General Evaluation Standards
Since the quality of students' work should determine their grades, English l30l instructors will evaluate compositions according to the basic standards outlined below. For the most part, instructors will apply these standards relatively; that is, a particular paper will not likely have all of the characteristics listed in any one grade category. Students who expect to do well must eliminate errors that English faculty view as marks of careless writing or as serious barriers to understanding. The presence or absence of the following writing mistakes will play a major role in professors' grading: comma splices, fragments, fused sentences, subject-verb agreement errors, pronoun-antecedent agreement errors, and faulty parallel structure.
The A Paper
An A paper has an altogether engaging introduction, body, and conclusion. Its sense of completeness, achieved through its use of more than one expository pattern, leaves the reader informed, entertained, and amenable to rereading it, for the sheer delight that the finished product brings. The A paper has a profound point to make and presents it precisely, effortlessly, and well through its solid evidence. The relationships between its ideas are clearly marked with strong transitions as well as through appropriate coordination and subordination. The A paper's paragraphing, sentence structure, diction, punctuation, and spelling are almost unassailable. Readers are actually absorbed by the writer's inventiveness, phrasing, and clear exposition of the material. As for the writers who compose A papers, they may be naturally talented, or they may have worked hard to apply the elements of superior writing: independent thought, skillful management and control of an idea, marked originality, and flawless structure and command of grammar.
Characteristics of an A Paper :
An engaging introduction with a clear, original, significant, or profound thesis.
Awareness of a clearly targeted audience, situation, and purpose.
Clarity of structure in the use of one or more expository or argumentative patterns.
Precise topic sentences that address and explore the thesis.
Insightful and sufficient support of the thesis and topic sentences.
A consistent tone, point of view, and verb tense.
Varied sentence patterns and beginnings.
Smooth transitions within and between paragraphs.
Accurate and imaginative diction.
A compelling conclusion.
No major grammatical errors, such as fragments or agreement errors.
Few minor errors, such as misspellings, faulty punctuation, or ambiguous modification.
The B Paper
Like the A paper, the B paper is a lively discussion of a subject or topic. It takes an engaging and unconventional stand and explores an issue in an entertaining and instructive way. However, a mark of B signifies a decidedly different degree of excellence. The writer's introduction, body, and conclusion are carefully orchestrated, but the parts have not been as skillfully handled as in the A paper. The lead-in, for example, may not be as enticing; the thesis may be interesting and precisely phrased, but it is less thorough-going or analytical than the main point in an A composition. Body paragraphs may be substantial, but the writer has not provided the necessary levels of support for the main ideas. Topic sentences may not be evident in all of the body paragraphs. The paper's phrasing and diction will not be as appropriate or as precise as the A paper's. The writer may have made an effort to use appropriate transitions throughout the paper, but some of the transitions may seem ill-chosen, strained, or awkward. The writer may use simple, compound, and complex sentences in varying lengths, but there may be one or two sentence errors in the paper. Indeed, B papers have the potential to earn A's with additional effort since the primary difference between B and A papers is their level of sophistication and the writer's lack of control over organization, grammar, and mechanics. (Examples of A and B papers can be found in Composite, a collection of freshman student essays published yearly and available in the NHC bookstore.)
Characteristics of a B Paper:
An interesting introduction, a satisfactory body, and an adequate conclusion.
A limited, unified, precisely phrased thesis addressed to a particular audience.
Clear topic sentences that state the point of paragraphs.
Adequate support and elaboration in the form of quotations, specific details, facts, reasons, and examples.
Readable, unambiguous sentences of varying types and structures.
Appropriate transitions.
A consistent tone, point of view, and verb tense.
Forceful diction.
Few major grammatical errors such as fragments or agreement problems.
Few minor errors such as spelling or punctuation problems.
The C Paper
The C paper may be described as satisfactory, competent, or average. Sometimes professors assign a C to compositions that are almost flawless mechanically but lack imagination and substance. As with A and B papers, the three main parts of a written composition are evident in C papers. The writer's lead-in may not be appropriate, or the introduction and thesis may seem commonplace rather than striking. The weakest part of this paper tends to be the body, caused by the writer's use of unsupported generalizations and due, sometimes, to false assertions. Paragraphs may be short and digressive, leaving the reader with unanswered questions about the writer's meaning or intentions. Sentences may all be of a type, showing inadequate use of subordination and sentence combining. Like marginal A and B papers, C papers that have been written out of class appear to result from procrastination; usually they have not evolved through several drafts, nor have they been proofread and edited carefully. Consequently, they may contain several major and minor errors. In spite of these shortcomings, the C paper is an adequate, clear, acceptable document whose potential may be realized through revision.
Characteristics of a C Paper:
A clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
A clear though obvious controlling idea.
Topic sentences that suggest an orderly progression of ideas from paragraph to paragraph. Relevant but thin support in the form of facts, examples, and details.
An occasional shift in tone, point of view, or tense.
Effective transitions within and between paragraphs.
Acceptable but conventional diction.
Problems with coordination, subordination, and parallelism.
Errors of various kinds, but no more than three "major" grammatical errors.
The D Paper
The D paper may lack a distinguishable introduction, body, and conclusion. Its thesis may be vague or imprecisely phrased. The paper may drift aimlessly toward and away from the assigned topic. Relevant proof for general assertions in body paragraphs may be weak or lacking, leaving the reader puzzled over the writer's intentions. Discussion paragraphs may be short while sentences may be rudimentary, awkwardly phrased, and haphazardly arranged. There are usually more than three major grammatical errors and numerous minor errors. Unlike the F paper, the D paper attempts to employ the conventions of academic writing. It has the potential to earn a passing mark, but the writing seems rushed and fragmentary. A conference with the professor is warranted for D papers.
Characteristics of a D Paper:
No clearly marked introduction, body, and conclusion.
A hazy, trivial, or shallow point.
A series of unsubstantiated, unconvincing generalizations.
Superficial treatment of the subject.
A preponderance of fairly obvious statements.
Obvious "padding" or underdeveloped paragraphs.
Short, repetitive sentences or "runaway" sentences marked by overcoordination or incorrect attempts at subordination.
Incorrect word choices and the use of colorless diction, abstractions, and jargon.
Poor or few transitions.
Inconsistent tone, point of view, and verb tense.
Passive constructions.
Numerous major and minor errors such as fragments, comma splices, fused sentences, faulty parallel structure, disagreement between subjects and verbs or pronouns and antecedents, dangling participles, excessive or inadequate punctuation, awkward constructions, incorrect word choices, and overcoordination.
The F Paper
Like the D paper, The
F paper usually has no clearly marked introduction that makes an intelligent point. It may not address the subject, or its ideas, organization, and style may not measure up to acceptable college-level writing. The F paper may leap purposelessly from statement to statement without concern for order, clarity, or coherence. It shows little or no clear pattern of thought, organization, or support. Words and syntax may be incomprehensible. In addition, the F paper may be rife with errors of various types: sentence fragments, agreement errors, pronoun and tense shifts, punctuation problems, and misspellings. Also, it may fail to meet the length requirement, leaving the reader little material on which to base an accurate assessment. The student whose paper earns an F can benefit from weekly sessions in the Writing Center with a tutor. A conference with the professor is mandatory with an F paper.
Characteristics of an F Paper:
No clearly marked introduction, body, or conclusion.
A vague, unclear, or incomprehensible thesis. Insufficient, incoherent, or illogical development and support.
Short, simple sentences that begin similarly; or sentences that use coordinating conjunctions excessively.
Wordy, redundant, garbled phrasing.
Fuzzy diction.
Confusing shifts in person, tense, and mood.
Clichés, slang, and trite expressions.
Bumpy transitions or none at all.
Nonstandard grammar and usage, such as disagreement between subjects and verbs, disagreement between pronouns and antecedents, and incorrect use of past perfect tenses. Frequent, distracting, grammatical errors, such as fragments, comma splices, fused sentences, faulty parallel structure, incorrect punctuation, homophone errors, and misspelled words.