When I evaluate your essay, I will consider your focus (thesis), analysis (how well you explain and analyze your subject), organization (how the pieces fit together), strength of proof (persuasiveness), ingenuity (novelty of approach), rhetorical awareness (the effectiveness of your essay given its context), style (tone/word choice), and mechanics (grammar and spelling).

More specifically:

A C essay needs to have an introduction, a conclusion, a discernible thesis, and a coherent structure. The body paragraphs need to have at least minimal discussion and examples. The essay needs to adhere to the assignment and demonstrate an adequate use of mechanics.

A B essay needs to have an introduction, a conclusion, a discernible thesis, a purposeful structure, multiple examples and associated analysis, appropriate tone and style, good use of mechanics, and a mix of sentence structures. The essay also needs to match the assignment.

An A essay needs to have an introduction that engages the reader, an innovative thesis, a purposeful structure, in-depth analysis, a near-perfect use of mechanics, a mix of sentence structures, and accurate, advanced level vocabulary. Your essay also needs to match or stretch beyond the assignment and demonstrate a purposeful use of tone and style.

A D essay fails to satisfy one or more expectations for a "C" essay.

An F essay misinterprets the assignment or the depth thereof.

A NOTE ABOUT GRAMMAR: University writing requires the use of Standard Written English. If your essay contains multiple mistakes (particularly of the careless variety) per page, your essay will be marked down a letter grade. If your essay is riddled with mistakes (you have multiple mistakes per paragraph), your essay will receive an F. It is critical that each and every part of your essay is understandable.