- What type of standards will be useful for you as a grader? Do you want a set of standards or a more points-based rubric?
- What expectations about format or writing style do you have that students need to know?
- How can you indicate to students how you will judge the different levels of work? How will you differentiate between an A, B, C, and so on?
22Feb’22
What Is the Value of a Policy on Essay Grading Standards?
Students want to know the standards that they will be held to in their writing. This helps them understand how to prepare their work and feel that their work will be fairly assessed.
Questions to Consider
Policy Examples from Penn Professors
HIST 0240: The Rise and Fall of the Russian Empire 1552-1917, Introductory Undergraduate Seminar
PAPERS: To receive full credit, a paper must have the following elements:
- Title. The title should be catchy but also explain your thesis. This can be done by having an attention-getting title and an explanatory subtitle. Example: “The Fire of Moscow: Not the Cause of Napoleon’s Defeat.”
- Introduction. The introduction should NOT provide background information or simply proclaim that your topic is important. Instead, it should explain what your topic is and provide a preview of your argument (thesis). A good introduction can be written only once the paper itself is finished and you know what your argument actually is.
- A thesis statement (argument). Papers have a topic (the subject of the paper); papers also should have a clear thesis (an argument about that topic), and use the body of the paper to develop this argument.
- The body of the paper. Your topic probably has more aspects than you have space to discuss. The solution: early in the paper, briefly describe all the significant aspects, so the reader knows that you are aware that they exist; then, choose a few aspects, explain why they are of particular interest, and discuss them in depth. Write clearly, using correct grammar and appropriate vocabulary. Your argument should be documented with footnotes (not endnotes).
- Conclusion. The conclusion should sum up your argument and indicate its wider significance, e.g., that it supports some larger point relevant to wider areas of history or literature, or what kinds of future research might be helpful to flesh out the issues raised by your argument.
- Know your audience. Your readers are historians and scholars, not the general public. Hence, don’t justify your topic on the grounds that it is of universal human interest (“people have always wanted to know . . .”) or that it is relevant to current events (“learning from the past will help us solve the problem of . . .”). Instead, explain why people who seek a better understanding of history and literature should be interested in your topic
- We will provide a stylesheet for both the paper and final exam. Please observe the guidelines!
COMM 5630: Doing Internet Studies, Graduate Seminar
Grades will be assigned according to the following rubric.
- A 95-100
- Superior work that meets all assignment criteria and also demonstrates excellent writing skills
- A- 90-95
- High-quality work that meets all assignment criteria and demonstrates good writing skills
- B+ 87-89
- Average-quality work that meets all or most assignment criteria and demonstrates acceptable writing skills
- B 83-86
- Average quality work that meets all or most assignment criteria but lacks in acceptable writing skills
- B- 80-83
- Below-average work that meets some but not all assignment criteria, demonstrating only basic comprehension of material and writing ability
- C 70-79
- Below average work that meets few assignment criteria and fails to engage with material in a substantive way