Scoring Guide

A—The "A" essay demonstrates superior writing ability. It is distinguished by its fully and effectively developed content and by its rhetorical sophistication. An essay in this category typically

• responds to the topic with insight, depth, or originality, while clearly meeting the terms of the assignment
• has a clearly focused, coherently developed main idea and is effectively organized
• uses specific examples and details appropriately and effectively
• exhibits superior control of language, including diction, phrasing, and syntactic variety
• avoids serious errors in mechanics grammar, and usage, although it may have a few minor flaws

B—The "B" essay demonstrates strong writing ability. It may be less thoughtful or less polished than the "A" essay, but it will be solid in content and development and will employ an effective style. It is clearly a "passing" essay. An essay in this category typically

• goes beyond a routine response to the topic while satisfying all the terms of the assignment
• has a focused main idea and a clear and appropriate organization
• is fully developed using specific examples and details
• demonstrates clear language control and a general facility of diction, phrasing, and sentence structure
• may have minor flaws or occasional awkwardness, but it will be largely free of serious errors in mechanics grammar, and usage

C—The "C" essay demonstrates adequate college-level writing ability. It may be undistinguished in content, development, or style, but the writing is competent enough to indicate that the writer is ready for writing in the discipline or in an upper-division writing course. Language weaknesses do not significantly limit the writer’s ability to develop and communicate ideas. An essay in this category typically

• may respond somewhat routinely or simplistically to the topic, but it satisfies all the terms of the assignment at least minimally or implicitly
• has a recognizable main idea and an apparent organization, however mechanical
• uses some specific detail or examples to develop and clarify ideas
• demonstrates basic competence in diction, phrasing, and sentence structure, although there may be some imprecision, clumsiness, and/or repetitiveness
• has minor errors in mechanics grammar, and usage, but these are neither frequent nor serious enough to confuse or significantly distract the reader

D—The "D" essay reflects inadequate college-level writing ability. It is marked by significant weakness in content, development, or expression, indicating that the writer is not yet prepared to handle upper-division writing. Language weaknesses impair the writer’s ability to develop and communicate ideas clearly and effectively. An essay in this category typically has one or more of the following weaknesses: it may

• be confused or inconsistent in its reponse to the topic, or fail to satisfy most of the important terms of the assignment
• be unfocused, uclearly or incoherently organized, or logically flawed
• lack sufficient specific details and examples to develop or clarify ideas
• be uncertain or confusing in diction, phrasing, and sentence structure
• have errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage that are frequent or serious enough to confuse or distract the reader