Understanding and Utilising Marking Criteria
The wording of most marking criteria makes it look super ambiguous and therefore difficult to implement. But once you understand how to decode it, it can be really helpful. This post will breakdown the marking criteria of my university—which, though not universal, will probably be quite similar to your university’s marking criteria—and show you how to do the same. I’ll also teach you how to use the marking criteria to write better and higher marking essays. Get ready to start getting firsts!
First class marking criteria:
I have copied out my university’s criteria for a “first class” essay, highlighted the key words and then explained what they mean and how to implement them in your essays.
“Shows clear evidence of wide and relevant reading and an engagement with the conceptual issues.” - This means that you should include all of the required readings from the relevant week’s reading list. You should then include works from that topic’s further reading list that are relevant to your argument. Then you can start to include outside research, including; academic journals, books, and newspaper/magazine articles. The minimum number of references that I aim to reach is six. But I usually always surpass this number. It’s also super important to reference correctly throughout your essay and in your list of references at the end. If you’re unsure how to do this you can check out Study Buddy’s guide to referencing here .
“Develops a sophisticated and intelligent argument.”- This means two things: 1. That you need to have a clear thesis (argument) that you put forward at the beginning of your essay and then prove throughout the rest of it. 2. That your argument needs to have a clear structure that is set out during the introduction. I like to structure my essays like this;
I start with the Intro which puts forward my thesis and then details how the essay will be structured. You can do this by saying something like “firstly this essay will… Secondly this essay will… Finally this essay will…”
Section 1 (first 3 paragraphs, give or take) should set out the main theoretical arguments surrounding the topic that you’re discussing. In this section you should explain each theory individually and then compare them, making it clear which theory your essay favours and which theory you will use to explain specific examples/case studies.
Section 2 (Paragraphs 4-7, give or take) should examine a case study (or multiple) that shows your chosen theory in action/shows how a theory explains your case study.
I finish with a conclusion which summarises my argument, repeats my thesis, and reiterates how I’ve structured everything (e.g. This essay firstly argued that….)
“Shows a rigorous use and a confident understanding of relevant source materials.” - This means that you need to put forward the main arguments surrounding your topic, which will be in the required reading list for that topic’s syllabus, and then explain each of the theoretical arguments put forward by these scholars. Then you should compare these theories to each other and show which scholar you agree with the most. This will demonstrate that you have engaged with all the main source material, have understood and evaluated the counter-arguments, and have chose your favoured theory through rigorous analysis.
“Achieves an appropriate balance between factual detail and key theoretical issues.” - This means that your essay should strike a balance between discussing theory and analysing a case study (the factual detail). This case study should either be a demonstration of your chosen theory in action, or your chosen theory should be used to explain why a certain event happened. You can use as many case studies as you want, but as these essays usually don’t have a large word count, I prefer to focus on one case study in detail and then take one paragraph near the end to put forward other case studies that could also be used in the future to further analyse my theory of choice.
“Provides evidence of original thinking.” - This is sometimes referred to as ‘demonstrating synthesis’. This means that you analyse other scholars’ theories and arguments and develop your own original argument from all the information that you have compiled and put forward.
Your professors have a key set of criteria that they are looking for you to tick off throughout your work. This makes essay writing seem formulaic and uncreative, but unfortunately, at University, that’s what essay writing is. Once you get out into the big wide world you can start turning the essay structure on it’s head. But for now, make friends with the criteria.
