Essay Marking

The essay will be marked according to the following categories:

• Relevance and Coverage:

  Assesses the relevance of the material presented to the topic and how well the topic has been covered. A good essay will cover its subject extensively and all the material is relevant to the subject. A poor essay will only present material loosely related to the chosen topic or will present the material without coherence.

• Understanding and Analysis:

  Assesses to what extent a student understands the topic being discussed. A good essay will demonstrate some understanding of the subject area, will be able to place it in context, will analyse the changes that have taken place, will make claims/judgements about certain aspects, and will provide evidence for those. A poor essay will only show limited understanding of the subject area, with little reference to the context and little regard for current developments in the subject area, will make either no claims/judgements about aspects of the subject area, or will not provide supporting evidence for any such claims.

• Reading and Research:

  Assesses the extend to which the essay is based on wider reading and research. A good essay will provide evidence of wider reading, indicated by a bibliography with several entries and proper citation within the main body of the essay indicating the relevance of those entries to the material presented in the essay. A poor essay will tend to cover limited material, perhaps from just one reference, and the presented material depends largely on hearsay or the imagination of the student.

• Coherence and Structure:

  Assesses how well the essay reads as a whole and in parts. A good essay will guide the reader through a structured consideration of the subject area. A poor essays will lack structure, will have an illogical structure, or will not link the various parts of its structure.

• Referencing, Spelling, Grammar, and Style:

  Assesses how well bibliographic standards are followed, the extent to which spelling and grammar are correct, and the extent to which the text is written in a clear and scholarly style. In a good essay, information on all sources listed in the bibliography is completed and presented in the expected way, sources are referenced in the correct way, spelling and grammar are correct, and the text is easy to understand and is written in a scholarly style. In a poor essay, sources are not identifable from the bibliography and are not referenced in the text, spelling and grammare are poor, it is difficult to understand the meaning of the text, and the style is poor.

In more detail, these categories are assessed as follows:

• Relevance and Coverage:
  0. Little or no attempt to address the topic with much irrelevant content
  1. Topic is addressed, but with evident limitations and some irrelevant content
  2. Topic is addressed competently with sufficient content
  3. Presented material is largely relevant to the topic, fairly comprehensive in scope and coverage
  4. Presented material is entirely relevant to the topic addressed, comprehensive in scope and coverage
• Understanding:
  0. Limited grasp of the relevant ideas, concepts, issues, trends and questions
  1. Some grasp of the relevant ideas, concepts, issues, trends and questions is evident
  2. Sufficient grasp of the relevant ideas, concepts, issues, trends and questions
  3. Good grasp of the relevant ideas, concepts, issues, trends and questions
  4. Very good grasp of the relevant ideas, concepts, issues, trends and questions
• Analysis:
  0. No attempt to support specific claims or conclusions; little or no analysis
  1. Some specific claims and more general conclusions are supported, but only in part; only limited analysis evident
  2. Both specific claims and more general conclusions are supported in the large part; analytical in style and approach at times, although descriptive for the greater part
  3. Both specific claims and more general conclusions are well-supported; analytical in style and approach, with some critical interpretation
  4. Both specific claims and more general conclusions are clear and well-supported; highly analytical in style and approach, with critical understanding and interpretation
• Reading and Research:
  0. Insufficient number of and inadequate use of sources
  1. Makes some use of sources, although significant inadequacies are present
  2. Reasonable range and use of sources
  3. Well-chosen sources which have been well-used
  4. Excellent range and use of sources
• Referencing:
  0. Most sources not identifiable from bibliography; no or few references in text
  1. Most sources identifiable from bibliography; sources are referenced in the text
  2. Most sources in the bibliography are presented in the expected way; most sources are referenced in the correct way
  3. Almost all sources in the bibliography are presented in the expected way; all sources are referenced in the correct way
  4. All sources in the bibliography are presented in the expected way; all sources are referenced in the correct way
• Coherence and Structure:
  0. No attempt to link parts together; incoherent presentation; no structure
  1. Parts are linked together but do not create a coherent whole; little or illogical structure
  2. Parts form a sufficiently coherent whole; the text has a logical structure
  3. Parts are integrated into a mainly coherent whole; the text is well-structured
  4. Parts are integrated into a totally coherent whole; the text is well-structured
• Spelling, Grammar, and Style:
  0. The language is inappropriate or the style poor throughout
  1. The language is often inappropriate or the style is poor
  2. The large majority of language is appropriate and style is clear
  3. The language is appropriate and style is clear, with very few errors
  4. The language is entirely appropriate and the style is polished