97-100, A+, 6: A triumph of creativity, analysis and sophisticated language that offers pleasure, insight and a sense of discovery in every paragraph and may actually transcend the strictures of the assignment 

94-96, A, 5&1/2: An excellent piece of writing that meets all the criteria of the assignment using sophisticated language and complex ideas OR a consistently brilliant and creative piece in which the writer’s control (grammar, punctuation, word choice, etc.) lags a small step behind his/her ideas   

90-93, A-, 5: A consistently strong piece of writing that, although it may be marred by minor errors, still offers genuine insight and a strong sense of engagement OR a very well-written and organized piece of writing that offers a few major insights

87-89, B+, 4&1/2: A piece of writing that, although it may be marred by a structural flaw or minor lapses in control, nevertheless contains several inspired and effective passages OR a piece of writing that, while limited in vision, is nevertheless well-structured and well-written

84-86, B, 4: A competent, if uninspired, effort that suggests the writer grasps the big ideas and possesses the skills the assignment hopes to assess OR a piece whose ideas show real promise but is marred by occasional lapses in analysis or control

80-83, B-, 3&1/2: A lackluster or marginally competent effort OR an earnest work that shows a basic grasp of the big ideas but that suffers from a distracting number of lapses in analysis or control

77-79, C+, 3: An unfocused or unconvincing effort that, while it may contain promising moments or passages, shows that the writer misses many of the big ideas and/or lacks many of the skills the assignment hopes to assess

74-76, C, 2&1/2: A piece of writing that, although it contains some lucid passages, evinces little engagement with or real insight into the topic and may suffer from a large number of grammatical and/or logical flaws

70-73, C-, 2: A shoddy piece of writing in which even the most lucid passages are unlikely to offer graceful writing or genuine insights 

65-69, D, 1&1/2: A piece of writing that shows that the writer misses most of the big ideas and/or lacks most of the basic skills the assignment hopes to assess

<65, F, 1: A wholly ineffective piece of writing

0: A missing or – even worse – plagiarized piece

* With a debt of gratitude to Andover’s grading rubric