UG Marking Criteria - Year 3 and Year 4 Essays and Literature Survey

Criteria for marking essays/short answers/literature surveys

Class (Y3)	Class (Y4)	Mark	Marking guidelines
First	Distinction		Narrative is logical, coherent and exceptionally well communicated Deep understanding of appropriate sources Material well-selected and highly relevant, including and going beyond basic or ‘core’ materials (if appropriate) Strong evidence of original critical reflection and an analytical approach
Excellent First	Excellent Distinction	100	Assignment reaches an exceptional level of achievement that significantly exceeds the standards described by the above statements
Good First	Good Distinction	90	Assignment exceeds the standards described by the above statements
Solid First	Solid Distinction	80	Assignment is well described by the above statements
Low First	Low Distinction	75	Assignment mostly meets the standards described by the above statements
Upper Second	Merit		Narrative is logical and coherent Good understanding of appropriate sources Material well-selected and relevant for the most part, with some evidence of including and going beyond basic or ‘core’ materials (if appropriate) Good evidence of original critical reflection and an analytical approach
Good 2.1	Good Merit	68	Assignment exceeds the standards described by the above statements but does not meet the standards for a first class mark
Solid 2.1	Solid Merit	65	Assignment is well described by the above statements
Low 2.1	Low Merit	62	Assignment mostly meets the standards described by the above statements
Lower Second	Pass		Broadly logical and coherent narrative, but showing signs of structure breaking down Clear understanding of appropriate sources, but somewhat superficial in scope Material broadly relevant, but with evidence of irrelevant text Superficial evidence of original critical reflection and an analytical approach
Good 2.2	Good Pass	58	Assignment exceeds the standards described by the above statements but does not meet the standards for an upper second class mark
Solid 2.2	Solid Pass	55	Assignment is well described by the above statements
Low 2.2	Low Pass	52	Assignment mostly meets the standards described by the above statements
Third	Marginal Fail		Narrative suffers from illogical or incoherent passages Limited understanding of appropriate sources Material relevant in parts, but irrelevant text also present throughout Evidence of original critical reflection is lacking
Good Third	Good Marginal Fail	48	Assignment exceeds the standards described by the above statements but does not meet the standards for a second class mark
Solid Third	Solid Marginal Fail	45	Assignment is well described by the above statements
Low Third	Low Marginal Fail	42	Assignment falls below the standards described by the above statements
Fail	Fail		A minimally logical narrative, with incoherent structure throughout No evidence that appropriate sources were understood Material is almost entirely irrelevant to the topic
High Fail	High Fail	38	Assignment exceeds the standards described by the above statements but does not meet the standards for a pass mark
Low Fail	Low Fail	32	Assignment is well described by the above statements
Outright Fail	Outright Fail	10	Assignment falls below the standards described by the above statements
Zero Marks	Zero Marks	0	No psychology-related content.