Marking Criteria & Scale
The 100-point marking criteria and scale used in assessments across the Department of Philosophy is available below.
The marking criteria and marking scale is designed to assess students against the knowledge and skills outcomes described in the Philosophy department programme specifications which can be found at https://www.shef.ac.uk/calendar/progspec/phi.html.
The marker will use individual judgement in applying the appropriate criteria to each different form of assessment. Markers may also supplement the standard criteria with further discipline-specific requirements relevant to a particular mode of assessment.
Grades (100 point scale)
70-100 – work of a Class 1 standard
60-69 – work of a Class 2.1 standard
50-59 – work of a Class 2.2. standard
45-49 – work of a Class 3 standard
40-44 – work of a Pass standard
0-39 – fail*
*If you’re commencing Level 3 or 4 and have taken a unit / module at FHEQ level 7, any grade between 0-49 is deemed a Fail.
Descriptive Marking Criteria
In consultation with the External Examiner, the department has formulated the following descriptions of the criteria for the award of the various grades to individual pieces of work. The criteria for both 2nd and 3rd year pieces of work are given below for purposes of comparison.
These criteria apply to coursework essays and long-release seen examinations with essay questions. In the case of unseen or short-release seen examinations with essay questions, the criteria will be applied somewhat less stringently, depending on the degree of unseen-ness and the difficulty of the exam.
1st Class Marks
2nd year
A 1st class piece of work in philosophy should have the following virtues: it should be clearly written, and be well-organised and well-structured; it should display detailed and sophisticated understanding of the subject-area, and should adopt a critical stance in relation to that material (i.e. giving evidence of having been thought through in a critical way for yourself); it should, moreover, display an ability to argue cogently.
3rd year
A 1st class piece of work in philosophy should have all of the virtues expected of a 2nd year 1st; but it should, in addition, display some wider knowledge and understanding; and while it need not contain original theories or arguments, there should be more evidence of independence (e.g. in the ordering or choice of material, or through the invention of novel examples). (One way of being independent is to find a novel slant on material gleaned from lectures, hand-outs, or the standard textbooks, finding your own way of linking that material together in a critical manner; another way of being independent is to read around more, and then weave together for yourself a variety of materials in your answer.)
Marks of 70-73 will be given for material that minimally fulfils the criteria for a first. Marks of 74-77 will be given for material that clearly and solidly meets the criteria for a first. Marks of 78-89 will be given to material that is good or very good in relation to the criteria for a 1st. Marks of 90 and above will be awarded to work of particularly outstanding and exemplary quality going well beyond that required for a 1st.
2.1 (Upper Second) Class Marks
2nd year
A 2.1 piece of work in philosophy should have the following virtues: it should be clearly written, and quite well organised and structured; it should display quite a good understanding of the subject area, and should display some capacity for critical assessment; it should be cogently argued in general; any evidence of independence would also be a help. (As before, independence can be displayed either in the ordering of your material, or in the materials you make use of – giving evidence that you have read around the subject in an enterprising way.)
3rd year
A 2.1 piece of work in philosophy should have all of the virtues expected of a 2nd year 2.1, but it should in addition display some increase in the depth and sophistication with which its materials are handled.
Marks of 60-63 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which minimally fulfils the criteria for a 2.1’; marks of 64-66 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which clearly and solidly fulfils the criteria for a 2.1’; and marks of 67-69 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which is good or very good in relation to the criteria for a 2.1’.
2.2 (Lower Second) Class Marks
2nd year
A 2.2 piece of work in philosophy should be quite clearly written and contain some structure and organisation; it should display an acceptable level of understanding of its subject area; there should be some attempt at cogent argumentation (not necessarily successful).
3rd year
A 2.2 piece of work in philosophy should have everything expected of a 2nd year 2.2, but it should in addition show some increased understanding, and should display an increased ability to organise material and handle arguments.
Marks of 50-53 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which minimally fulfils the criteria for a 2.2’; marks of 54-56 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which clearly and solidly fulfils the criteria for a 2.2’; and marks of 57-59 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which is good or very good in relation to the criteria for a 2.2’
3rd Class Marks
2nd year
A 3rd class piece of work in philosophy should be written and organised intelligibly; it should display some understanding and not too many misunderstandings of its subject area; it should contain some attempts at cogent argumentation.
3rd year
A 3rd class piece of work in philosophy should have everything expected of a 2nd year 3rd, but should in addition show some increased understanding of philosophy and philosophical modes of arguing.
Marks of 45-47 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which minimally fulfils the criteria for a 3rd’; and marks of 48-49 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which clearly and solidly fulfils the criteria for a 3rd’.
Pass
2nd year
Passing marks will only be given to work which is written in intelligible English, and which indicates some knowledge and understanding of its subject area.
3rd year
Passing marks should display some increased ability to write and structure an essay, and/or some increased understanding of philosophy and its methods.
Marks of 40-42 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which minimally fulfils the criteria for a pass’; and marks of 43-44 will be interpreted to mean ‘work which clearly and solidly fulfils the criteria for a pass’.
Fail
Marks of 30-39:
Will be given to inadequate work, which fails to some extent to meet the year-specific standard for a passing mark. It will be work that is of a low standard or incomplete, which fails to show adequate knowledge and sufficient understanding. It may contain material that is irrelevant to the assignment or be badly structured or poorly written.
Marks of 20-29:
Will be given to unacceptable work, which fails to a considerable extent to meet the year-specific standard for a passing mark. It will be work that is of a very low standard or badly incomplete, and may only marginally address the requirements of the assignment or be so poorly written that it is difficult for the reader to understand.
Marks of 10-19:
Will be given to unacceptable work, which fails to a very considerable extent to meet the year-specific standard for a passing mark. It will show only very slight evidence of understanding of the material.
Marks of 1 to 9:
Will be given to unacceptable work that shows negligible or no evidence of meeting the year-specific standard for a passing mark. It will show no evidence of understanding relevant to the course objectives, and may consist of very short answers that are largely incomprehensible to the reader.
A mark of 0 is given for missing or late work.
Independence and Originality
The department wishes to make clear that originality is always appropriately valued, at all levels. Attempts at originality are often not wholly successful but in most cases this does not lower the mark obtained – work which has already displayed the sort of critical and sophisticated understanding necessary to obtain a mark in the mid/high 60s will not normally be pulled down by a failed attempt at independence/originality; and it might very well get pulled up. Students should note, however, that originality is generally best attempted in the course of the critical discussion of the field / topic which makes up the body of an essay, rather than being tacked on to the end as an after-thought.
IMPORTANT
All marks are subject to confirmation by the Examination Board and may be subject to later revision. Work may be returned without marks having been deducted for lateness or to reflect other penalties (e.g. rubric violations).