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Marking Criteria Essays

CRITERIA FOR COURSEWORK ESSAYS

Class

Scale

Numerical equivalent

Descriptor

First

Excellent first


96

Exceptional work of the highest quality

  • Exceptional perceptive and accurate analysis of primary material coupled with some evidence of original thought/research
  • Ability to engage critically with – and go beyond – secondary material
  • Very clear grasp of relevant and/or critical contexts
  • Essay is clearly structured and reads very fluently
  • Sustained address to the issues the question raised
  • Quotations properly referenced
  • Bibliography/filmography complete and properly presented

High 1st

89

Very high quality work which may extend existing debates or interpretations:

  • Excellent perceptive and accurate analysis of primary material coupled with some evidence of original thought/research
  • Ability to engage critically with – and go beyond – secondary material
  • Very clear grasp of historical and critical contexts
  • Essay is clearly structured and reads very fluently
  • Sustained address to the issues the question raised
  • Quotations properly referenced
  • Bibliography/filmography complete and properly presented

Mid 1st

81

Low 1st

74

Upper second

High 2:1

68

High quality work with the following qualities:

  • Good or very good perceptive and accurate analysis of primary material
  • Critical terms are properly defined
  • Good grasp of historical and critical contexts
  • Secondary sources are properly evaluated
  • Essay is clearly structured; argument develops logically
  • Sustained address to the issues the question raised
  • Quotations properly referenced and evidence that works/films cited in bibliography/filmography have been used

Mid 2:1

65

Low 2:1

62

Lower second

High 2:2

58

Competent work with the following features:

  • Satisfactory analysis of primary material
  • Limited explanation of historical and critical contexts
  • Some confusion over the use of critical terms
  • Address to the question not consistently sustained. Inclusion of some material not relevant to the question
  • Some over-reliance on secondary sources used and/or some key secondary sources not properly evaluated
  • Inadequate use of quotations
  • Some errors in referencing and/or presentation of bibliography
  • Structure unclear in places; some errors in syntax, punctuation and spelling

Mid 2:2

55

Low 2:2

52

Third

High 3rd

48

Work of limited quality characterised by:

  • Limited analysis of primary material
  • Very limited understanding of critical terms
  • Historical and critical contexts inadequately explained
  • Little or no evaluation of secondary sources
  • Little or no use of quotations
  • Quotations not properly referenced and little evidence that works/films cited in bibliography/filmography have in fact been consulted
  • Multiple errors in presentation of bibliography
  • More a general essay on the text than a sustained address to the question
  • Essay is poorly structured; errors in English syntax, punctuation and register

Mid 3rd

45

Low 3rd

42

Fail

High Fail

38

Work does not meet standards required for the appropriate stage of an Honours degree:

  • Little or no evidence of an adequate engagement with the primary material
  • General essay about the text/s that does not address the question at all
  • Little or no evidence of an ability to tackle other issues relating to the topic
  • Little or no evidence of any sustained attempt to engage with historical and critical contexts

Fail

25

Poor quality work well below the standards required for the appropriate stage of an Honours degree

Low fail

12

Zero

Zero

0


Work of no merit OR Absent, work not submitted, penalty in some misconduct cases

 

CRITERIA FOR EXAM ESSAYS

 

EXCELLENT FIRST Outstanding work showing an exceptional command of the texts and issues concerned. The essay is extremely tightly argued throughout, showing extraordinary insight and impressive organisational proficiency in its treatment of the question set. The discussion displays a wide-ranging engagement with secondary sources paired with impeccably-chosen examples from primary sources. The essay is of outstanding quality in terms of clarity, scope and breadth of argument and is written in faultless English.
FIRST CLASS Very high quality work (excellent work at the top end of the grade) which engages analytically and imaginatively with the question set and demonstrates a full understanding of the texts or issues concerned. The essay is tightly and convincingly argued throughout, shows evidence of critical engagement with appropriate secondary reading and clearly goes beyond the scope of lecture and seminar work. It handles primary material creatively but with appropriate sensitivity to detail. The essay is written in fluent and literate English.
UPPER SECOND CLASS(2:1) Very competent work which focuses clearly on the question set and demonstrates good knowledge of the text or issues concerned. The essay is coherent, well structured and is informed by appropriate secondary reading. It makes good use of examples from primary material and is analytical in its treatment of these. The essay is written in correct English. (An essay in the top band of this category will do all or most of the above; an essay in the bottom band of this category will do some of the above. An essay that has impressive signs of quality may be pulled down from a I to a Ii because of inaccuracies or a lack of rigour. An essay may fall within the bottom band of Ii if its argument is thorough but pedestrian, or because it is short weight or unfinished.)
LOWER SECOND CLASS(2:2) A focused answer which endeavours to addresses the question set, makes use of examples from primary material and demonstrates sound knowledge of the text or issues concerned. The essay is, however, of uneven quality: it sometimes lacks structure and its approach tends to be descriptive rather than analytical. There is a satisfactory grasp of grammar and syntax, but (especially at the bottom of this category) the use of English may tend to be simplistic or clumsy. (An essay may fall into this category if its argument is basically sound, but lacks scope; or if it presents a promising argument but is too short, rushed or unfinished.)
THIRD CLASS Some limited and basic evidence of reading and understanding of the texts and issues concerned. The essay is descriptive rather than analytical and is characterised by lack of structure or organisation, errors of spelling and grammar and clumsy prose style. The essay will include points which are irrelevant, simplistic and/or underdeveloped, or factually wrong (the candidate may misunderstand the question); and will make inadequate use of examples. An essay may fall into this category if it presents a discernible argument that is excessively short.
38 HIGH FAIL (SUB-HONOURS) The essay does demonstrate some basic awareness of key issues and/or a basic knowledge of the text, but the structure of the essay is inadequate and points that are made are underdeveloped and/or sometimes irrelevant. Very thin arguments or significant omissions may be offset by moments of clarity.
Fail No evidence of a basic understanding of the text or key issues. Completely irrelevant or ignorant work.