Grading Criteria for English 102

(Mankato State University)

The “A” essay (Superior) exhibits these strengths:

• Has a controlling sense of purpose and is tailored for a given audience.
• Exhibits a mature level of thought – i.e. exhibits the ability to draw inferences and make analogies which show insight into the topic.
• Achieves clarity throughout.
• Has unified organization with an apt introduction, graceful transitions, and a vigorous conclusion.
• Has a clear thesis developed thoroughly with abundant, fresh support (such as concrete details, examples, and reasoning).
• Uses variety of sentence structure, precise word choice, emphasis, figures of speech.
• Shows an impressive command of logic and effectively uses convincing techniques of argument.
• Smoothly assimilates external source material, properly documented.
• Is free from any serious errors in Standard English and from common weaknesses in writing (ineffective use of passive voice, inappropriate word choice, inappropriate shifts, wordiness).

Note: The “A” paper is distinguished from the “B” paper by a more assured prose style, more creativity in form or content, more subtlety in rhetorical strategy.

The “B” essay (Very Good) exhibits most of these strengths:

• Has a controlling sense of purpose and is tailored for a given audience.
• Exhibits a mature level of thought – i.e. exhibits the ability to draw inferences and make analogies which show insight into the topic.
• Achieves clarity throughout.
• Has unified organization with an apt introduction, graceful transitions, and a vigorous conclusion.
• Has a clear thesis reasonably developed with abundant support (such as concrete details, examples, and reasoning).
• Uses variety of sentence structure and accurate word choice.
• Shows a satisfactory command of logic and generally uses convincing techniques of argument.
• Smoothly assimilates external source material, properly documented.
• Has few serious errors in Standard English and few stylistic weaknesses (ineffective use of passive voice, inappropriate word choice, inappropriate shifts, wordiness).

Note: Mere absence of errors will not be rewarded with a “B.”

The “C” essay (Satisfactory) exhibits these characteristics:

• Displays a sense of purpose and usually addresses a given audience
• Is logical but rarely thought-provoking.
• Achieves clarity throughout.
• Has an obvious organization with an introduction, some transitions, and a conclusion.
• Has a clear thesis reasonably developed with concrete details and examples.
• Has adequate but undistinguished sentence structure and word choice.
• Presents argument in somewhat mechanical or ordinary ways but logic is generally sound.
• Assimilates external source material, properly documented.
• Contains almost no serious errors in Standard English.

The “D” essay (Deficient) exhibits some but not all of the following weaknesses:

• Fails to rise above the obvious in content, substitutes repetition for development, and lacks sense of appropriate audience.
• Has lapses in logic.
• Has lapses in clarity.
• Has lapses in organization, shows weaknesses in introduction, transitions, and/or conclusion.
• Has a single subject but no controlling idea.
• Lacks variety in sentence structure and/or accuracy of word choice.
• Argument is illogical and/or unsupported and unclear.
• Relies too heavily on a secondary source and/or material is insufficiently documented.
• Has some errors in Standard English:
  • Mixed sentences (confused sentences)
  • Sentence boundary errors: fused (run-on) sentences, unjustifiable sentence fragments, comma splices
  • Agreement errors (subject/verb, pronoun/antecedent)
  • Inappropriate shifts in tense, voice, mood, person
  • Homophone errors (e.g. its/it’s, there/their/they’re, to/too/two, no/know)
  • Punctuation errors
  • Excessive misspellings

Note: Originality of style or thought will not excuse the deficiencies listed for “D” or “F” papers.

The “F” essay (Failing) exhibits some of these weaknesses:

• Lacks content.
• Lacks any sense of audience.
• Consistently lacks clarity: unsupported generalizations, serious gaps in logic.
• Lacks unified organization; lacks adequate introduction, transitions, and/or conclusion.
• Lacks both a single subject and a controlling idea.
• Has frequent errors in Standard English (see list for “D” paper).

Note: Failure to fulfill the assignment (even though a paper is turned in) will result in a grade of “F.”