Grading Levels for In-Class Essays
The TAs and I have established this rubric in response to the first set of In-Class Essays. We established a “baseline” score of 35 for the average essay and built the rubric around it. Our recommendation is to read over your essay, the TA comments, and the guide to the scores, with the goal of either maintaining your score or “leveling up” on the next In-Class Essay.
An important note on grades: As with any assignment, your grade here is not an assessment of your intelligence, commitment, originality, or value. In-Class Essays provide an opportunity for you to tell us what you are learning. Grades are a measure of two things: both what you have learned and your ability to convey that learning to us in a form that is legible according to the academic standards of humanities disciplines. (Those standards typically revolve around being able to read and interpret humanistic texts, then forming your own arguments and insights in conversation with multiple texts.) Assessments like this allow us to check your understanding and show both us and you where there is a need for more knowledge, understanding, practice, or familiarity with this type of writing. They are tools for finding your existing strengths and opportunities for growth. If you have questions about your grade, please book an appointment with your TA to discuss it!
While we can only grade what’s in front of us, we understand that your writing in these essays only reflects one small part of your work as a student and a thinker.
35 points (BASELINE – GOOD – MOST COMMON SCORE):
THESIS
✓ The essay addresses the prompt and attempts a robust answer to the question.
✓ The answer can be partial or provisional, or even a bit self-contradictory, but it is an attempt to present a coherent answer.
✓+ The essay shows evidence that the student holds carefully considered thoughts and feelings about the issues they discuss.
DIALOGUE WITH OTHER THINKERS
✓ The essay mentions at least two sources from the course reader and attempts to portray the contents of those sources accurately
✓ The essay may slightly mischaracterize a particular author’s view, but makes a good faith effort to get the big picture right.
ARGUMENTATION:
✓ The essay gives examples or explanations support its claims.
✓- The essay may have little a bit of “filler” in it, i.e., filling space by re-phrasing the question in an empty-seeming way.
V Below baseline
^ Above baseline
BELOW BASELINE
30-34 points (needs work)
THESIS
✓ The essay addresses the prompt and attempts a robust answer to the question.
✓- The answer may be more partial, provisional, or perfunctory than baseline.
✓- The essay may slightly misunderstand the prompt, understanding it as wider or narrower than it is.
✓+ The essay shows evidence that the student holds thoughts and feelings about the issues they discuss.
DIALOGUE WITH OTHER THINKERS
✓ The essay mentions at least two sources from the course reader
✓- The essay may slightly mischaracterize a particular author’s view
✓ The essay may mention these authors in only a cursory way
ARGUMENTATION
✓- The essay may give vague, minimal, or clichéd examples or explanations support its claims.
✓- The essay may have a bit of “filler” in it, i.e., filling space by re-phrasing the question in an empty-seeming way.
ABOVE BASELINE
36-37 points (very good)
THESIS
✓ The essay addresses the prompt and attempts a robust answer to the question.
✓ The answer can be partial or provisional, or even a bit self-contradictory, but it is an attempt to present a coherent answer.
✓+ The essay shows evidence that the student holds carefully considered thoughts and feelings about the issues they discuss.
DIALOGUE WITH OTHER THINKERS
✓ The essay mentions at least two sources from the course reader and portrays the contents of those sources accurately.
✓+ The essay demonstrates a full and nuanced understanding of other authors’ positions.
ARGUMENTATION
✓ The essay gives examples or explanations to support its claims.
✓+ The essay does seem to have any “filler” in it; every part of the essay feels necessary to its argumentation.
v LOWER BELOW BASELINE
25-30 points (needs work)
THESIS
✓- The essay may demonstrate a mistaken or overly broad understanding of the prompt
✓- The essay does not adequately present an argument or perspective, or relies excessively on cliché
DIALOGUE WITH OTHER THINKERS
✓- The essay does not engage two authors from the course reader, or mentions them only a cursory way
✓- The essay may mischaracterize a particular author’s view
ARGUMENTATION
✓- The essay has an excess of of “filler,” repetition, or cliché
✓- The essay does not give explanations or examples
^ HIGHER ABOVE BASELINE
38-39 points (great)
THESIS
✓+ The essay addresses the prompt and attempts a robust answer to the question.
✓+ The essay offers a strong, coherent view with some degree of nuance
✓+ The essay shows evidence that the student holds carefully considered thoughts and feelings about the issues they discuss.
DIALOGUE WITH OTHER THINKERS
✓ The essay mentions at least two sources from the course reader and portrays the contents of those sources accurately.
✓+ The essay demonstrates a full and nuanced understanding of other authors’ positions.
✓+ The essay attempts to put the authors in dialogue with one another, or enter into dialogue with them
ARGUMENTATION
✓+ The essay gives vivid, detailed examples or explanations to support its claims
v LOWER BELOW BASELINE
24 points or below
✓ The student showed up and wrote something in response to the prompt
✓- The student may not be clear on which class they are in right now
^ HIGHEST ABOVE BASELINE
40 points
✓+ The essay presents a robust answer to the prompt
✓+ The essay presents a clear argument and nuanced understanding of the topic
✓+ The essay creates a dialogue between the student and the authors discussed
✓+ The essay gives vivid, detailed examples or explanations to support its claims
✓+ The essay reads like a final or semi-final draft of a take-home essay