I grade on four measures:
• The first is an absolute one, turning on mechanical matters: Departmental standards specify an A paper, a B paper, a C paper, and so on in terms of the number of errors allowed. An A paper has no major structural, mechanical, or logical problems; a B paper has one or two such problems and perhaps a few spelling errors; a C paper has several such problems and/or many spelling errors; and so on.
• The second is absolute, too: Does the paper contain and discuss an economic concept successfully? Does it include and discuss the concept but need further work in expressing it to
Best effect? Does it lack the concept or fail to do anything more than mention it? Those are A, B, And C (and lower) papers, respectively—and a perfectly spelled and beautifully written paper
Without an economic concept is a C paper all the same.
• The third is an assessment of your work on a relative scale: How does your paper compare to those of the rest of your cohort? Is it of higher or lower quality compared to the average?
• The fourth and final measure tracks improvement throughout the course of the session. If I have seen no strong evidence that you have spent time working with my corrections and trying to understand why I have done the editing and commenting that I have, then your grade is likely to be lower than otherwise. If I have seen evidence to the contrary that you have made efforts to improve your work, then this will likewise be reflected in your grade.
Your success in this course, as in your work outside the university, will depend in good part on your ability to follow instructions and specifications. If an assignment arrives to me formatted differently in any respect from the specifications given above, I will not read it, and it will earn a D. If a paper comes to me with footnotes or citations that are otherwise inappropriate to the format of the assignment (see
Evidence and Citation below), I will not read it, and it will earn a D. If a 500-word paper comes to me at
450 words or at 550 words, I will not read it, and it will earn a D. Please follow carefully the instructions that come with each assignment, and I will gladly read your work and help you improve it. Disregard these instructions, and I will not.
