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Marking Criteria

The type of work you will be doing can be divided very broadly into assessment on cultural modules, and language work. Each type of language work has its own assessment guidelines because of the nature of the task. For instance, the way in which translation into English is marked is different to the way in which translation into the relevant foreign language is marked. Below you will find the marking criteria for essays on cultural modules. You will receive information about the way in which your language work will be assessed from your language tutors but, in very general terms, the fewer mistakes you make and the more natural your expression and idiom (and for essays in the foreign language the better your ideas and the more coherent the structure), the higher your mark will be.

Numerically based work, work with smaller questions (all points on 0-100 scale)

Where an assessment or exam is based on numerical work, or where there are a large number of questions in an exam with small numbers of marks for each question, we use all of the percentage points from 0 to 100. This applies to some language assessments in year 1.

Other work (20-point marking scale)

Where an assessment or exam is a single piece of work, or a small number of long exam answers, work is marked using a scale comprised of 20 points. This is typical for essay-based subjects, dissertation and many pieces of work where there is no single right answer and the quality of your analysis and argument is more important.

Language modules

Marking criteria (writing) A1/A2

Marking criteria (writing) B1/B2

Marking criteria (writing) C1/C2

Marking criteria (writing) Chinese/Japanese/Korean Levels 1 and 2

Marking Criteria (writing) Chinese/Japanese/Korean Levels 3 and 4

Marking criteria (oral) A1/A2

Marking criteria (oral) B1/B2

Marking criteria (oral) C1/C2

Marking criteria (translation into English)

Marking criteria (translation from English)

Marking criteria (Portfolio)

Translation and Transcultural Studies

Marking Criteria (Translations)

Marking Criteria (Commentary)

Culture modules

Marking criteria (SMLC culture modules)

Finding your way through the essay marking criteria: a guideLink opens in a new window

Marking criteria (examinations)

Marking criteria (SMLC research-based modules)

Marking criteria (textual and literary commentary)

Marking criteria (presentations)

Feedback and Marking Sheet (presentations)

Marking criteria (articles/text critiques)

Marking criteria (participation)

Marking criteria (memorialisation project)

Marking criteria (In the family way: student devised assessment)

Information for students visiting from Europe

Marking equivalents for visiting students (Europe)Link opens in a new window. Use this table to compare marks and levels in your home institution to the SMLC marks and marking criteria.