic early.

c) see a)

d) I got a distinction in three modules. It's certainly doable, but you'll need to put a shift in (this is implicit in Eds's response, above).

e) The best dissertations are those that make an original contribution to their field (even if only a small one). This means they're well researched and clearly argued. Make it obvious what the contribution of your dissertation is. Don't just pick a question because you think it's easy to answer.

I'm not sure about distinctions being relative to an average of a cohort's results etc. That's not been the practice at the institutions I've studied / taught at. It's possible that your overall performance will be considered by an exam committee at the end of the year, but that's not quite the same.

Finally, I'm sure Eds is being a little tongue-in-cheek, but don't go too overboard with the footnotes and bib'. My dept' was quite strict about word count and effective scholarship. Referencing everything in site without showing how it contributes to your argument may not be the way to go.

Many thanks Mark. Makes sense.
I've got a distinction in my first essay, but my word, it took time & effort. The topic was a well-known piece of primary evidence no-one had quite analysed, apart from one book published in the UK 2011. I've got a 83, but I don't know if it was because of the original topic or really because the work was good.
It was a hard assignment, and I'm not sure I'll come across another 'original topic' and even so, how much harder should I expect things to get. If expectations stay the same, I should be able to manage it, but if not, then not sure I can do the MA while working, at least well enough for an overall distinction.

Well, there's two types of originality:

There's working on something no one has ever researched before. Sounds like you've done that and nailed it. But not every essay (or research project) has that luxury (hidden medieval manuscripts, new wonder drugs and policy docs just don't come around often enough).

The other type of originality involves combining things that have never been put together and showing why this has value*. So, applying an existing methodology to a new topic; realising that a shift in one part of the field necessitates a re-evaluation of assumptions about another, etc. That's much easier to achieve (and is how most 'original' work gets done - certainly in Arts/Hums).

Sounds like you're doing just fine though. Good luck with it!

*Sometimes the value just involves realising said combination was a terrible idea. I wouldn't recommend that so much for degree coursework.

Mark - that's a great way of explaining it, thank you! We do hear that kind of thing but it's hard to grasp. You made it easier, thanks.

Surprised no one mentioned difficulties in the preparation/notes taking. I struggled A LOT until I created a system in excel. That was the difference from poor results to very good results. Interesting no one seems to have the same issues...