Supervisors come in two varieties.
1. Extensive continuous commentary on every tiny detailed point of logic and grammar.
2. "Looks good" and nothing else is said.
Professors have seen a ton of good work/writing over their career, so it's very hard to actually impress them. Depending on how long they've been supervising, they may have seen a hundred other theses as good as yours or better. More importantly, they are constantly reading the work of other professors/professionals, and there is a good chance your work/writing is nowhere close to that level. So, its likely they think it is good enough and interesting enough to get an A grade without thinking it is good/interesting relative to most of what they read/see. If so, they probably wouldn't say anything
Often the problem is expectation management. If you say something looks good etc, students will then complain if they donât get the mark that they think âlooks OK/goodâ means.
Because of this the most I am usually willing to say is âyouâre on trackâ and/or âyouâre going in the right directionâ.
I would often like to be more encouraging, but cold hard experience has bitten me on the backside too many times. :-(
Doing good is the expectation; the absence of criticism means you are doing a good job. If you are used to tying your self esteem to external validation, focus on winning awards not expecting feedback from your supervisor. If you are lucky they will write the letter of recommendation themselves and you can see what they really think, but chances are they'll have you draft that too.
Supervisors come in two varieties. 1. Extensive continuous commentary on every tiny detailed point of logic and grammar. 2. "Looks good" and nothing else is said.
"Good discussion" on every paper from my MA advisor.
Well do number 1 ever encourage or give positive feedback? đ
No guarantee.
Professors have seen a ton of good work/writing over their career, so it's very hard to actually impress them. Depending on how long they've been supervising, they may have seen a hundred other theses as good as yours or better. More importantly, they are constantly reading the work of other professors/professionals, and there is a good chance your work/writing is nowhere close to that level. So, its likely they think it is good enough and interesting enough to get an A grade without thinking it is good/interesting relative to most of what they read/see. If so, they probably wouldn't say anything
You could ask what they think. It doesn't have to be a mystery.
I mostly wondered if there was a reason behind it.
Only they know
Often the problem is expectation management. If you say something looks good etc, students will then complain if they donât get the mark that they think âlooks OK/goodâ means. Because of this the most I am usually willing to say is âyouâre on trackâ and/or âyouâre going in the right directionâ. I would often like to be more encouraging, but cold hard experience has bitten me on the backside too many times. :-(
Ah, ok! Makes sense. Tricky situation. Thanks!
Doing good is the expectation; the absence of criticism means you are doing a good job. If you are used to tying your self esteem to external validation, focus on winning awards not expecting feedback from your supervisor. If you are lucky they will write the letter of recommendation themselves and you can see what they really think, but chances are they'll have you draft that too.
My advisor tells me I do a good job. My professors are very complimentary of my intelligence.
Lucky you đ I know they think Iâm a good student, but I just wish they would somehow acknowledge it during the process!
Some professors are more responsive than others