For the first time since my History A levels, three years ago, I’ve finally had an essay exam that I think went well.
I had a philosophy of science exam the other day. I’m quite good on some parts of this, and less so on others. Basically, if I can relate whatever abstract topic we’re talking about to some everyday example or set of examples, I’ll get a good grip on it. But whilst I do tend to be quite good on topics in philosophy in tutorials, my essays often turn out rubbish.
I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew, or of trying to run before I can walk. So my tutorial essays are generally confused, and whilst I might get points for noticing something interesting, I’ll usually lose them again for not being clear on the basics.
However, with this exam, I got the revision down well in advance; I got the feedback from my tutor that I needed; I worked out a layout to each question that worked well; I had enough knowledge of the topics to fill three hours of writing; and I had one or two possibly original points that I hadn’t found mentioned in the literature.
I think I may have scraped a first in that exam. It’s the first time I’ve ever thought that of a philosophy paper.
