Grading Standards

Advanced Writing II, Lecturer Tyler Celeste Hill

Writings: This courses goal is to foster rigorous inquiry and critical thinking,
as well as promote effective written argumentation skills through practical
mediums such as business writing and social analysis.

A: This writing is outstanding in form and content. The main point is clear and insightful; it is
original, or it expands in a new way on ideas presented in the course. The evidence presented in
support of the argument is carefully chosen and deftly handled. The argument is not only unified
and coherent, but also complex and nuanced. The language (including grammar, vocabulary, and
mechanics) are varied, advanced, and contain no distracting errors.
B: This writings goal is clear; the persuasion is coherent and presents evidence in support of its
points. The argument shows comprehension of the material and manifests critical thinking about
the issues raised in the course. The paper is reasonably well written and proofread, and though it
may contain some language errors, they are minor and cause no confusion or difficulty for the
reader. The argument, while coherent, does not have the complexity, the insight, or the integrated
structure of an A-range paper.
C: This writing has some but not all of the basic components of an argumentative essay (i.e.,
thesis, evidence, coherent structure): for example, it may offer a thesis of some kind, but it does
not present enough evidence to support this thesis; or it may present an incoherent thesis; or it
may simply repeat points made in class without an overall argument. The paper may be poorly
organized, written and proofread (containing several distracting errors in spelling, punctuation,
grammatical construction, etc).
Other: A writing will fall below a C if it lacks more than one of the basic components of the
assignment or has many distracting language errors. Any work using another authors ideas or
specific words without appropriate in-text citation and referencing will be considered plagiarized
and receive a failing grade.





Group Participation: Class discussion and peer writing exchange are
incorporated into the class to encourage vigorous intellectual exchange, the
expression of various viewpoints, and the ability to improve ones writing.
Participation in discussion and editing will be evaluated on the following
guidelines.
A: The student is fully engaged and highly motivated. This student is well prepared, having
completed assigned homework, and has thought carefully about the lecture topic and writing
style. This student's ideas and questions are substantive, and his comments to his peers are
insightful and helpful. This student listens and responds to the contributions of other students.
B: The student participates consistently in discussion and gives helpful tips to his classmates
writings. This student comes to class well prepared and contributes quite regularly by sharing
thoughts and questions that show familiarity with the material. This student refers to the
materials discussed in lecture and shows interest in other students' contributions.
C: The student meets the basic requirements of class participation. This student is usually
prepared and participates once in a while but not regularly. This students contributions relate to
the topic and offer a few insightful ideas to classmates.
Other: Failure to fulfill satisfactorily any of these criteria will result in a grade of D or
below.