A	B+	B	C+	C	D	F
OVERALL	Excellent	Admirable	Good	Respectable	Acceptable	Weak	Unacceptable
Opening	Perceptive and forceful thesis	Perceptive and Clear thesis	Clear and significant thesis	Unambiguous thesis	Unambiguous thesis	Unclear, trivial, absent, or ill-chosen thesis	Unclear, trivial, absent, or ill-chosen thesis
Structure & Development	Effortless and/or gripping to read	Well developed via smoothly linked paragraphs; Thesis always borne in mind	Cohesive; Logically developed paragraphs with effective transitions	Logically developed with sensible paragraphs and helpful transitions	Logically but unevenly developed: paragraphing and/or transitions may need work	Unfocussed and/or chaotic: Poor paragraphing and/or poor transitions	Undeveloped, unfocussed or incoherent
Use of Evidence and Quotations	Artful and potent	Skillful and precise	Well chosen and well integrated	Appropriate and adequately integrated	Competent but not forceful; Repeats without enhancing points	Awkwardly or wrongly insertedquotations; Shallow or vague	Inadequate; undermines persuasiveness
Effectiveness of Argument	Forceful and/or subtle	Entirely persuasive	Generally persuasive	Largely persuasive	Plausible but not compelling	Dubious	Unpersuasive
Expression and Style	Vivid and/or eloquent	Clear and Engaging	Clear and fluid	Competent but occasionally disruptive	Competent but occasionally disruptive	Uncontrolled	Inarticulate
Conclusion	Mature, sensitive or refined	Skillful and alert to larger significance; No loose ends or late clarifications	Conscientious; No loose ends, new points or late clarifications	Adequate, but perhaps with a loose end or late clarification	Variation of first paragraph; Formulaic or redundant	Self-evident, vague, clichéd or underdeveloped	Irrelevant, self-contradictory, vague, or absent
Mechanics	Virtually error-free	Virtually error-free	Few and minimally disruptive errors	Occasionally disruptive errors	Disruptive errors	Disruptive and recurring errors	Constant or severe errors