{"id":764,"date":"2022-03-02T16:59:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T16:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/?p=764"},"modified":"2022-09-21T20:53:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T19:53:45","slug":"moving-on-from-disappointing-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2022\/03\/02\/moving-on-from-disappointing-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving on from disappointing results"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Didn\u2019t get the exam results you wanted? Here are some practical ways to move past the disappointment and come back stronger.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>1. Allow yourself to feel disappointed (for a while)<\/h2>\n<p>Disappointment hurts and it\u2019s OK to feel frustrated or upset. Give yourself a little time to process your feelings. (If you\u2019re struggling, you can contact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/professional-services\/student-support\/\">Student Support\u2019s Wellbeing Service<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>But try not to get stuck on negative thoughts.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Challenge negative thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>After a disappointment, it\u2019s easy to slip into unhelpful thought patterns, like \u2018Why can\u2019t I \u2026?\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019ll never be able to \u2026\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Notice the way you talk to yourself and consciously challenge self-critical or pessimistic thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>Remind yourself that academic skills are complex but learnable. Perhaps there are certain skills you haven\u2019t fully developed <em>yet<\/em>, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t. A disappointing grade doesn\u2019t define you, diminish your other achievements or mean you can\u2019t succeed in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Now it\u2019s time to focus on what to do next.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Reflect on what happened<\/h2>\n<p>It takes courage to look back on something that didn\u2019t go to plan, but this is a vital step in learning from the experience and moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Think back to the period before and during the exams. Give yourself credit for the things that you did well \u2013 and there will have been many. Then work on pinpointing what you could do differently next time. For example, you might ask yourself:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Did I spend enough time revising?<\/li>\n<li>Did I revise the right material?<\/li>\n<li>Did I revise effectively?<\/li>\n<li>Did I do enough timed practice?<\/li>\n<li>Did I understand what the exam was assessing?<\/li>\n<li>For open-book exams, were my notes and resources well organised?<\/li>\n<li>Did I make the best use of my time during the exam?<\/li>\n<li>Did I write clearly, concisely and critically?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You may also have received some written feedback. If so, read it carefully and check you understand it. Use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/guides\/feedback-on-your-assignments-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it\/\">this feedback guide<\/a> to help you.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>4. Devise your action plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Now you\u2019re ready to set some goals. Use your reflections and any feedback to identify some areas you could work on before your next exams.<\/p>\n<p>Do you need guidance on time management, revision techniques, exam strategy or writing skills? Do you need a better understanding of the course aims or assessment criteria?<\/p>\n<p>For each goal, ask yourself:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What kind of information and resources do I need?<\/li>\n<li>Where can I find these resources and who can I ask for advice? (Clue: make sure the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/professional-services\/skills-centre\/\">Skills Centre<\/a> is on this list!)<\/li>\n<li>What would progress in this skill look like?<\/li>\n<li>What evidence can I collect to show I am making progress?<\/li>\n<li>How will I record my progress?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Avoid setting too many goals \u2013 choose two or three and you\u2019ll be more likely to stick at them.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, remember that disappointment is an inevitable part of life. Whenever we push ourselves to try difficult things, we risk failing at them at first. Yet this is a risk we must take if we\u2019re to fulfil our potential and eventually succeed. That\u2019s why learning how to bounce back from disappointment \u2013 and grow from it \u2013 is one of the most valuable life skills we can develop.<\/p>\n<p>If you have any tips for moving on from disappointing results, please share them in the comments.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0(Featured image by <u>Prateek Katyal<\/u> on\u00a0Unsplash)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Didn\u2019t get the exam results you wanted? Here are some practical ways to move past the disappointment and come back stronger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1636,"featured_media":766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[91,9,56,152,138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-skills","category-exams","category-feedback","category-reflective-learning","category-resilience"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2022\/03\/prateek-katyal-6jYnKXVxOjc-unsplash-1.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1409,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/01\/09\/preparing-for-in-person-exams-part-4-on-the-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":764,"position":0},"title":"Preparing for In-Person Exams Part 4: On The Day","author":"Kyra Ings","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"What you do just before an exam can make a big difference to your performance and your confidence. Here are our tips for staying positive on exam days and ensuring that everything goes smoothly. https:\/\/vimeo.com\/810532463 1: Know when to stop revising\u00a0 The evening before your exam, give yourself some time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic skills&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic skills","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illustration of a desk with a lamp, calendar, laptop and notebook","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2024\/12\/Preparing-for-In-Person-Exams-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2024\/12\/Preparing-for-In-Person-Exams-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2024\/12\/Preparing-for-In-Person-Exams-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2024\/12\/Preparing-for-In-Person-Exams-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1462,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/02\/10\/finding-your-balance-navigating-academic-anxiety-with-genai-tools\/","url_meta":{"origin":764,"position":1},"title":"Finding Your Balance: Navigating Academic Anxiety with GenAI Tools","author":"Kevin Renfrew","date":"February 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's talk about something that's probably familiar to many of you, that knot in your stomach before a big presentation, the late-night worry about dissertation deadlines, or the overwhelming feeling when you're staring at a blank page that's supposed to become your next essay. 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Academic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic integrity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic integrity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-integrity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A series of three stylised Generative Artificial Intelligence illustrations: 1) A circular blue tech-inspired pattern with concentric rings and digital elements. 2) A dark and light blue illustration showing a robotic figure reaching out of a laptop computer to access GenAI. 3) A blue robotic hand reaching out to a human hand, suggesting connection or assistance.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/09\/GenAI-Info-page-banner.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/09\/GenAI-Info-page-banner.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/09\/GenAI-Info-page-banner.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/09\/GenAI-Info-page-banner.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1079,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2023\/10\/02\/navigating-the-dissertation-process-my-tips-for-final-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":764,"position":2},"title":"Navigating the dissertation process: my tips for final years","author":"Vanda Sigel","date":"October 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Imagine for a moment... 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I am particularly interested in academic skills and an important academic skill is utilising feedback effectively. \u00a0I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic skills&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic skills","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A hexagon with an icon representing adaptability","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2026\/04\/Adaptability.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2026\/04\/Adaptability.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2026\/04\/Adaptability.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2026\/04\/Adaptability.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1636"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}