The Big Rubric: Or What I’m Looking for
When I’m Marking Your Assignments
First off, here’s the table of grade descriptors we use as a common point of reference when
marking and assessing your work. It’s closely based on a standard set of grade descriptors
used throughout the university.
At the end is a list of things I take into consideration when applying this table to your work
during marking.
Grade
% Value
Description
A grade assignments denote excellence in critical thinking, understanding of the topic and context
and assignment structure, thorough research, care and accuracy in referencing, and a well crafted
writing style.
A+
A
A-
90-100
85-89
80-84
The assignment demonstrates exceptional intellectual
understanding and integration of the subject. The arguments are
well constructed and the research is of an exceptional standard.
The writing style is interesting and accurate – in fact it is up to
publishing standards. It shows critical perception and
organisation within the word limit.
The assignment shows a critical understanding of the topic at an
advanced level and is written clearly and succinctly. The
assignment demonstrates that the writer has understood and
evaluated the topic thoroughly and has well constructed
arguments. Thorough research is evident through the
assignment.
The assignment is well structured, clearly and intelligently
written. It shows that the writer has understood the area of the
topic, has critically evaluated the other’s scholarship and formed
their own opinions. A wide and pertinent selection of resources
has been used and integrated critically in the content.
B grade assignments denote an understanding of the issues and context of the assignment topic,
the use of pertinent research (beyond 2-3 set books), a development of critical thinking and
evaluation of the sources. The writing is clear, grammatically accurate and edited. These grades
denote very satisfactory work at University level.
B+
B
75-79
70-74
The assignment is well structured, clear and the arguments are
well constructed. A wide and pertinent selection of resources has
been used. Writer demonstrates an understanding of the topic
and its context, an evaluation of the pertinent literature, and has
critically constructed their own position from their research. The
assignment is accurate in such aspects as grammar, punctuation
and spelling. It is well edited and within the word limit
The assignment addresses the topic throughout and
demonstrates an understanding of the topic by the development
of arguments around the topic, the use of pertinent literature
and resources, and an attempt to evaluate the sources. The
assignment shows that the writer has begun to form their own
critical position. The assignment is well written and edited.
B-
65-69
The assignment addresses the topic throughout and
demonstrates the writer understands of the topic. It
demonstrates that the writer has begun to use the sources in
more than descriptive or summary ways. The assignment is well
written with careful grammar, punctuation and spelling.
C grade assignments show that the work is at a pass level for University work.
C+
60-64
The assignment adequately addresses the topic. It demonstrates
an understanding of the topic, evidence that the writer has used
relevant resources. The assignment is well written with accurate
grammar, punctuation and spelling. Referencing is according to
the Theology recommended style. The assignment is
satisfactory.
The assignment may be largely descriptive and lack evidence that
the writer has developed an opinion from their research. It may
also show that the writer has not researched sufficient books
and resources.
C
55-59
The assignment adequately addresses the topic. It shows an
understanding of the topic and evidence that the writer has
referred to relevant research on the topic.
The assignment may show limitations in the books and resources
consulted, some misunderstanding of pertinent sources, and
gaps in the development of arguments. The referencing may
need improvement.
C-
50-54
The assignment addresses the assignment topic. It shows an
understanding of the topic and evidence that the writer has
referred to relevant books on the topic. There are major
inadequacies in the paper however, such as one or more of the
following: It does not address the entire question or topic. The
English language is inaccurate so that the meaning is not clear.
Referencing and bibliography are incomplete. Writing style
shows major errors in paragraphing, punctuation and/or spelling.
The assignment is poorly edited. It is well under the word limit.
D grade assignments mean that the work is not up to University standards.
One or more of the following apply:
D+
D
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The assignment does not address the topic in a
substantial way.
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The assignment shows little evidence of research.

The assignment, or parts of the assignment, have
been plagiarised or submitted for another course.
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The assignment has unacceptable standards of
English expression for a University assignment.
45-49
40-44
Several of the following apply:
D-
0-39

The assignment does not address the topic in a
substantial way.

The assignment lacks breadth or depth and
indicates no evidence of research.

The assignment, or parts of the assignment, has
been plagiarised.
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The assignment has unacceptable standards of
English expression for a University assignment.
Highly unsatisfactory. Work shows a lack of knowledge about
and understanding of the topic. Inadequate in degree of
relevance, and/or completeness, sometimes both.
Communication and presentation skills are weak.
Questions I ask myself when applying this table to your assignments
Critical Thinking: Argument
When universities talk about critical thought, they’re talking about your ability to examine
all sides of a question and form an opinion about the best answer using evidence and logical
argument.
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When I’m marking you essay or opinion piece my first question is: do you have a
clearly stated argument somewhere near the beginning? If the first paragraph says
something like “I am going to write about…” or “I hope to discover…” this is not an
argument; it’s a description of what your essay is about. In its simplest form, an
argument begins: “I will argue that…” “I will claim that…” As you get better at
arguing you will discover other ways of phrasing that statement.
If your essay does have a clear argument, do you evaluate its strengths and
weaknesses and do you evaluate alternative arguments? In other words, you should
always be asking yourself, “how do I know I’m right…? How sure am I of this…?”
Is your argument well supported by reliable evidence (see below under research)
and by logic?
Is your argument original? We mostly don’t expect genuinely original thinking at
undergraduate level, but where a student offers an original argument that is logical,
well supported by evidence, and based on an understanding of the existing answers
to a scholarly question, they are almost always on their way to a high A+. Go ahead
and surprise us!
Finally, if you think the evidence for an argument is inconclusive, it’s ok to say so. In other
words, sometimes academics have to say “we don’t know” or “we’re not sure.” But you
should always explain why you’re not sure. It’s ok to sit on the fence if you can explain why
you need to sit there. It’s not ok to sit on the fence if you can’t be bothered to make up your
mind which side you should come down on.
Critical Thinking: Analysis
Not all assignments ask you to argue, but nearly all assignments expect you to analyse.
Analysis and argument are closely related. Analysis is like looking under the bonnet of a car,
and thinking about how all the parts of the motor work together to make the car go (or not).
If you drink some wine and think about how it tastes, you’re also doing analysis. Analysis will
often lead to an argument: e.g. “this car has stopped working, because… This wine tastes
good, because…”
In Theological and Religious Studies most analysis is done on texts (which can include
images and other media). Occasionally it might involve analysing a social setting like a
religious community.
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If you’re analysing texts, can you identify the parts that are difficult to understand,
and can you use your research to make them easier to understand?
Are you aware of different ways in which a text could be interpreted, and do you
have well-supported opinions about what interpretations are the most plausible
ones?
Does your assignment show that you’re aware of the historical, cultural, linguistic,
literary, and scholarly contexts, and that you can use these to back up you opinions
about the text’s meaning.
The same kind of questions can be applied to exercises like a site-visit or interview.
Research
Argument and analysis are always based on evidence of some kind. Good evidence is based
on good research. Good research is almost certainly not whatever turns up on the first page
of a last-minute Google search the night before your essay’s due.
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So, have you based your argument and analysis on trustworthy evidence?
In other words, does your assignment convince me that you have at least done some
of the reading on the reading list?
Even better, does your assignment convince me that you’ve understood and thought
critically about at least some of the reading on the reading list.
Better yet, does your assignment show your ability to use the university library, with
its books and its databases to their fullest potential?
Best of all, does your assignment show your ability to go out, discover, and then
critically engage with high-quality resources that are not on the reading list?
At Stage 3 in particular, I’m looking for evidence that you have the ability to become the
kind of independent researcher who would do well at postgraduate level.
Referencing
Accurate referencing (i.e. footnotes and bibliography) is a basic form of scholarly
accountability. In other words, it assures me (a) that you’re not just making this stuff up,
and (b) you’re not nicking someone else’s brilliant idea and passing it off as your own
(plagiarism).
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So, does your footnote or bibliographical entry make it easy for me to trace your
reference back to its source and check it for accuracy?
Better still, is your referencing consistent and unambiguous?
Even better, does it consistently follow some academic style like the Chicago Manual
of Style? (We use Chicago in Theological and Religious Studies, but if you prefer to
use another style that’s fine – provided you use it consistently!).
While I’m not going to get too worked up about the odd misplaced comma or full-stop in
your footnotes, I do take a very dim view of failure to reference, or of referencing that
would make it hard for me to check your sources. For example, you should always give me
the page number from which you took a quote or idea. Otherwise you’re expecting me to
leaf through the whole article or book until I find where your evidence came from. This
could take ages, and I don’t have ages.
Communication: Expression
Everything I’ve said above means very little if I have to read what you’ve written two or
three times before I understand what you’re saying; it means nothing at all if I can’t
understand anything you’re saying!
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So, at its most basic, can I get your drift without having to read and re-read whole
portions of your assignment? If not, you’re probably no your way to a low C or even
a fail.
Better still, is your writing idiomatic – i.e. does it follow the conventions used by
other English-speakers when they’re writing (or speaking) in this genre? In other
words, does it follow the rules followed by most other writers of the essay, the blog,
or the exegesis, etc?
Even better, did you use punctuation clearly and unambiguously? And did your
punctuation follow the conventions used by other English writers in this genre?
At A or B level your writing should be transparent. In other words, it shouldn’t get in the
way of what you’re trying to say. At A+ level the writing is not just transparent, it’s clever.
Clever doesn’t mean wordy or jargon-laden, but it might mean playful. It certainly means
you’ve thought hard about what language can do: for example, how it can persuade people,
or open up new ways of looking at things.
Still, if in doubt, stick to transparent. With excellent critical thinking, research, referencing
and structure, you can still get an A+ with transparent.
Finally, in some assignments, I’ve given you permission to experiment with the way you
write. Your writing should still be easy to understand, but I don’t mind, for example, if it’s
more colloquial than the kind of writing you might use in a formal essay. However, if you
feel safer writing in a more formal academic style for these exercises, I won’t penalize you
for that.
Communication: Structure
Structure means the way different parts of your assignment fit together. You probably
already know that an essay has an introduction, a middle, and a conclusion, and that’s
usually your basic structure. But structure also means how clearly your writing takes your
readers by the hand and leads them through the stages in your argument.
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Does your assignment have a clear introduction, which gives an overview of what
you’re going to argue or do, and how you’re going to do it?
Is the middle of your essay divided up into paragraphs, each of which is introduced
by a sentence that clearly signals what this paragraph’s about, and how it’s moving
your argument or analysis on?
o (In opinion pieces for THEOREL 201 I don’t mind if you experiment with the
kind of shorter paragraphs that are used by newspaper journalists)
To put it another way, is there any bit of your essay where I will find myself
wondering, “why is this bit here?” or “how did we get here?”
Is everything in your essay relevant to your central argument? In other words, is
there any point at which I will think, “this is interesting, but what does it have to do
with your central argument?”
Does your assignment finish with a conclusion that sums up your argument and the
evidence you’ve used to support it?