Grading guidelines
A: "A" work uses the assignment as an occasion for a piece
of writing compelling enough to engage readers on its own terms.
It presents an individual insight or viewpoint with enough fullness and
cogency to command readers' respect, if not their assent. It complements
its fresh thought by creating a distinctive voice through aptly chosen
words and through sentences both grammatically accurate and rhetorically
sophisticated. A work:
--develops complicated ideas flexibly and fluently,
yet with control and purpose
--is concerned with subtleties of expression as
well as with precise communication
--shows desire and willingness to be inventive with
structure and phrasing
B: "B" work meets all an assignment's expectations competently.
Usually lacking A work's compelling approach or development, B work nevertheless
demonstrates its author's ability to respond intelligently to an assignment's
demands, to structure and focus writing clearly, to select significant
details and examples and to organize them effectively, to choose words
accurately, and to revise sentences for conciseness and emphasis.
B work:
--includes clear thesis, organization, and continuity
--gives evidence of independent thought; offers
an illuminating insight
--shows mature use of writing strategies to create
concise, clear, and varied prose
C: "C" work is entirely adequate but not more. C
work meets the assignment's specifications, has a serviceable structure,
and provides enough elaboration with appropriate examples or analysis to
make its intent understandable. Its sentences are almost always grammatically
correct and reasonably varied, its paragraphs usually coherent. Nevertheless,
C work lacks the sharp focus, the full and purposeful development, or the
stylistic awareness necessary for a higher grade. C work:
--may have a weak or fuzzy thesis, with illogical
or unclear arguments to support it
--may remain very general, relying more on summary
or repetition than analysis
--may depend on clichés or colloquialisms,
or have a limited stylistic range
D: "D" work is clearly inadequate in at least one way.
Although D work may demonstrate competence in other facets, its strengths
will be outweighed by one or two pervasive weaknesses: failure to engage
meaningfully in an important aspect of the writing task or to maintain
a focus; skimpy or illogical development; significant errors in grammar
or persistent lack of subordination; repeated distracting errors in mechanics
or in idiom.