Grading Guidelines [ pdf version to download ]

This is a list of what the differences are (in my view) that account for
what sets A, B, C, D, and F grades apart from each other. Let me
know what questions you may hae after looking these over.

the organization of the ideas presented
the level of analysis that is displayed in the discussion
how well a writer uses evidence in support of their points
the mechanics of the essay

Overall, I think of essays as falling into five categories:

An Excellent Essay ( A / A- )
A Very Good Essay ( B+ / B / B- )
A Passing Essay ( C+ / C )
A “Needs Serious Help” Essay ( C- / D+ / D / D- )
A Failing Essay ( F )

I discuss different aspects of the first four categories below. What there is to say about the fifth category is brief: in a Failing Essay the presentation is obviously lacking in serious effort to meet the standards of the assignment; it may not answer the questions being asked; and/or a substantial portion of the paper is plagiarized.

Organization

An Excellent Essay: Is tightly-structured, with every paragraph having something important to contribute to the ideas being discussed. The writer pays special attention to developing ideas for which the transition from one point to the next is not only clearly made, but helps to strengthen the discussion. The reader can tell that the author really cares about their ideas, because they are so thoughtful and so carefully presented.

A Very Good Essay: Generally well-organized and clear; may occasionally repeat points or wander. Paragraphs have supporting details that allow the writer to build on previous ideas as the paper progresses, although the structure may be a bit loose.

A Passing Essay: Tends to “list” points one after the other, rather than giving each paragraph’s discussion a focal point that is then developed; in fact, the paragraphs are usually very short, which gives the paper a choppy feeling (or there may be virtually no paragraph breaks, with a “paragraph” going on for 1½ or 2 pages without providing topic sentences to guide the discussion). These essays are usually shorter than average.

A “Needs Serious Help” Essay: The presentation jumps around, and has a “stream of conscious-ness” feel, as if the writer simply sat at the computer and put down whatever came to mind without paying attention to the logic and clarity of the discussion. Usually a very short paper, or one that repeats many of the same things over and over, or stacks quotations from the reading one on top of each with little explanation of why they are there.

Analysis

An Excellent Essay: Demonstrates a superior understanding of the material being discussed, and also provides thoughtful interpretations and insights that go beyond “reporting” or “describing” the who, what, where, and when of a topic. The essay explores why the points that are chosen for the discussion are significant and explains what else needs to be included in the discussion to fully understand these points. The essay displays an interest in grappling with the historical context within which the ideas and events being discussed are embedded, suggesting connections between the context and the ideas and events. Discussions of the context are "how" and "why" questions.

A Very Good Essay: The essay’s main points are sound. However, the essay may be imbalanced by being mostly description of the past (the “whos” and/or “whats” of an idea or an event) with less space given to the writer’s own analyses regarding the “whys” behind an idea or an event. Alternatively, the essay may be imbalanced by being mostly a presentation of the writer’s speculations, needing more consideration of the background details to understand why the historical choices played out as they did and not otherwise. The essay demonstrates a very good understanding of the material, although the amount of attention given by the writer to analyzing the material with which they are working varies (contributing to either a grade of B+, B, or B-).

A Passing Essay: The points tend to be rushed, and some connections between ideas may be unclear; shows a general understanding of the material, although some information presented may be incorrect. There tends to be an overreliance on what has been presented in class, and a lack of attention to drawing on the reading in specific terms in order to develop the discussion. The author describes the material, but has little to add beyond that.

A “Needs Serious Help” Essay: The writer displays difficulty sustaining a discussion. The paper wanders around without developing any of the points that the writer may mention; often such an essay veers off-topic. It is hard to see how the author gets from A to B.

Use of Evidence

An Excellent Essay: Makes consistent use of pertinent evidence to build the essay’s points on a sound historical foundation. The quotations are integrated into the paragraphs (they don’t make up the bulk of the paragraph as if they “speak for themselves” – the writer explains their relevance), and they contribute to paragraphs that are sustained and thorough.

A Very Good Essay: Evidence is used to support the analysis, although not as consistently as in an A paper. In some places the evidence/examples may not be accompanied by interpretation, but are assumed “to speak for themselves” (typical of a B- paper).

A Passing Essay: Points are often lacking in supporting evidence, because they are generalizations that are presented as being broadly true as a description of the past. Some examples may be mentioned in passing, although usually without further attention to important details.

A “Needs Serious Help” Essay: The examples are either weak (only describing opinions you have or observations drawn from today) as evidence, and little use is made of the assigned material.

Mechanics

An Excellent Essay: there are only minor proofreading or spelling errors.

A Very Good Essay: Sentence structure and grammar is strong, although there may be occasional missteps (perhaps one or two sentence fragments or run-on sentences).

A Passing Essay: Can display problems in sentence structure (more noticeable sentence fragments or run-on sentences than in a “very good” essay, although not as problematic as in a “needs serious help” essay). Often the essay has not been proofread or spell-checked, although it badly needed to be.

A “Needs Serious Help” Essay: Big problems in sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, with a repeated number of run-on sentences and/or sentence fragments.