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Standards for Sociology Papers
| Skidmore College maintains these grading standards: | ||
| A | Distinguished work | |
| B | Superior work | |
| C | Satisfactory work | |
| D | Passing but not satisfactory | |
| F | Failure | |
| Note that an A grade recognizes work that is not simply good or even superior, but rather work that is distinguished. | ||
Sociology professors typically use the following criteria to grade student papers:
| ″ | Completeness in addressing the assignment. |
| ″ | Accuracy of information. |
| ″ | Use of appropriate evidence, examples, and detail to support thesis or argument. |
| ″ | Coherence and internal consistency of paper's thesis or argument. |
| ″ | Critical thinking. |
| ″ | Depth, sophistication, and intellectual rigor. |
| ″ | Intellectual engagement and commitment (even intellectual "passion"). |
| ″ | Appropriateness of statistical analysis (if applicable). |
| ″ | Originality and creativity. |
| ″ | Organization of paper. |
| ″ | Freedom from grammatical, word choice, and spelling errors. |
| ″ | Correct acknowledgment and documentation of sources. |
| ″ | Conformity to the American Sociological Association's style and format. |
Depending on the assignment, your instructor may depart from one or more of these criteria, may weight some more heavily than others, or may introduce additional criteria. As always, discuss particulars with your professor if you are unclear about grading standards or practices.
The criteria identified above form scales ranging from "distinguished" though "failure." An "A" paper realizes the above criteria in a distinguished way, a "B" paper realizes these criteria in a superior way, and so on.
Here is what papers at each grade level usually look like:
An "A" paper is a polished, intellectually sophisticated work.
A "B" paper generally meets above criteria, but lacks polish and intellectual sophistication and may have some relatively minor errors or flaws.
A "C" paper reads like a working draft.
A "D" paper reads like a rough draft written with some effort.
An "F" paper reads like a rough draft written with minimal effort.
