Perhaps the principal characteristic
of the “A” paper is its rich content.
The information delivered is such that one feels significantly taught by
the author. The “A” paper is also marked
by stylistic finesse: the title and opening paragraph are engaging; the
transitions are artful; the phrasing is tight, fresh, and highly specific; the
sentence structure is varied; the tone enhances the purposes of the paper. Finally, the “A” paper, because of its
careful organization and development, imparts a feeling of wholeness and
unusual clarity.
Thus, the “A” paper:
Meets the requirements of the writing assignment.
Is clear, well-organized, and well-supported.
Is correctly documented.
Interests the reader through content and style.
Is
virtually error free.
The “B” paper is significantly more
than competent. Besides being almost
free of mechanical errors, the “B” paper delivers substantial information—that
is, substantial in both quantity and interest-value—and only occasionally leads
the reader to raise questions or to wish for more information. Its specific points are logically ordered,
well developed, and unified around a clear organizing principle that is
apparent early in the paper. The opening
paragraph draws the reader in; the concluding paragraph is both conclusive and
thematically related to the opening. The
transitions between paragraphs are for the most part smooth, the sentence
structures varied. The diction of the
“B” paper is typically much more concise and precise than that found in the “C”
paper. On the whole, then, a “B” paper
makes the reading experience a pleasurable one, for it offers substantial
information with few distractions.
Thus, the “B” paper:
Meets the requirements of the writing assignment.
Is
generally clear, well organized, and well supported.
Is
correctly documented (except, perhaps, for minor flaws).
Is largely interesting to the reader through content and style.
Has
few, if any, major mechanical errors.
The
“C” Paper
The “C” is generally competent,
meets—at least in large part—the assignment, has few mechanical errors, and is
reasonably well organized and developed.
The actual information it delivers, however, seems thin and commonplace. One reason for that impression is that the
ideas are typically cast in the form of vague generalities—generalities that
prompt the reader to ask marginally: “In every case?” “Exactly how large?” “Why?”
“But how many?”
Stylistically, the “C” paper has other shortcomings as well: the opening
paragraph does little to draw the reader in; the final paragraph offers only a
perfunctory wrap-up; the transitions between paragraphs are often unclear or
missing; the sentences, besides being a bit choppy, tend to follow a
predictable (hence monotonous) subject-verb-object order; and the diction is
occasionally marred by unconscious repetitions, redundancy, and
imprecision. Although the “C” paper
shows little imagination and intellectual rigor, it does get the job done. Most college freshmen tend to write “C”
papers.
Another way of describing the “C”
paper is that it may be characterized by a combination of some, but not
necessarily all, of the following problems:
Fails to meet the full requirements of the assignment.
Is
in places unclear, unorganized, or lacks adequate support.
Contains documentation problems.
Fails to consistently interest the reader through content and style.
Contains distracting mechanical errors.
The
“D” Paper
The “D” paper’s treatment and
development of the subject are only rudimentary. While organization is present, it is neither
clear nor effective. Sentences are
frequently awkward, ambiguous, and marred by serious mechanical errors. Evidence of careful proofreading is scanty or
nonexistent. The whole piece, in fact,
often gives the impression of having been conceived and written in haste.
The “D” paper, in other words, may
be characterized by any combination of the following problems:
Fails to meet the basic requirements of the assignment.
Lacks clarity, overall organization, and adequate support.
Has major documentation problems.
Fails to engage the reader through content and style.
Contains a number of distracting mechanical errors.
The
“F” Paper
The “F” paper’s treatment of the
subject is superficial; its organization is unclear and confusing; its prose is
garbled and imprecise. The vocabulary is
extremely limited. Mechanical errors are
frequent. In short, the ideas,
organization, and style fall far below what is acceptable college writing.
Thus, the “F” paper may be
characterized by any combination of the following problems:
Fails to meet the requirements of the assignment.
Shows virtually no clarity, overall organization, or support.
Is
without documentation when it is needed, or the documentation that is present
is seriously flawed.
Contains numerous distracting mechanical errors.
(Adapted
from a description appearing in Writing
At Carolina: The Student’s Guide to Freshman English, 1995-1996)