1. Tis’ the Season of Discouragement:
Overcoming a Bad Mark(s)
By: AlanaJ. Cameron
Third Year Political Science Student
A Healthy Response to a Bad Mark
1) Stay calm and don’t succumb to knee jerk reactions…
Feelingupsetisnormal butrememberthese initialsfeelingswillcalm.
Succumbingtothese negative feelingscanleadtomore stressand
disappointment. If needed,seekouta healthywaytoventand relax.
2) Take your time to review and understand the mark...
Carefullyreview yourownworktoidentifywhere youmighthave gone wrong. Readthe marker’snotesforreference.
Takingactionto betterunderstandyourmarkcan helprelieve negativefeelings.
3) If possible, take further action to understand the mark and seek out the marker…
Askfor explanationandjustificationof the mark. Goin withanopenmindand notexpectations. Remember,youshould
onlyperformthisstepafteryouhave calmedtomaintaina respectful andconstructive conversationbetweenyourself
and the marker.
Leaving the Bad Mark Behind
4) Be realistic but remember that grades are not everything...
We hearthisa lotand itcan be frustratingbecause marksare importantinsome situations.However,we must
rememberthatbadmarks are a part of life.There issomuchmore goingon inour livesthatfocusingonone badgrade
isnot worththe time if itaffectsotheraspectsof our lives.
5) Accept the mark as a learning experience...
Everyfailure issomethingtolearnfrom.A failure isnot a useless experience anditdoesnotmeangive up.Failures
teachus betterwaysto approach things,informusof our weaknesses,shine onourstrengths,andencourage self-
improvementanddevelopment. Remember,noone isperfectateverything.
6) Do not let a mark define you or your capabilities...
Marks can getto our head and start to affectthe restof our life negatively.We canstart to see ourselvesasnotcapable
of otherthings. If youfindthishappening,donotbe ashamedandrememberthere isalwayssomeone totalktoand
that Westernofferspsychological servicesforstudentsinneed.Remember, yourpotentialandworthiness goeswell
beyond marks.
Issue 1, February 1, 2016