Grading Standards

These are the general standards I use when grading papers. (This rubric is adapted from a handout by Kerry Walk, Director of the Princeton Writing Program.)

A paper in the A range deploys these “Elements of the Essay” with exceptional grace and mastery:
• Thesis: interesting, arguable, incisive; sufficiently limited in scope; usually stated early on and present throughout
• Structure: logical, progressive (not just a list), supple (invites complications, consideration of counterarguments), with strong and obvious links between points; coherent, well-organized paragraphs
• Evidence: sufficient, appropriate, and well-chosen; presented in a readable and understandable way
• Analysis: insightful and fresh; more than summary or paraphrase; shows how evidence supports thesis; may dwell in depth on one or two key examples
• Style: clear and conversational yet sophisticated; diction level appropriate to audience; smooth, stimulating, a pleasure to read

A B-range paper may in part resemble an A range paper but may also exhibit any of the following qualities:
• Thesis: arguable but may be vague or uninteresting, or feature unintegrated parts; may be only implied, not stated early on; may not be argued throughout, disappears in places
• Structure: generally logical but either confusing in places (big jumps, missing links) or overly predictable and undeveloped; few complications or considerations of counter-arguments; some disorganized paragraphs (either bloated or skimpy; could be confusing)
• Evidence: generally solid but may be scanty or presented as undigested quotations
• Analysis: at times insightful but sometimes missing or mere summary; makes inconsistent connections between evidence and thesis
• Style: generally clear but lacking in sophistication; may be weighed down by fancy diction meant to impress; may exhibit some errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, and format

A C-range paper may in part resemble a B range paper but may also exhibit any of the following qualities:
• Thesis: vague, descriptive, or confusing; parts unintegrated (e.g., three unrelated prongs); only implied or not stated early on; not argued throughout, disappears in places
• Structure: confusing (big jumps, missing links) or overly predictable; few complications or considerations of counter-arguments; disorganized paragraphs, often headed with descriptive (versus argumentative) topic sentences
• Evidence: either missing or presented as undigested quotations; may be taken out of context
• Analysis: some insightful moments but generally either missing or mere summary; may present some misreadings
• Style: may be generally unclear and hard to read, or simplistic; may evince many technical errors

A D-range paper may in part resemble a C range paper but may also exhibit any of the following qualities:
• Thesis: missing or purely descriptive (an observation or statement of fact), or may be a total misreading
• Structure: confusing; little focused development (paper usually short but may be rambling); disorganized paragraphs (also usually short); missing, garbled, or purely descriptive topic sentences (plot summary)
• Evidence: very few examples; undigested quotations; taken out of context
• Analysis: missing or based on misinterpretations or mere summary
• Style: either simplistic or difficult to read; probably riddled with technical errors