Criteria for Essay Grades
1. Is your writing interesting? Interesting writing usually has one or more of the following characteristics:
a. It has a new or unusual topic or perspective. (No plot summaries!)
b. It focuses on relatively few (but interesting) related points and probes them in considerable detail (within limits). (Please do not cover many points superficially.)
c. It has probing analysis, imaginative insights, and original ideas. It persuasively questions assumptions and commonplaces and probes beyond the surface. (Please do not make your work dull, plodding, and derivative.)
d. It has an original (more or less) and persuasive interpretation. It goes beyond the classroom discussion to show the reader something new and credible. (Please do not regurgitate the classroom materials verbatim, though you may need to refer briefly to the classroom ideas and discussion from time to time.)
e. It has a wealth of concrete reference in the form of quotation, comparison, metaphor, and allusion (but does not pad with lots of quotations).
f. It makes striking, illuminating, and persuasive connections with other things we read or discuss in the course. (Please avoid work that is trivial and impoverished in its content.)
g. It has a style that is enlightening, varied, vivid, and stimulating, but still restrained. It uses humor, irony, sarcasm, or whimsy when appropriate. (Avoid a style that is trite, vague, repetitive, overly abstract, tedious, etc.)
2. Do you have a clear thesis in the first
paragraph of your essay (or maybe in the title)? Is the thesis narrow and
detailed? A poor thesis: "Ancient and modern literature are different."
A better thesis: "Greek and twentieth- century literature differ sharply
in their use of conflict: many Greek conflicts are between the Gods and
people, but many modern conflicts are between differing attitudes and impulses
within an individual person."
3. Did you relate your analysis to the thesis of the literary work? That
is, if you discussed the style, imagery, narration, characters, or plot,
did you relate your discussion to the thesis of the novel, poem, or play?
You cannot analyze in a vacuum. You cannot say a writer uses an unreliable
narrator or lots of flower imagery or anti-patriarchal women and stop. You
must continue to explain what it all means by relating your points to the
meaning of the literary work as a whole.
4. Did you define your key terms when necessary? Were your terms consistent?
5. Does the writing demonstrate understanding and adequate fulfillment of
the assignment? Did you follow my instructions?
6. Is the writing well organized? That is, does it have a beginning, middle,
and end? Are individual paragraphs well organized. That is, does each one,
except perhaps for the introduction and conclusion, have a (more or less)
clear topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph which is detailed
and developed fully in the remaining sentences of the paragraph?
7. Is the essay coherent? That is, do the topics in the individual paragraphs
support the thesis in the introduction? Do you stick to your point in individual
paragraphs? Does everything in your essay more or less relate to your point
or thesis?
8. Are there fluent transitions between and within paragraphs?
9. If possible and appropriate, is the introduction dramatic and interesting?
Is the conclusion dramatic and interesting?
10. Are the sentences clear and correct--no comma splices, fragments, or
run- ons? Is there sentence variety? That is, among other things, did you
use a short sentence for emphasis when appropriate?
11. Is your diction concise, fluent, specific, and free from cliché?
12. Do the examples, comparisons, and definitions support your explanations
in a coherent way? Are you moderate and fair with the evidence?
13. Are the punctuation, spelling, and grammar correct?
14. Is the work written in standard English, or are there departures from
the standard for intended effects?
15. Is the writing typed (double-spaced)? Is it neat in appearance? Has
it been carefully proofread to remove all typographical errors?
16. Does the writing document your quoted or paraphrased evidence when necessary?
That is, do you use proper footnote and bibliography format?
17. Does your essay have a title?
18. Do you have sufficient evidence in the form of brief quotations or descriptions
or analysis to support your assertions?
19. Do you use page numbers?