Course Description | Grading Criteria | Sample Student Papers & Responses | How to Write the Research Paper

A Paper:

The project is ambitious in terms of the questions asked and the complications that are explored.

• The texts used are not for confirmation of the project, but to develop the complications.

• The case example(s) will test the limits of the sources and may propose an alternative to the sources.

• The sources engage in a “dialogue” with the writer and are not used to report information.

• The sources and quotations demonstrate that the student has read around in the area of his or her research.

• The paper reflects a complex understanding of the issues raised.

• The A paper is well-organized and controlled, with few citation and sentence-level errors.

B Paper:

Unlike the A paper, the B paper does not fully explore the complications of the project behind the paper.

• There is a tendency to engage more in confirmation of a point of view, and to stress what is obvious.

• Unlike the A paper, the sources in the B paper will tend to reinforce a position, rather than challenge the project behind the paper.

• The paper is generally well organized, but there may be paragraphs or sections where the essay does not cohere because connections between ideas have not been completely worked out.

• The paper uses the minimum number of sources (6). The use of the sources, however, reveals that the student has entered into a scholarly conversation.

• The quotations develop and extend ideas, in addition to supporting ideas. The paper indicates disagreement as well as agreement among the sources; however, the paper only uses those points to reinforce a position.

• The paper may contain some sentence-level errors (1 or 2 patterns of error), and/or a few citation errors.

C Paper:

Unlike the B paper, the C paper does not attempt to explore the complications of the project behind the paper.

• Along with the tendency to engage more in confirmation of a point of view, frequently there is too much reliance on summary.

• The paper is generally simply organized by weak transitions and does not cohere conceptually.

• The paper uses the minimum number of sources (6).

• Unlike the B paper, the sources in the C paper will tend to repeat a previously stated point.

• The paper contains sentence-level errors and citation errors that interfere with meaning.

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