What the Grade on Your HI 132 Final Essay Means

A     Shows a sophisticated understanding of how to make a historical argument.  The main arguments of both historians are richly explained with sensitivity, insight, and comprehensiveness, and with no misconceptions. A clear thesis makes a case for one of the books, recognizing appropriate qualifications and the complexity of the choice. Evidence to support the thesis is warranted, sourced, corroborated, and otherwise completely sufficient to make points plausible. Other thinking skills displayed are advanced, going well beyond the grasp of the subject typically found at the novice level. The essay’s prose is clear, well organized, and without distracting errors.

B     Shows a solid understanding of how to make a historical argument. The main arguments of both historians are explained accurately and fully and with no misconceptions. A clear thesis makes a case for one of the books. Evidence to support the thesis is provided for all claims made in the essay; there may be minor problems with warrants, sourcing, and corroboration. Other thinking skills used are appropriate for addressing the assignment. The prose style is “reader-friendly”; errors of syntax, spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation are minor enough to be overlooked.

C     Shows a partial understanding of how to think historically.  The main arguments of both historians are explained in a generally accurate way; one may be explained with more breadth than the other, or there may be slight misunderstandings. A thesis makes a case for one of the books, but the thesis may be hard to find or presents a case that is too uncomplicated. Evidence is not altogether sufficient to make claims plausible to a reasonable person; warranting, sourcing, and corroborating are inconsistent or clumsily employed. The thinking skills used are not yet adequate for successfully addressing the assignment. The paper may reveal some misunderstanding of key ideas, methods, or needed skills. The prose writing is inconsistent; some sentences and paragraphs are fine, while others suffer from distracting errors of syntax, spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation.

D     Shows little apparent understanding of the mental habits of historical and critical thinking.  The main arguments of the books are not understood or are misconstrued in a manner unfair to the authors; important elements of the argument are missing; one of them may be almost totally ignored. May have a thesis, but it is hard to find or stated in overly stark, black and white language. Evidence to support the thesis is very weak; warranting, sourcing, and corroborating are mostly absent. The thinking habits used are inadequate for addressing the assignment, revealing major misunderstandings of key methods, and/or needed skills, or misunderstandings of how to complete the assignment. The prose is “rough draft” quality; some sentences may be difficult to understand due to errors of syntax, spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation.
 
F     No essay provided for evaluation, or the essay does not meet requirements of the assignment.