The score you assign each essay should reflect your judgment of its quality as a whole. You should reward the writers for what they do well in response to the question. Remember that students had 40 minutes to read and write. The resulting essays should thus be thought of as comparable to essays produced in final exams, not judged by standards appropriate for out-of-class writing assignments.
All essays, even those scored 8 and 9, are likely to exhibit occasional flaws in analysis or in prose style and mechanics; such lapses should enter into your holistic judgment of the essay's quality. In no case, however, may an essay with many distracting errors in grammar and mechanics be scored higher than 2.
| 9: Essays earning a score of 9 meet all the criteria for 8 papers and in addition are especially full or apt in their analysis or demonstrate particularly impressive stylistic control.
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| 8: Essays earning a score of 8 effectively evaluate and take a position on the conflicting notions about the self discussed by the characters in James's passage. They present carefully reasoned arguments in support of their position using appropriate evidence from their knowledge and/or experience. Their prose demonstrates an ability to control a wide range of the elements of effective writing but is not flawless. |
| 7: Essays earning scores of 7 fit the description of 6 essays but are distinguished by more complete or more purposeful argument or stronger prose style.
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| 6: Essays earning a score of 6 adequately evaluate the conflicting ideas about the self and take a position on the competing claims. They present arguments that are generally sound and use appropriate evidence, although they may be less developed or less cogent than essays earning higher scores. A few lapses in diction or syntax may be present, but for the most part the prose of 6 essays conveys their writers' ideas clearly. |
| 5: Essays earning a score of 5 understand the task and take a position that evaluates the validity of the competing claims about the self. Their arguments are generally clear, but may be limited or inconsistent or unevenly developed. A few lapses in diction or syntax may be evident, but for the most part the prose of 5 essays conveys their writers' ideas clearly. |
| 4: Essays earning a score of 4 inadequately respond to the question's tasks. They may misunderstand, misrepresent or oversimplify the arguments advanced by the characters or use evidence inappropriate or insufficient to develop their own case. The prose of 4 essays usually conveys their writers' ideas but may suggest immature control over organization, syntax or diction. |
| 3: Essays earning a score of 3 meet the criteria for the score of 4 but are less persuasive in stating and defending a position or less consistent in controlling elements of writing.
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| 2: Essays earning a score of 2 achieve little success in identifying and evaluating the conflicting positions about the self advanced by the characters. These essays may seriously misread the passage or substitute a simpler task; not developing an argument but merely summarizing or tangentially responding to the question. The prose of 2 essays often reveals consistent weaknesses in writing: a lack of organization, grammatical problems or lack of control. |
| 1: Essays earning a score of 1 meet the criteria for the score of 2 but in addition are especially simplistic in their arguments or weak in controlling language.
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| 0: Indicates an on-topic response that receives no credit, such as one that merely repeats the prompt. |
| -: Indicates a blank response or one that is completely off topic. |
