Att sätta betyg
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Finn Wiedersheim-Paul 2010-03-14 Att sätta betygDet finns åtskilliga mer eller mindre lyckade försök att definiera hur man ska sätta betyg på examensarbeten. Ofta är det fråga om enligt min mening alltför detaljerade och katagoriska genomgångar av vad man får eller inte får göra. Nedan visar jag en mer översiktlig genomgång av synpunkter på vad som är bra eller dåliga arbeten. Den är hämtad från Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning vid Harvard University. Denna organisations webbplats har också en hel del annat för examensarbetet användbart material. Försök att uppfylla kraven för "The A Paper"! Då borde ett VG vara möjligt. Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University | ONLINE DOCUMENT |
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Grading PapersFrom a list by Lewis Hyde, edited by Sue Lonoff, with thanks to Richard Marius's writing handbook. The following remarks are intended to give you a sense of criteria for grading papers. Note that four topics recur: thesis, use of evidence, design (organization), and basic writing skills (grammar, mechanics, spelling). In courses with multiple graders or teaching fellows, it is essential that a unform grading standard be discussed and adapted by those grading students' work. The Unsatisfactory Paper.The D or F paper either has no thesis or else it has one that is strikingly vague, broad, or uninteresting. There is little indication that the writer understands the material being presented. The paragraphs do not hold together; ideas do not develop from sentence to sentence. This paper usually repeats the same thoughts again and again, perhaps in slightly different language but often in the same words. The D or F paper is filled with mechanical faults, errors in grammar, and errors in spelling. The C Paper.The C paper has a thesis, but it is vague and broad, or else it is uninteresting or obvious. It does not advance an argument that anyone might care to debate. "Henry James wrote some interesting novels." "Modern cities are interesting places." The thesis in the C paper often hangs on some personal opinion. If the writer is a recognized authority, such an expression of personal taste may be noteworthy, but writers gain authority not merely by expressing their tastes but by justifying them. Personal opinion is often the engine that drives an argument, but opinion by itself is never sufficient. It must be defended. The C paper rarely uses evidence well; sometimes it does not use evidence at all. Even if it has a clear and interesting thesis, a paper with insufficient supporting evidence is a C paper. The C paper often has mechanical faults, errors in grammar and spelling, but please note: a paper without such flaws may still be a C paper. The B Paper.The reader of a B paper knows exactly what the author wants to say. It is well organized, it presents a worthwhile and interesting idea, and the idea is supported by sound evidence presented in a neat and orderly way. Some of the sentences may not be elegant, but they are clear, and in them thought follows naturally on thought. The paragraphs may be unwieldy now and then, but they are organized around one main idea. The reader does not have to read a paragraph two or three times to get the thought that the writer is trying to convey. The B paper is always mechanically correct. The spelling is good, and the punctuation is accurate. Above all, the paper makes sense throughout. It has a thesis that is limited and worth arguing. It does not contain unexpected digressions, and it ends by keeping the promise to argue and inform that the writer makes in the beginning. The A Paper.The A paper has all the good qualities of the B paper, but in addition it is lively, well paced, interesting, even exciting. The paper has style. Everything in it seems to fit the thesis exactly. It may have a proofreading error or two, or even a misspelled word, but the reader feels that these errors are the consequence of the normal accidents all good writers encounter. Reading the paper, we can feel a mind at work. We are convinced that the writer cares for his or her ideas, and about the language that carries them. The sure mark of an A paper is that you will find yourself telling someone else about it. |
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Copyright © 2002-2006 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Permission is granted to non-profit educational institutions to print and distribute this document for internal use provided that the Bok Center's authorship and copyright are acknowledged. |
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