An Explanation of How Grades on Philosophy 104 Papers Are Determined

Here are the general criteria that we use for evaluating your papers:

Clarity and relevance. Is it clear, at every point in the paper, exactly what the author is claiming, and how the points s/he makes and the examples s/he uses are supposed to support that claim?

Conciseness. Is everything in the paper strictly relevant to the claim the author is trying to make? Does the author make his/her points efficiently?

Logical precision. Is the structure of the author's argument completely clear? For example, does the author appropriately distinguish: premises vs. conclusions; necessary vs. sufficient conditions; objections vs. replies; positive arguments vs. defensive moves?

Insight and originality. Is the author merely repeating points made in the lectures and readings, or has s/he thought deeply about the issue for him/herself?

Numerical grades are assigned using the scoring table below. Please understand that grading is an inexact science. Actual papers often do not exhibit all the strengths and weaknesses that we have associated with a particular grade below; thus, particular judgments are required for each individual work. These guidelines should give you, however, some idea of how we interpret the different grades and what we expect from your papers. We hope that this helps to demystify the grading process.

= A+

Work of exceptional quality. The paper demonstrates deep and precise understanding and originality of thought, with a consistent precision of ideas and elegance of expression. The paper is logically flawless and extremely well-structured. (This is an “off the top of the scale” grade, and is rarely used!)

38-39

= A

Work of excellent quality. The paper contains a clearly defined thesis, and a clear, reasonable and logical argument supporting it. The exploration of the issue is articulate and thorough, and demonstrates clear understanding. The organization is very good. The paper shows insight and independence of thought.

35-37

= B+

A paper that is "almost there". It should exhibit all of the qualities required for an A paper, but something is there to prevent it from receiving that higher score. Normally those are some small errors in argumentation, organization, or in grammar, or a lack of independent thought in an otherwise flawless paper.

32-34

= B

Papers that score in the B range differ rather markedly from B+ papers. The B paper lacks one or two major criteria. For example, the following sorts of papers will typically score 32-34:

- a well written paper that has good organization, but whose argument is not very sophisticated;

- a paper which has very good and creative ideas, but whose organization or presentation is somewhat flawed or which fails to develop those ideas properly.

- a paper that consistently makes minor logical mistakes.

29-31

= C+

A C+ paper is like a B paper, but with more flaws.

26-28

= C

For a paper to get a C, it has to have some significant errors. Mostly those errors will be on the side of argumentation, in that there is little of it, or it is significantly wrong. Alternatively, papers with several of the following features will often score in the range 26-28:

- - The organization may be seriously flawed. For instance, the ideas may be presented here and there in the paper, and the main points scattered around with no clear unity or organization; but the ideas are all right to some degree.

- - The paper is unclear.

- - Transitions are few or weak; the paper sometimes jumps around.

- - The structure of the paper is not straightforward. The introduction, development and conclusion of the paper do not match up very well.

- - Examples may be unclear or inappropriate.

23-25

= D

For a paper to earn a 23-25 grade, it must contain more errors than a C paper. For example, if there is little evidence that you understand the topic and/or your writing is so muddled that it is difficult to trace any line of argumentation through the paper, you will probably score in this range.

More specific guidelines on what papers graded D are often like follow.

Content: The argument is inconsistent, vague and unimaginative. The argument might be very hard to identify. The paper just strings together related ideas, but does not attempt to organize them in the form of an argument. The paper just summarizes or narrates, but does not engage in philosophical argument. There is a general failure to support statements with argument and/or illustrative examples.

Structure: Unclear, often because thesis is weak or non-existent. Transitions are confusing or non-existent. The paper lacks unity or organization.

Presentation: Serious problems in sentence structure, grammar, diction, punctuation and spelling to the point of interfering with the understanding of the prose and frustrating the reader.

Relevance: The relationship of the content of the paper to the question nominally being addressed is very weak or unclear.

0-22

= F

You will score in the 0-22 range if your paper is barely (or not) even on the topic (or if you didn't submit a paper at all).

NB: The paper assignments are very specific. Read the question carefully: it is crucial that your paper answers the question that was posed. You will lose points for omitting parts of the question or including substantial amounts of irrelevant material, even if your paper would have been a good answer to a different question.