CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF ESSAYS

In summary, in assessing your assignment each of the following will be taken into consideration:

• Relevance of discussion to the question, topic and subject
• Identification of the problem and key issues
• Effective use or deployment of imaginative examples to illustrate principles
• Quality of the information and discussion
  • appropriateness of information
  • extent and depth of discussion
  • relating argument to personal or professional experience
  • placement of topic in broader context
  • criticism of the work of others
  • discussion and consideration of contrary arguments
• Presentation and examination of personal views and conclusions
• Adequacy of supporting argument for recommendations or conclusions
• Layout of paper -- style, appearance
• References -- relevance; adequacy; accuracy; quality and range; appropriateness, completeness and consistency of citations.

In more detail, the following points may all be taken into consideration when assignments are assessed:

1.Is your treatment of the topic within the context of the isues described and in the readings and handouts? The most brilliant essay will not do if its subject matter is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. If you wish to devise your own essay topic, that might be arranged, but check it with me before you start the project.

2.Are the aspects of the topic which you discuss clearly defined? Are the key issues identified? Is their relationship with the subsidiary issues made clear? Are relevant factual claims accurate? Is the structure of the argument clear and persuasive?

3.There is no expectation that your views should conform to a "party line" or to the views of the professor, as you assume them to be. Clarity of expression and consistency in argument are what matter; not your particular conclusion. (Though if your conclusion is completely outrageous, that suggests that you may have been rather uncritical with some of your original assumptions!)

4.If the topic is a broad one that requires an overview, has the essay considered the key aspects, at least indicating them if not dealing with them in detail?

5.If the topic is limited in scope, does the essay make the relevance of this particular topic to the broader issues clear, preferably at the beginning?

6.Is it clear to the reader what parts of the essay are expository, and what parts are the views of the writer? It should be clear to the reader which opinions and values are endorsed by the author. It is all right -- indeed advisable -- to use direct speech and first-person constructions.

7.Has the work of others been examined critically? Are the grounds for criticism clearly stated?

8.Have your own views been critically examined? Have they been clearly presented? Is the interpretation clear? Could they be interpreted differently? Philosophical generalizations can often be clarified and illustrated through concrete examples. Don't hesitate to include them.

9.Are the value assumptions and personal bias made explicit? (There is nothing wrong with value judgments as such, but they should be presented clearly as what they are.)

10.Is there a general conclusion?

11.Is the textual referencing adequate? Can the reader easily check the original sources? Are page references given?

12.Is the bibliography adequate? You should append a bibliography listing all the sources used in preparing the essay.

13.Is there evidence of reading, that is of library research, or of research in other units, in particular units in philosophy, which you are pursuing or have pursued?

14.Is it generally easy to read? All students are expected to be able to express themselves clearly and to sustain an argument in their own prose.

15.Are the sources of the ideas and arguments explicitly acknowledged and accurately attributed? Are they your own thoughts or those of others? If they are others', whose? Unacknowledged appropriation of material -- plagiarism -- is a serious breach of examination and disciplinary rules which automatically results in disciplinary action. To put your name to an essay constitutes a claim of authorship. An essay falsely claiming authorship of any part of its contents is unacceptable, and the misdeed is not mitigated by attempts to disguise the appropriation by tinkering with the phrasing or the sequence of argument.