what letter grades mean In my courses (particularly on the directed essays) and what you have to do to earn them Joba L. Thomason Fuller Theciogical Seminsry 501 -€02 - 50 One of the most recent developments in the faculty's assessment and review of courses taught at Fuller Theological Seminary has been the move to neip students understand how specific grades are assigned. To that end, Im piacing in your hands the guidelines that I've ong used to help my assistants identify an essay's strengths or weaknesses so that they can pass that diagnosis along to you in ways designed to foster improvement. Writing is hard work. But writing is also an effective way to force your thoughts to take shape. When you write thoughts down, you put them in a fixed and public form that can be read and examined by others. In order to write well, you have to think well about what you read. and that means you will have to read (and re-read) with care. If you've read my litte treatise, “What | Want from Your Directed Essays,” you'll know that my qoal is for you read primary texts and articulate the author's views with clarity and precision — to which | might also add faimess, which | think these terms imply. These are all habits worth cuttivating, not only for the sake of your writing (which itself can shape your speaking, teaching, preaching, and even counseling) but also for the sake of your listening skils. + Precision means you have noticed and explained the finer cistinctions on which an author's argument often turns. It may also mean that you recognize which arguments are more central than others, or that you have seen and described the interconnections and implications of the author's arguments. + Clarity is related to precision. It means that your paraphrases or explanations of the text lead the reader to undersiand the author more clearly, without a shift in focus. Note that long quotatons are no substitute for your own digest of what an author is saying, because quoting an author does not demonstrate that you yourself have understood the text. + Falmess doesn't mean you agree with your author, nor that you cover up tensions you may observe in an author's argument. Instead, it means you act as the author's spokes- person, keeping faith by not treating the text with prejudice, condescension, or ‘attitude ” Most of your grade rests on whether your essay embodies these qualities, but the grade is also affected by the way your mechanics and argumentation contiibute to cianity and pre- cision. That is to say, a clear and cogent outline strengtnens the essay, even as itis crucial that you show how your observations and analysis derive from spectic textual references. There is, of course, no such thing as a perfect essay. Nonetheless, “excellent” essays will display most of these qualities most of the time and will thus fall somewhere in the A range. ‘Good” essays will display these qualities well enough to represent te basic shape of an author's text and views with faimess and accuracy, and will thus fallin the B range. Every student essay begins at the mark of B. which is my default setting, insofar as it is my hope and expectation that every essay will display a basic and accurate grasp of the material. Anessays moves up from this starting-point to the degree that it adds greater precision and Clarity; down, if it misrea¢s or distorts the text or simply fails to answer the question. Anaddendum on the actual marks (eomments) on your essay My teaching assistants and | will do our best to give you feedback on your essay in a way that is meant to “coach” you towards better writing — towards greater clarity and precision, Here are the soris of remarks you can expect to see on your essays, depending on what sort of coaching we think is appropriate: A EXCELLENT Excellent, but. you could have clarified __, or pushed for more detail on __, or explained the relationship between _and_, or added some consideration oF B+ Very good on all the basic positions / arguments / features. You could push your essay further by addressing [A— guidelines], B GOOD: a competent / adequate grasp of the basic positions / arguments / features. You could push your essay further by addressing [A~ guidelines] Good on many / most of the basic positions / arguments / features ... but some important points were omitted / muddled / unclear / erroneous. C+ Acommendable EFFORT or initial ATTEMPT to grasp the arguments of the author, but there are serious omissions / unciarities / flaws / mistakes / problems and/or there are mechanical / linguistic flaws that render parts of the paper and its arguments cifficult to follow. © Same as C+, but judgment pertains not just to parts of the essay but to most of it C- _Itlooks like you've read the assigned material, but you have net adequately grasped or represented crucial aspects of the question and/or the author(s) assigned, namely, ___; OR, you've done something that was not asked for instead of the assigned essay. F tis net clear that you have read the material, Of it is hard to tell that you have grasped either the assigned question or the arguments of the author(s), oR your essay has committed some form of plagiarism: Atthe end of the day, if you are unhappy with your grade, your first recourse should be to study the comments on your paper and take them seriously. You can consult with me if you wish, but you might also take advantage of the Writing Center here at Fuller Seminary. Please be assured that | know that many students find these essays difficult! I do have a high standard for your writing, but it is only because I want you to use words well in your service of the gospel. In any age, alas, the Christian church has rarely suffered from too much careful thinking or too much thoughtfulness in its public expression. My goal in these assignments is to help you raise that standard and so become a better theologian