Detailed Description of Grades

Detailed Description of Grades

A: An A paper is outstanding in every way.

Fulfills the assignment
Is logically structured (clear, concise introduction including statement of objective, brief rationale, and overview of what’s to come; relevant background data; sophisticated analysis of evidence, policy options, case examples, etc.; feasible, relevant, thoughtful recommendations)
Is written in audience-appropriate language and sentence structure
Presents material in reader-friendly format (section and subsection headers clearly state the purpose of each section)
Prose is clear, easily understood
Uses evidence appropriately
Provides insightful, creative critical analysis
No mechanical errors or typos

A-: An A- paper demonstrates many of the same qualities as an A paper, but has some flaws.

Fulfills the assignment
Structure is logical but not as strong as it could be (statement of objective is underdeveloped or imprecisely articulated; background data is relevant but has minor flaws; presentation and analysis of evidence, policy options, case examples is missing necessary details or is overly in-depth; recommendations are thoughtful but are unclear, are not sufficiently explicit, or are overly detailed)
Is written is language that is largely audience appropriate, but could still use work
Presents material in reader-friendly format (section and subsection headers)
Prose is clear, easily understood but may be awkward or unclear in places
Uses evidence appropriately
Provides insightful, creative critical analysis
Only a few errors or typos
May have a few small mechanical errors or typos
Uses citations appropriately (when required)

B+: A B+ paper is good but flawed

Fulfills the assignment but is lackluster
Has a thesis/statement of objective and recognizable structure, but development is slight
Has some section headers, but logic and flow of sections is unclear
Language attempts to be audience specific, but is uneven (some language is appropriate, but some is not)
Prose is difficult to read in places (is overly wordy, vague, uses many passive constructions, etc.)
Uses some, but not enough, evidence
Demonstrates basic understanding of the evidence and sources being cited
Paper tends to be more descriptive than analytic
Has more than a few errors or typos
Uses citations (when required), but may have some mistakes or leaves some out

B: A B paper is adequate but in need of work

Thesis/statement of objective is unclear
Structure is not easy to follow (has redundancies or gaps in information)
Insufficient section headers
Language is not appropriate for audience
Prose is overall difficult to read (overly wordy, vague, relies on passive constructions)
Assertions are minimally supported by evidence or sources
Does not demonstrate understanding of evidence and sources being cited
Relies on description and includes little if any analysis
Has numerous errors and typos
Insufficient or incorrect use of citations (when required)

B-: A B- paper attempts to fulfill the assignment but is seriously flawed

Structure is poor (has redundancies or gaps in information; lacks transitions or topic sentences; paragraphs are a jumble of unconnected ideas and facts)
Does not use section headers
Language is unclear and inappropriate for audience
Prose is difficult to read
Assertions are unsupported by evidence or sources
Sources are used incorrectly
Is purely descriptive
Has numerous errors and typos
Insufficient or incorrect use of citations (when required)

*C+-F: Unacceptable: demonstrates minimal effort and is unacceptable

*C+-F: Unacceptable

A paper can be unacceptable at a variety of levels. Final course grades of C+ or lower do not meet the BUSHP minimum threshold of acceptability.