Grading Criteria

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Levels of Writing:

Writing to communicate is reader based prose, transactional, aimed at a group audience which may be known or unknown, designed to convey ["show what you know"] information, opinions, etc. [Level 2 and Level 3]

Writing to learn is writer based prose, expressive, often aimed at the self or close friends, "trying on" different concepts or poses, designed to explore and discover [Level 1 writing]

Level 1:
writing to remember, sort out thoughts, organize;
note taking, freewrites, logs, journals, first drafts;
instinctive spelling and punctuation, casual grammar; never evaluated except for content or use of process

Level 2:
-informal but communicative need vocabulary, grammar, delivery that does not impede communication but need not be flawless;
exams, homework, intermediate drafts; evaluated for clarity of thought, organization and knowledge, with some attention to common writing conventions

Level 3:
-formal and polished writing that has gone through all stages of the writing process; letters, reports, research papers, final drafts;
correctness in writing conventions and editing skills important, in addition to content and organization

General Grading Criteria for Level 3 Essays

Note: Keep in mind that an "A" paper at the freshman level will rarely be an "A" paper at the upper-division level; expectations rise as the years go on.

An "A" paper will:

demonstrate a strong sense of audience and context
develop the topic with relevant detail and support
clearly acknowledge sources
exhibit outstanding style, grammar, and attention to detail
proceed clearly from point to point
provide a clear purpose and thesis idea
[in general, an "A" paper presents its ideas with originality, flair, and competence]

A "B" paper will:

demonstrate a competent sense of audience and context
develop the topic with relevant detail and support
clearly acknowledge sources
exhibit competent style, grammar, and attention to detail
proceed clearly from point to point
provide a clear purpose and thesis idea
[a "B" paper may lack some originality, or be less developed than an "A" paper, but the strengths will still outnumber the weaknesses]

A "C" paper will:

demonstrate a sense of audience and context
develop the topic with relevant detail and support
acknowledge sources
exhibit a mastery of style and grammar such that the reader is not confused
proceed from point to point in a logical way
provide a clear purpose and thesis idea
[a "C" paper may have a balance of strengths and weaknesses, proceed in formulaic or clichéd ways, and probably have less competence in style and grammar]

A "D" paper will:

struggle with a sense of audience and context
under-develop the topic or fail to provide detailed support
acknowledge sources
confuse the reader with awkward or ungrammatical sentences
present the ideas in a haphazard order
provide a vague purpose and thesis
[a "D" paper may not exhibit all the listed problems, but the weaknesses will outnumber the strengths]

An "F" paper will:

demonstrate severe organizational, stylistic, and/or focus problems
fail to acknowledge sources
fail to develop the topic
fail to provide a clear purpose and thesis

Western Oregon University
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