GUIDE FOR MARKING CRITERIA FOR 2ND & 3RD YEAR COURSEWORK
ESSAYS & EXAMS
This guide has been drafted to provide you with an indication of what is looked for when a
piece of work is being marked and how the different gradings may be allocated.
Mark
Range
100, 95,
90
Class
Description
Upper 1 An outstanding essay displaying excellent understanding of the topic. The
arguments are clearly constructed and the essay is well organised and
presented. There is evidence of outside reading and/or originality of
thought and analytical skill
85, 80,
75, 72
1
The essay displays an excellent understanding of the subject matter and is
well organised. The arguments are clearly constructed and supported.
There may be evidence of outside reading.
68, 65, 62
2.1
The essay displays a sound understanding of the central issues and is well
organised. The arguments are well constructed. The key points are
addressed and there are no significant errors.
58, 55, 52
2.2
The essay displays understanding of the main issues. There may be some
minor errors, omissions or poorly expressed ideas.
48, 45
3
The essay is poorly constructed, displaying flaws in understanding of some
of the material. There are some omissions or inaccuracies. The essay may
not be fully focused on the question asked.
42
Pass
A poorly formulated answer that displays limited understanding of the
main issues. There are some significant omissions and errors. The essay is
not clearly focused on the question asked.
38, 35
Just
Fail
The essay attempts to address the question, but may not be focused
and/or contains some significant factual or conceptual errors, indicating
insufficient understanding to merit a pass. There may be major omissions.
30, 25
Fail
There may be a failure to address the question as asked but the essay does
show some understanding of the topic or the question is addressed, at
least in part, but there are serious errors and/or omissions that indicate
poor understanding.
The essay shows a clear lack of understanding with major errors and
omissions. There is little attempt to address the question
20, 15,
10, 5
0
No serious attempt has been made to answer the question.
It should be appreciated that the descriptors given above are generic and are not
exclusive. Therefore there may be compensation for weaknesses in some aspects of an
essay by strengths in others.
The presentation of the essay, the organisation of the arguments and the use of English
will be considered when grading the essay, particularly where these affect the reader’s
ability to understand the answer.