6.033 Summary of Therac grading criteria
Writing Program
Mya Poe with Atissa Banuazizi, Karen Boiko, Mary Caulfield, Kim DeVries Susan Ruff, & Amy Yu
Spring 2004
A: The paper is well-structured with clear topic sentences in the right places and logical transitions between paragraphs. Sentence structure is grammatically correct (no run-ons, fragments, etc.) The paper may have cosmetic stylistic issues, but they should not detract from the paper's readability. In sum, there may be obvious improvements that could be made with subsequent revision, but the paper in its present state effectively communicates the student's argument or exposition. The paper has been thoroughly proofread and spell-checked. A paper that has obviously not been proofread or spell-checked cannot receive an A.
B: Overall, the paper is readable and coherent, but has moderate flaws that prevent it from communicating the student's ideas as effectively as it could. The paper could be reworked into an "A" paper within the context of the existing writing by restructuring or rephrasing material that the student has already written. Papers that have not been spell-checked/proofread that otherwise would receive an A will get a B.
C: The paper has chaotic structure, includes serious grammatical/syntactic errors, or offers only a brief response to the question. This paper needs a complete revision.
F: The paper does not answer the question.