Explanation of A, B, C, D, F grades for essays

The following criteria were established by the English Department of MCC.
Writers should use these guides to write better essays
 

A - PAPER: Excellent -A Highly Competent Response, Superior Writing
*Demonstrates creative thinking and expression
* Maintains unity by adhering to a thesis, whether stated or implied, which is developed with sufficient
  examples and details to illustrate and explain ideas clearly.
*Attracts the reader's interest in an engaging introduction and brings topic to a logical ending in a memorable conclusion.
* Follows a logical organizational plan.
* Is replete with concrete images; lets the reader experience the ideas through all the senses.
*Maintains coherence through a number of techniques including transitions, variety of sentence patterns, and parallelism
* Is virtually free of errors in syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling; in fact, often demonstrates facility
  with more advanced punctuation marks (semicolon, colon, dash, parentheses, ellipses) for emphasis or effect.
 * Shows sophisticated use of language for a specific audience.
 * Demonstrates personal writing style and distinctive tone appropriate to subject and audience.
 * In some way makes a reader think\feel\understand in a new way.
 

B -  PAPER: Good - A Clearly Competent Response
* Maintains unity by adhering to a viable thesis, whether stated or implied, that clearly reflects the writer's
  purpose and central idea. In addition, B papers often exhibit the writer's ability to create engaging
  introductions and memorable conclusions.
* Exhibits organization that is logical and easy to follow; is well developed with details that are concrete and
  specific and/or with logical arguments. B papers show a greater depth of thought than what is usually evident in C papers.
* Shows that the writer has developed a facility with language in terms of variety, specificity, exactness, and correct usage.
* Reveals the writer's concern for style: shows that, at times, he or she varies sentence structure as
  appropriate; uses subordination and creates parallel structure for clarity and emphasis; or applies a variety of
  transitional techniques to maintain coherence, clarity, and emphasis. Thus, the B paper is at once more
  interesting and easier to follow than a C paper.
* Uses diction that is usually clear and appropriate to the intended audience and purpose, as defined in the
  assignment; is often less verbose and rambling than a C paper. (Writers of B papers sometimes take
  chances by attempting to use exotic vocabulary and figures of speech or to create startling images.)
* Exhibits mastery over most serious grammatical, punctuation, and most mechanical problems. Occasional
  lapses into awkwardness are accidental and not habitual, and they are overshadowed by an authoritative
  voice and a mature style.
* Contains no problems in sentence structure or sentence logic that distract the reader or decrease the paper's impact.
 

C  - PAPER: A Competent Response
* Maintains unity by adhering to a viable thesis, whether stated or implied, that clearly reflects the writer's
  purpose and central idea.
* Exhibits organization that is logical and easy to follow; shows that the writer can use transitions to  maintain coherence.
* Offers real evidence to support the writer's assertions but could be developed in greater detail. * Contains
  mechanical, grammatical, and syntax errors, which are, for the most part, accidental and which do not
  seriously affect the paper's impact or distract the reader; shows that the writer has begun to develop a facility
  with language in terms of variety, specificity, exactness, and correct usage. (At times, the style of a C paper
  may be wordy, redundant, simplistic, or awkward.)
* Contains a few problems in sentence structure and sentence logic but none that seriously interferes with
  communication or distracts the reader.
* Shows an attempt at careful proofreading.
 

D  - PAPER: A Weak Response
*Addresses the topic or question but lacks a clear focus because its thesis, whether stated or implied, is hard
  to discern or because it contains two or more main ideas that compete with each other for the reader's attention.
* Offers a viable thesis, whether stated or implied, but does not contain sufficient concrete evidence or
  information to support that fully. Contains no blatant examples of misinformation
* Shows that the writer has little facility maintaining unity and coherence in paragraphs or in the essay as a
  whole and, as a result, is difficult to follow.
* Contains habitual, not accidental, errors in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, which indicate that the
  writer has not yet developed control over the conventions of SAE (standard American English); shows little
  facility with language in terms of variety, specificity, exactness, and correct usage.
* Shows little control over syntax and sentence structure; contains flaws in sentence logic--ambiguous
  illogical modifiers, unsupportable generalizations, etc.
* Has not been proofread well.
 

F  - PAPER: A Poor Response
* Has been plagiarized. Cases of unintentional plagiarism are not uncommon in ENG 121\122, especially
  among students who are using secondary sources for the first time.
* Fails to address the topic or question assigned in any way.
* Lacks focus because it contains no discernible thesis or contains two or more main ideas that seem twisted
  together. Organization that is illogical; lacks essay\paragraph coherence.
* Does not offer evidence to support the writer's assertions; may contain a significant amount of misinformation.
* Contains mechanical, grammatical, and syntax errors that are habitual and not accidental and that seriously
  distract the reader; shows no facility with language in terms of variety, specificity, exactness, or correct usage
* Contains sentence structure problems, unintentional fragments, run-ons, and comma-splices--that are
  serious enough to distract the reader or interfere with communication.
* Has not been proofread well