a n d
C O U R S E G R A D E S
Grades for ENG 101 and ENG 102 are based mostly upon your writing skills, although other activities or exercises, as well as attendance, may be calculated in your final course grade if your instructor includes them in your course work.
To pass ENG 101, you must receive a C or better. If you receive an F or a D, you must repeat the course. Some instructors assign a PR to students who are not able to do consistent C level work, but, on the other hand, do show a degree of "progress" in their coursework. Although a PR will not affect your overall grade point average, in receiving that grade, you do have to repeat ENG 101. Since ENG 101 is prerequisite for ENG 102, students who receive a PR, D, or an F, will not be allowed to enter ENG 102.
In ENG 102, the A, B, C, D, F,and PR grades can be assigned. If you receive an F, or a PR, you must repeat the course. You can receive only one PR in any course. When you repeat a course for which you have received a PR, your instructor must give you a letter grade.
The grading system used includes the following marks:
| A | excellent | 4 credit points |
| B | good | 3 credit points |
| C | satisfactory | 2 credit points |
| D | poor | 1 credit point |
| F | failing | 0 credit points |
| PR | progress | 0 credit points |
Other grades that can be assigned include:
What constitutes A, B, C, D, or F papers and essays is governed by many factors that vary from assignment to assignment, to be sure, but overall, your writing is evaluated on your commitment to an essay's goals and your audience's needs, as well as your control over your voice in all four of the following categories:
The A essay is marked by its originality in ideas and in its creative and logical expression. Consistent control of purpose, voice, and tone, as well as ample development of paragraphs that support the main idea, distinguish the A paper. Reader interest is maintained by details, inventive examples, and thought-provoking reasoning. Cohesiveness and order in the essay structure are managed by the use of appropriate transitions and balanced repetition at essay, paragraph, and sentence level. Finally,the essay's language is concise, sentence constructions are varied and complex, and errors in grammar and mechanics are minimal.
The B essay exhibits above-average ability in statement of purpose, paragraph development, control over voice and tone, organization, and language. As with the A paper, the B paper's purpose or main idea is developed throughout in paragraphs that show a writer's skill in drawing upon more than one writing strategy or device to amplify a topic sentence, such as comparison, analogy, examples, and so on. Critically thought-out ideas also mark the B paper, which demonstrates a writer's ability to use transitional words or phrases to improve narrative flow, to create various kinds of sentences, and to write with conciseness. Errors in grammar and mechanics are minimal.
The C or "passing" essay satisfactorily demonstrates a competent level of writing--its thesis is stated or implied and supported in organized, adequately developed paragraphs. The C essay communicates its main idea in clear, concise language, and is relatively free of grammatical errors.
The D or F paper fails to meet the minimum requirements for an assignment or a passing essay.
The PR grade is assigned to students who have completed all assignments, who have fulfilled the attendance requirements stated on the teacher's syllabus, and who have made "progress" during the semester, but whose writing has not reached the "C" level by the end of the semester. Students receiving a "PR" must repeat the course, although the grade does NOT affect GPA. You may receive only ONE "PR" grade for ENG 101, and only ONE "PR" grade for ENG 102. If you retake the course and do not get to the "C" level or better, you will receive a "D" or "F."
URL: http://www.siue.edu/ENGLISH/Handbook/grading.html
Published by: Department of English Language and Literature
Last Update: June 20, 2005 by English Web Manager
SIUE
| W | authorized withdrawal |
| WE | withdrew failing |
| WP | withdrew passing |
| WR | withdrawn by registrar for non-attendance or excessive absences; instructors must initiate the withdrawal and can do so between weeks three and ten of the semester. Not all instructors will ask that you be withdrawn, even if they have told you that you can no longer attend their courses. Check with the registrar's office if you have questions about your enrollment in any course that you have been asked to drop. |
| I | incomplete, assigned in the event a student has not completed all course work because of an illness and has been granted by the instructor an extension of time to finish. Usually a student must have completed nearly all of the course work before an I can be assigned. An incomplete changes to an F if the the course work is not completed before or on a date specified by the instructor, a period of time not longer than a year. Consult the Undergraduate Catalog for university policy on incomplete grades. |
What constitutes A, B, C, D, or F papers and essays is governed by many factors that vary from assignment to assignment, to be sure, but overall, your writing is evaluated on your commitment to an essay's goals and your audience's needs, as well as your control over your voice in all four of the following categories:
purpose: focus or thesis
development: amplification or support of purpose
order: essay, paragraph, and sentence organization
language: conciseness, usage, sentence construction
development: amplification or support of purpose
order: essay, paragraph, and sentence organization
language: conciseness, usage, sentence construction
The A essay is marked by its originality in ideas and in its creative and logical expression. Consistent control of purpose, voice, and tone, as well as ample development of paragraphs that support the main idea, distinguish the A paper. Reader interest is maintained by details, inventive examples, and thought-provoking reasoning. Cohesiveness and order in the essay structure are managed by the use of appropriate transitions and balanced repetition at essay, paragraph, and sentence level. Finally,the essay's language is concise, sentence constructions are varied and complex, and errors in grammar and mechanics are minimal.
The B essay exhibits above-average ability in statement of purpose, paragraph development, control over voice and tone, organization, and language. As with the A paper, the B paper's purpose or main idea is developed throughout in paragraphs that show a writer's skill in drawing upon more than one writing strategy or device to amplify a topic sentence, such as comparison, analogy, examples, and so on. Critically thought-out ideas also mark the B paper, which demonstrates a writer's ability to use transitional words or phrases to improve narrative flow, to create various kinds of sentences, and to write with conciseness. Errors in grammar and mechanics are minimal.
The C or "passing" essay satisfactorily demonstrates a competent level of writing--its thesis is stated or implied and supported in organized, adequately developed paragraphs. The C essay communicates its main idea in clear, concise language, and is relatively free of grammatical errors.
The D or F paper fails to meet the minimum requirements for an assignment or a passing essay.
The PR grade is assigned to students who have completed all assignments, who have fulfilled the attendance requirements stated on the teacher's syllabus, and who have made "progress" during the semester, but whose writing has not reached the "C" level by the end of the semester. Students receiving a "PR" must repeat the course, although the grade does NOT affect GPA. You may receive only ONE "PR" grade for ENG 101, and only ONE "PR" grade for ENG 102. If you retake the course and do not get to the "C" level or better, you will receive a "D" or "F."
URL: http://www.siue.edu/ENGLISH/Handbook/grading.html
Published by: Department of English Language and Literature
Last Update: June 20, 2005 by English Web Manager
SIUE