Academic
InformationDescriptions of Grade Levels of Writing
A = Paper fulfills the assignment completely, clearly, and perceptively. The writer has a clear significant main idea. The writer explains this main point thoroughly and supports the main idea with concrete details—examples, illustrations, facts, or statistics. The writer plans the essay using clearly ordered, necessary stages and transitions. The writer deals with ideas as well as facts and details. The writer composes sentences which flow smoothly; uses fresh, precise, economical words; and controls punctuation, spelling, and grammar. The essay says something worthwhile, is controlled by a clear sense of purpose and audience, and makes a reader want to read what has been written.
B = Paper fulfills the assignment with a bit less depth than the A paper. The writer has a clear main idea, a bit generalized, and sticks to the subject. The writer shows sufficient evidence to support the main idea and shows relationships among details though transitions that may be used like a formula sometimes. The writer does not just identify or list but also explains and comments on the topic. The ideas are arranged in an orderly manner. The writer may need to add a few transitions, and the sentences are clear, but perhaps not all are smooth. His words are exact but could be more precise. There may be a few minor slips in mechanics. Overall, a sense of purpose and audience appear in the paper.
C = Paper is basically correct but more generalized. The essay uses general assertions but needs more concrete details to back them up. The writer organizes the ideas but needs to work on smoother transitions. Some sentences may be unclear or repetitious. The writer has control of basic mechanics, such as spelling and punctuation, but needs work on style such as the use of parallelism, active voice, and/or third person point of view. Sense of purpose and audience need more work.
D = Paper neglects to address the assignment completely. The paper may be general and not very clear. Although the essay may be on one subject, it needs less generalization and more specific concrete detail to be convincing. Organization may be somewhat haphazard and transitions won't quite connect. There are often problems with written language—choppy or confusing sentences, weak grammar and punctuation. Readers have trouble following the point.
F = Paper has little sense of audience, and the main idea is not clear. The work needs more careful logic, much more specific detail, and work on organizing into paragraphs with transition. The paper may be too short, and the ideas are often repetitive. The writer must work on gaining control of basic sentence patterns and punctuation. Spelling errors, especially of common words, may slow the reader and interfere with the communication process.