AN "A" GRADE IS GIVEN FOR WORK WHICH IS OUTSTANDING.
→ Content - the subject treatment shows superior intelligence,
workmanship, and originality; it is interesting to read, not shallow.
→ Organization - the work is organized clearly and forcefully so that
the reader knows at all times the writer's purpose and intention.
→ Paragraphs - coherent, full, and with emphasis.
→ Sentences - precise, forceful, and interesting, always contributing to the writer's central purpose.
→ Words & Images - exact and appropriate to their context; idioms are correct.
→ Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation - free from error.
A "B" GRADE IS GIVEN FOR WORK WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE AVERAGE.
→ Content - shows expressive competence and above average ability to
relate ideas intelligently; lacks some originality of thought.
→
Organization - clear, but without the full clarity and tight coherence
of the "A" paper; reader understands the writer's intentions.
→ Paragraphs - unified, coherent, and fairly well developed.
→ Sentences - fluent and sufficiently varied in type and length to make for an easy, natural style.
→ Words & Images - precise and with some concern for their connotative value.
→ Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation - more or less free from error (1-2).
A "C" GRADE IS GIVEN FOR WORK WHICH IS GENERALLY SATISFACTORY AND ACCEPTABLE.
→ Content - subject treatment is acceptable, but without distinction;
it reveals some thinking but nothing in particular commends it.
→
Organization - work has a relatively clear structure (the central idea
is systematically developed, perhaps a bit mechanically).
→ Paragraphs - while unified and developed, the development shows little originality.
→ Sentences - correct and linked to one another, making for basic
fluency, but stylistically wooden or repetitious, and not forceful.
→ Words & Images - generally correct but without much evocative power.
→ Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation - generally correct, with a few slips (3-4).
A "D" GRADE IS GIVEN FOR WORK WHICH FAILS IN SOME WAY TO ACHIEVE SATISFACTORY STATUS.
→ Content - subject treatment is thin; no central idea developed.
→ Organization - while the work may be divided into subtopics, the organization is not wholly clear or effective.
→ Paragraphs - present but not fully developed or coherently focused.
→ Sentences - awkward, ambiguous, or overly simple in structure.
→ Words & Images - often imprecise or inappropriate.
→ Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation - faulty (5-6).
AN "F" GRADE IS GIVEN FOR WORK WHICH IS INADEQUATE OR UNACCEPTABLE.
→ Content - treatment is highly superficial or thoughtless.
→ Organization - not divided, or illogically divided, into subtopics indicated by systematic paragraphing.
→ Paragraphs - lack unity or are almost completely undeveloped.
→ Sentences - so confused that they obscure the meaning or are constructed in a primer-like style.
→ Words & Images - too frequently inexact or inept.
→ Grammar, Spelling & Punctuation - botched (7 or more).