ESSAY GRADING ON YOUR EXAMS

Usually my essay questions on 300-level exams are worth up to 40 points. In a 75 minute exam with an ID section, there will generally be two essay questions with some option for you to choose the questions you want to answer. The grading breaks down this way:

 0-8 points: May not answer the question, or just put down a few sentences or a brief (often inaccurate) plot summary. An unacceptable answer.

9-16points: Only answers part of the question, or puts down a standard (thin) plot summary. Gives the suspicion that you read about the works in question but may not have read the work itself (or just skimmed it).

17-24 points: A competent answer. Covers all the points in the prompt but may be thin, average, or just regurgitating class notes. Few specific examples or original insights. The writer will usually mention the writer or the work title in passing, but not deal specifically with it; there may be some use of key terms.

25-32 points: An above average answer. Covers all the points in the prompt. Gives some (not always specific) examples. May attempt to develop original insights or synthesis. The variation in grade is usually determined by the number, specificity, and applicability of the examples brought forth in support of the writer’s hypothesis. The writer will usually mention an author and work by name and make some reference to key terms in support of the answer.

33-40 points: A superior answer. Covers all the points in the prompt. Supports the writer’s hypothesis with concrete examples from the text (may be of varying degrees of specificity). Insights and connections go further than class discussion and provide evidence that the writer has done some solid critical thinking about the text and ideas. Variations in points are based on the frequency, specificity, and applicability of examples and on the depth of the insights offered. The writer will mention authors, works, and characters by name, and sometimes be able to quote a phrase or two; the writer will use key terms correctly. Most essays that score in this range could be developed into competent critical papers.

Points may be taken off in any range for mistaken but understandable identifications of works, characters, or authors (for instance, saying that Marie de France wrote about Lancelot instead of Lanval) and more frequently for outright mistakes (saying that Chaucer wrote Hamlet). Egregious writing errors (major errors in grammar, syntax, spelling, and punctuation) will certainly cost you a few points, but I do take into account that these essays are written under time pressure.