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 ©Hurst, 2000
Updated 08/08/00

Students should feel free to make an appointment with their professor if they would like to talk about any aspects of their papers.  The Writing Center also stands ready to assist students who want to improve their writing skills.

Students who have prepared very good or excellent papers are encouraged to submit them for the English Department's annual essay contests.  To enter, simply give the professor a fresh, completely corrected copy of the paper.

Good essays have the following characteristics:

• They express good ideas.  They are meaningful and show that the writer understands and has insight into the subject being discussed.
• Their authors demonstrate a genuine interest in or engagement with their topics.  Superior essays are often lively or written with flair.  The essays are not boring, matter-of-fact, or ho-hum, but they also do not overstate or reach too far in a transparent effort to show false interest.
• They contain a clear central thesis that controls and shapes the discussion.
• Their topic is appropriate for the required assignment and is also appropriate for the specified length of the assignment, being neither too narrow nor too broad.
• They develop their ideas fully and consider the implications of what they are saying.
• They are well-organized with a clear beginning, a thorough discussion, and a strong conclusion.  The introduction leads into the subject.  The conclusion suggests the significance of the subject.
• Their individual paragraphs are developed around central ideas usually framed in topic sentences that relate to and develop the essay’s thesis statement.
• They make use of relevant examples and details to support their main points.
• They provide adequate information about the subject under discussion but do not merely retell the plot (in the case of a literary discussion) or merely summarize someone else’s work (in the case of a literary or linguistic research assignment).
• If relying on secondary research, they do not allow the tone of their research sources to dominate or overtake their own author’s voice and tone.
• If relying on secondary research, they integrate their source materials into the discussion.  That is, for example, one paragraph does not all derive from one single source, while another paragraph derives from another single source, and so on.  Long quotations are used sparingly, and quotations are not left to stand alone but, rather, they are discussed and incorporated logically within the text.
• They cite their sources properly and unambiguously within the text and at the end of the essay using the current MLA style guidelines. 
• They contain well-formed sentences arranged logically.  Sentence structure errors such as run-ons and fragments have been eliminated.  The sentences state the ideas concisely.
• They display few if any misplaced modifiers, pronoun-antecedent agreement errors, or other grammatical mistakes.
• They convey the ideas using accurate diction.
• They use strong action verbs to carry their meaning.  Linking verbs (is, are, was, were) appear sparingly.  Passive voice also appears sparingly.
• They maintain a consistent point of view.  Use of first person (I) is appropriate only if the tone of the paper remains informal and reference to the writer is logical within the context of the essay.  Second person (you) is logical in letters and memos and other communication in which a particular audience is specified, but second person is almost always inappropriate in essays.
• They maintain a consistent tense; shifts or switches between tenses do not occur unless changes in time must be marked with a logical sequence of tenses.  In general, people write about literature using present tense or historical present tense.
• They employ gender-neutral words (such as humankind, individuals, and he or she)  rather than gender-specific nouns and pronouns (such as mankind and he) when no gender reference is intended.
• They conform to the standards of current written English with regard to spelling, punctuation, and other features of grammar and mechanics.  Note that words used as linguistic examples should be placed in italics.

Papers that earn the grade of A 

are well-prepared, well-organized, and supported with specific examples that are often lively and interesting.  If designed as research papers, they have a good research base, with sources used and documented appropriately.  They are characterized by good sentence structure and good paragraph structure.  Technical errors, if any, are minor.  A papers are on well-selected topics, have a clear thesis, and present good information.  Authors of A papers are often personally interested in the topics they discuss.

Papers that earn the grade of B

show good work.  They have one or two weaknesses, however, not seen in A papers.  For example, they sometimes have more technical errors than A papers.  Sometimes their thesis is not as sharp and clear as A papers.  Sometimes their sentence structure is not as good or their paragraphs as well-developed.  They often have fewer than the optimal number of specific examples or details.  If designed as research papers, their sources may not be documented as well as is desirable, or their citation form may not be completely correct.

Papers that earn the grade of C

could be good in content and in ideas but may be beset by one serious failing or by two or three less serious failings.  For example, they may have numerous usage errors or a few major technical errors (e.g., sentence fragments or run-ons).  Or, C papers are sometimes technically correct but weak in ideas or lacking in the use of adequate sources.  C papers may show less understanding of the linguistic or literary concepts under discussion than A or B papers, or, in the case of research papers, they may be more discussion papers than research papers.

Papers that earn the grade of D

contain significant errors of one or more types described above.  If designed as research papers, they may have a completely inadequate research base.  They may have overwhelming technical errors or serious flaws in fact or logic.  They may not have developed the thesis sufficiently.  They may have a lack of focus.  Their sources may not be used properly.  They may have a combination of errors that individually are not terrible but, taken in total, weaken the paper into the "poor" category.