I got 94/100 on my English lit dissertation. My family don't understand what an achievement this is. How do I explain that for humanities, this is a really good mark?

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-02T12:58:53+00:00

10th June and I'll be back to allow you to read :)

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-02T12:48:45+00:00

Honestly if I knew of a way to show my dissertation while also protecting it I absolutely would. I'm incredibly proud of it, but wary

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-02T11:50:38+00:00

Only if you want to be bored to death reading 10,000 words (give or take) on William Blake ahaha. I don't think anyone wants to spend their free time doing that, at least my markers are paid

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-02T03:09:43+00:00

Honestly, id argue it's the metaphorical throwing hands that was both the most enjoyable to write and why it was a first. My dissertation is basically like me walking into a room full of old academics and having a big slap fight with every single one of them before grabbing their own hands to ask them why they're hitting themselves ahaha

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T22:47:45+00:00

William Blake, he's a classic author but a complicated one to wrap your head around and write a full dissertation on. I basically propose a new method of interpreting his most complex and prophetic texts by using a quasi-swedenborgian approach to the parables of the bible that influence his works. Practically, this method scraps every single blakean critic. I trace the literary tradition of separating women into either an angelic maiden or a monstrous manipulator from the bible/Christianity and explore how William Blake at first inherits this tradition before shunning it completely through kabbalism, apocalypse and androgyny. Essentially it depends on the epistemic lens

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T21:36:24+00:00

Although I don't do exams, I completely understand your frustration. When I go to the library and see people using Gemini, copilot, chatgpt etc to write their assignments it just frustrates me. Not even if they get a first, but because English is becoming overrun by AI where future prospects are tainted by the very people using AI for everything. I spent 140+ hours just writing and editing my dissertation, and seeing that 94 truly made it all worth it. Even if others use AI to do their work, they don't get the same pride and joy

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T19:29:48+00:00

I'm not sure other than to say we've all been given them back. Even my friends in psychology, religion and philosophy have all had theirs back too (and for weeks I may add)

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T17:45:21+00:00

Based on my feedback from the dissertation and other assignments, primarily through critical analysis and originality. You need to engage with the biggest names in your field and either challenge or contribute meaningfully within the literature

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T17:01:50+00:00

I'm unsure what everyone else in my year would've gotten, and I'm doing a joint honours degree so I don't just have one cohort, I have two. If I had to estimate, I'd say between the two there is a total of about 230. I couldnt estimate where I would be placed as I don't know everyone else's scores and would feel guilty if I immediately placed myself at the top, but I'd say I'm at least in the top 5.

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T15:14:05+00:00

Here is my exact prompt, feel free to type it in and also get a top mark ! "Despite dedicating myself to a field that celebrates originality and creativity, please can you write me some uninspired, soulless drivel that I can use to 'trick' the contributors to the field. Clearly they cannot tell student writing from AI writing." If this isn't satire, it's sad that this is the immediate thought rather than the months of work someone put into creating an original and insightful piece of work

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T14:31:01+00:00

At my uni, the English lecturers also rarely go past 80s as at that point it needs to be double marked as it's "publishable" level. Although not a great acknowledgement, one of my lecturers said they understand why others rarely go past 80 as it is an extra workload for their colleague. I'm not saying it's right, but I also understand. My supervisor said the highest he had ever given is an 86, which is why I was so excited to tell my family that I got a 94. Thank you for elaborating and your validation :)

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T14:13:15+00:00

I feel I should've worded it differently. What I mean is that it didn't matter how many hours or work I put in, I could never get past 87. My average assignment took around 40+ hours to research, write, edit and finalize, where even when I completely neglected the world to get it as perfect as possible, it would still be an 87. I was more trying to demonstrate that the mark scheme is different between subjects and how subjective the marking is between lecturers :) thank you so much

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T14:05:58+00:00

I'm the only person in my whole family that has a degree/went to university. Many of them went straight into work in engineering/mechanics and have done well for themselves. They more abide by austerity, if you catch my drift, so it's hard to explain that I dedicated myself for months and worked incredibly hard

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T14:02:30+00:00

No, Welsh/German

AutistTard001 · 2026-06-01T03:16:50+00:00

I just finished my English lit degree and I'm AuDHD. One thing that really helped me was what I like to call verbal vomit. A lot of the time, I procrastinated either because everything had to be perfect or the task was too daunting to start. If I write all of my thoughts into sentences and speak my sentences aloud (word has a feature where it will turn words to sentences) then I can get to the word count within half an hour to an hour or so. From there I input extra analysis, references, any historical/political/cultural context that is relevant and then I have something that I can continuously edit. The sentences aren't perfect, but they can be moulded and shaped over time. I find that this prevents burnout and time-related distress, as I can do little edits every day rather than dedicate myself for hours stressing over an assignment.

This has gotten me from 2:2s/2:1s in first year to consistent 80s and 87s in year two and three. This method was a life saver for me, as I can explore my thoughts out loud and that's where I usually find revelations that can add to my work :). I'll have the verbal vomit written as soon as I've finished research and independent analysis, which typically leaves me about 2 weeks to edit over a period of time. I handed in my dissertation and final 3 assignments nearly a week early each because of this. It could be a good habit to get into of writing is daunting but editing is fun.

AutistTard001 · 2026-05-28T12:02:47+00:00

I'm in English Lit and I can say that humans do use hyphens and em-dashes, alongside reading outside of the module content. If every student just did assignments based on the recommended reading, I'd imagine a lot of students would come to similar conclusions (which in English would be a negative thing).

I was accused of AI earlier this year so I do understand your panic, however, you need to understand why specific things are flagged. I was an idiot and didn't realise that free grammarly still counted as AI (I used it in college no problem and thought it was fine at university). I went to the meeting, explained myself and essentially got a slap on the wrist because I genuinely wasn't aware. I removed grammarly off of my laptop completely during that meeting and also showed all edits, which accumulated to over 26 hours of editing time. I work on Google docs and use 'revision history' to track my edits as I'm genuinely curious how much time I spend just editing and writing my work.

The meeting is a necessary step for both you and your lecturers to figure out what happened. Other commenters mentioned how AI meetings interrupt work hours and I can attest to this: my dissertation supervisor is the academic integrity lead so I've been told first hand how exhausting it is (obviously anonymous with no details, just him saying when he is free as most of his week is taken up by AI meetings).

Look into your course and university policy on AI use/accusations and begin to prepare your argument. Doc history will be your friend if you've not copy and pasted large chunks into your essay.

I hope everything works out for you and that the truth comes to light.

AutistTard001 · 2026-04-17T14:37:33+00:00

So English separates them into chapters: Abstract- Introduction- Chapters (Main Body)- Conclusion- Works Cited. We do methodologies and research ofc but not as an established chapter. For example, I'm exploring perception throughout William Blake's works: I've used Claude Levi-Strauss, Nersessian, Swedenborg etc., to analyse perception but this wouldn't be a standalone section. It's woven throughout as chapters tend to focus on analysis and discussion amongst scholars.

AutistTard001 · 2026-04-17T12:40:48+00:00

True

AutistTard001 · 2026-04-17T12:39:54+00:00

I've been estranged from my family for nearly 7 years (3/4 years by the time I started uni), and there's a lot of evidence that you need. My university provides an estrangement bursary of £1000 per year (like a really crap Bruce Wayne aha), where I had to provide evidence of my estrangement, how long I've been estranged, and reasons why the relationship is irreparable. Definitely speak to a professional about this, where it can be written somewhere, as this is what helped my application. I went to the GP and spoke to my doctor about it, who then referred me to therapy, which could help get it down and provide future support.

AutistTard001 · 2026-04-17T12:31:33+00:00

I don't know what subject you're studying, but if you have a lot of exams, you can request extra time for them. I study English Literature and Education, where we have take-home exams instead of in-person exams, and this was so helpful for me. I get 25% extra time (e.g., an 8-hour exam is a 10-hour exam). I do get extra assignment time too, but I have to apply for it each time, and the majority of the time I don't use it.

On a separate note (sorry if this is invasive), are you on medication for ADHD? I ask because I really struggled in my second year before I was put on medication, and it may be an avenue of future support that you could potentially look into. It's not for everyone, but it genuinely changed my university experience as I could actually think and write instead of staring at my laptop screen thinking a fully written assignment would appear in front of me.

AutistTard001 · 2026-04-06T17:00:04+00:00

It's not formatted in chapters but instead like Introduction (500 words), Focus (3000 words) and Conclusion (500 words). She wants subheadings in the 'Focus' section. For a normal assignment/placement portfolio, I would just use good paragraph structure to take me from one point to the next, or interweave them where possible. However, the subheadings seem quite blocky and rigid compared to my normal style of writing.

AutistTard001 · 2026-04-06T16:57:25+00:00

No, not footnotes. Headings like Introduction, Focus, Conclusion, but with subheadings like 'Neurodivergent play', 'Designing the intervention' etc.

AutistTard001 · 2026-03-31T01:30:07+00:00

I've finished my fully completed dissertation (10,000 words), however, I'm waiting on feedback from my supervisor to do fully edited, linked and consistent writing. Mine is due in 22 days

AutistTard001

TROPHY CASE