english essay marking criteria

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Evaluation Criteria for Formal Essays

Katherine milligan.

Please note that these four categories are interdependent. For example, if your evidence is weak, this will almost certainly affect the quality of your argument and organization. Likewise, if you have difficulty with syntax, it is to be expected that your transitions will suffer. In revision, therefore, take a holistic approach to improving your essay, rather than focussing exclusively on one aspect.

An excellent paper:

Argument: The paper knows what it wants to say and why it wants to say it. It goes beyond pointing out comparisons to using them to change the reader?s vision. Organization: Every paragraph supports the main argument in a coherent way, and clear transitions point out why each new paragraph follows the previous one. Evidence: Concrete examples from texts support general points about how those texts work. The paper provides the source and significance of each piece of evidence. Mechanics: The paper uses correct spelling and punctuation. In short, it generally exhibits a good command of academic prose.

A mediocre paper:

Argument: The paper replaces an argument with a topic, giving a series of related observations without suggesting a logic for their presentation or a reason for presenting them. Organization: The observations of the paper are listed rather than organized. Often, this is a symptom of a problem in argument, as the framing of the paper has not provided a path for evidence to follow. Evidence: The paper offers very little concrete evidence, instead relying on plot summary or generalities to talk about a text. If concrete evidence is present, its origin or significance is not clear. Mechanics: The paper contains frequent errors in syntax, agreement, pronoun reference, and/or punctuation.

An appallingly bad paper:

Argument: The paper lacks even a consistent topic, providing a series of largely unrelated observations. Organization: The observations are listed rather than organized, and some of them do not appear to belong in the paper at all. Both paper and paragraphs lack coherence. Evidence: The paper offers no concrete evidence from the texts or misuses a little evidence. Mechanics: The paper contains constant and glaring errors in syntax, agreement, reference, spelling, and/or punctuation.

Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How your writing is marked

How your writing is marked

One of the big mysteries about the FCE exam is how the writing exam is marked. Many of my students ask me about this and, to be honest, it is pretty complex. However, let me break it down for you and let’s go from simple to complex so at the end of the article you will feel more confident and understand what you need to do in order to get great marks in the writing paper.

There are four marking scales in the writing exam. Each of these scales looks at specific aspects of your writing. Generally speaking the four parts are:

• Content – answering the task, supporting your ideas
• Communicative achievement – register, tone, clear ideas, conventions of the specific task type
• Organisation – structure of the text, logical order, connected ideas
• Language – grammar and vocabulary

Each scale is scored out of 5 so you can get a maximum of 20 marks where 3/5 basically means that you have passed this part of your writing.

The four marking scales

Now, of course, it is time to have a look at the four different marking scales in a little bit more detail. I’m going to keep it as simple as possible with examples and explanations so you know what to do.

The very first thing an examiner is going to look at is the Content scale. Here they check if you actually answered the task, if you answered it completely and if the reader of the text is fully informed.

So, what exactly does that mean? To find out let’s have a look at an example task from an FCE practice exam.

Looking at the example above there are four different things that we need to include in our writing if we want to score high marks on the Content marking scale.

First of all, there is a question for you to answer and, secondly, there are three topic points that you have to include in this essay. (Yes, your own idea means that you have to write something. Don’t forget this one.) It is also very important that you support your ideas with reasons and examples, which is one thing that separates the average candidates from the great ones. If you want to score high marks, you have to take your writing to a higher level.

To sum this up, always answer all the things that are asked in the task, but don’t stop there. Use reasons and examples to support your ideas to get higher marks and not ‘just pass’.

• Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How to Write an Email/Letter
• Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How to Write an Essay
• Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How to Write a Review

Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How to Write a Report

Cambridge b2 first (fce): how to write an article, 2. communicative achievement.

The next marking scale is an interesting one because, in my opinion, it is easy to get good marks here, but at the same time, make mistakes just as easily.

To get high marks in Communicative Achievement you firstly need to show that you understand who is going to read your text. You might think that, of course, it is the examiner, but I’m talking about more of an imaginary reader. Let’s look at two more examples. Who is going to read your text? You got it, your English teacher is the one.

Now the question is what that means for your writing task? Ask yourself what kind of language and tone you would use if you wrote something for your English college magazine or the manager of a leisure centre. Would it be formal or informal? Would you use a lot of slang words and colloquial expressions?

In our first example, we would try to keep it light and rather informal because students are going to be the ones reading it. In the report, on the other hand, we would choose more formal language and stay a little bit more serious than, let’s say, in a review of your favourite film. Make sure that this becomes clear in your choice of grammar and vocabulary as well as some other stylistic features like contractions (I’m vs I am) etc.

Another important point for you to consider is what a report looks like compared to a review? Do you need a title? Subheadings? An introduction and/or conclusion? A greeting and salutation? Think about the specific features of each type of writing and make sure that the text you write looks that way.

Lastly, the Communicative Achievement scale also assesses your ability to clearly express your ideas and to hold the readers attention. You should ask yourself if you would enjoy reading your text and if your arguments or ideas are clearly communicated.

Let’s put this all together before we move on to the next point. Communicative Achievement looks at your ability to use an appropriate style and tone, the correct features for each specific task like title, subheadings, etc. as well as how well you express your ideas and hold the readers attention. It is a lot of stuff, but if you prepare and study these things a little bit, I see no reason why you wouldn’t rock it.

3. Organisation

Organisation, similar to Communicative Achievement, is an area where you can score marks very easily, but a lot of students don’t reach their full potential. We can look at two major problems that students face to explain where candidates lose (or don’t get more) marks.

To begin with, your writing tasks should always be organised in paragraphs. Making paragraphs is an easy task, but there is a little bit more to it than you might think at the beginning.

Looking back at our example from the beginning, how many paragraphs do you think we should use in the essay?

Tough question, I know. When we think about an essay, there should always be an introduction and a conclusion so two paragraphs are already locked in. The task above requires you to write about three topic points: transport, rivers and seas, and your own idea. That’s an additional three paragraphs and a total of five. Do this for every task before you start slamming words onto paper. It will save you a lot of headaches and self-hate.

I often see practice writing tasks that look well organised when I first read them. There are paragraphs clearly separated from each other and I feel a little rush of happiness…until I actually read it and realise that ideas are mixed thoughts are jumping around between different paragraphs and there is no logical order in what my students produce.

However, I don’t blame anyone for doing this because, especially at the beginning of your FCE journey, you simply don’t know what is expected of you.

So, paragraphs are great, but you have to put them in logical order (which depends on the task you’re working on) and have one main idea per paragraph. Don’t try to cram five different things in one. Make a plan before you start writing and avoid these unnecessary mistake.

Secondly, the examiner looks at your ability to connect your ideas using linking words and other methods. Once again, these words and methods can be similar for some task types but different for others.

Organisation checks your ability to bring a logical order to your writing. Use paragraphs for your main ideas and connect everything with linking words and other useful language. Make a plan and get organised before you start writing, save yourself some time and avoid getting stressed out.

4. Language

Language is probably the one marking scale that is quite straight forward. You are assessed on your use of grammar and vocabulary, which includes if you make a lot of errors as well as how wide your range of grammar and vocabulary is.

For example, if you are writing about travelling you should show a wide range of vocabulary specific to this topic. For a task about the environment the vocabulary changes. I guess that makes sense. The more pointed towards the task your words and expressions are, the better it is for your marks.

In the grammar department it is not so much about the task, but rather about you trying to use structures that are outside of your comfort zone or not. You don’t have to be perfect at this level of English so the FCE examiners recognise even attempts at more complex grammar.

So, the next time you practise writing for the exam challenge yourself to use at least three grammatical structures that you find difficult, such as conditionals, the passive voice or reporting verbs. Again, in the exam you won’t get punished for trying so why not try?

Writing is not as bad as it seems

After all this information you might feel a little overwhelmed wondering how you can meet all these requirements and get high marks. The good thing is that you really don’t need to worry too much. I know that you already do a lot of the points discussed in this post well. Your job is now to find the areas in which you can improve and start to work on them. All you need to do is trust yourself (and Teacher Phill).

I hope this article helps you understand better how the writing exam works and, more importantly, what happens after you finish the exam. As always, don’t wait until it’s too late. Tackle your problems now and you will improve. If you start today, I’m sure there won’t be a problem once you are in the examination room and your pen is going to fly over the paper.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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the explanation regarding how to write and mark an essay has been most helpful. thanks

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Academic Criteria

Marking criteria are the standards of judgement for assignments. it is often divided into sections with explicit definitions of the quality expected for different levels of judgement..

Marking criteria

• It is important for students to see the marking criteria in advance so that they will be able to see clearly how their work will be judged.
• Students will be able to understand the marks they have been given.
• Marking criteria provides a valuable tool for feedback.
• Good marking criteria creates a clear standard with markers.
• Marking is reliable and  measures what the assessment is intended to measure.
• Marking criteria aligns to module and programme learning outcomes.

Academic English UK Criteria

Our criterion focuses on clear marking sections .  E.g Writing (Task, Organisation, Language) , Seminar (Language, Fluency & Pronunciation, Communication), Presentation (Language, Fluency & Pronunciation, Presentation & Engagement) and Presentation (Task fulfilment , Language, Fluency & Pronunciation, Presentation & Engagement). We have tried to keep the criteria simple yet effective in accessing students’ work. Our criterion are word documents and therefore allow you to make changes where necessary.

Writing Criteria

Essay writing criteria x 2 (updated 2023).

There are two writing criterion in this download. One is a basic marking criteria that can be used to mark students’ general writing and the other criteria includes the use of sources. They are divided into three sections of Task ( 40% ) / Organisation ( 30% ) / Language ( 30% ) and have five grade levels A-F. It is a word document so you can add or change any of the rubric to suit your writing test. Example   Level: ** * ** [B1/B2/C1] TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Poster Writing Criteria

Poster writing criteria (new 2023).

This poster criteria is similar to the essay writing criteria but includes the use of images. It is divided into three sections of Task ( 40% ) / Organisation ( 30% ) / Language ( 30% ) and have five grade levels A-F. It is a word document so you can add or change any of the rubric to suit your writing test. Example Level: ** * ** [B1/B2/C1] TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP  

Seminar Criteria

Seminar speaking criteria x 2 (updated 2023).

This includes one basic seminar speaking criteria to assess seminar speaking skills and contains four key criteria: Language Accuracy ( 20% ), Language Range ( 20% ), Pronunciation ( 20% ) & Communicative Effectiveness ( 40% ), and one seminar criteria that includes ‘reference to materials’. Example   Level: ** *** [B1/B2/C1] TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Presentation Criteria

Presentation speaking c riteria (updated 2023).

This is a basic criteria to assess & grade presentation speaking skills. It has three key criteria: Language Accuracy & Language Range ( 25% ),  Fluency & P ronunciation ( 25% ) and  Presentation & Engagement ( 50% ).   Example   Level: ** *** [B1/B2/C1] TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

E-Portfolio Presentation Criteria

E-portfolio presentation speaking c riteria (new 2023).

This i s a marking criteria to assess & grade the e-portfolio presentation speaking skills. It has four key criteria: Task Fulfilment & Content ( 40% ), Language Accuracy & Language Range ( 20% ),  Fluency & P ronunciation( 20% ) and Presentation & Engagement ( 20% ). Example   Level: ** *** [B1/B2/C1] TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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University home > Academic Quality and Policy Office > Assessment and Feedback > Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes > 15: Marking criteria and scales

15. Marking Criteria and Scales

15.1   Marking criteria are designed to help students know what is expected of them. Marking criteria differ from model answers and more prescriptive marking schemes which assign a fixed proportion of the assessment mark to particular knowledge, understanding and/or skills. The glossary  provides definitions for: marking criteria, marking scheme and model answer.

15.2   Where there is more than one marker for a particular assessment task, schools should take steps to ensure consistency of marking. Programme specific assessment criteria must be precise enough to ensure consistency of marking across candidates and markers, compatible with a proper exercise of academic judgment on the part of individual markers . 

15.3   Markers are encouraged to use pro forma in order to show how they have arrived at their decision. Comments provided on pro forma should help candidates, internal markers and moderators and external examiners to understand why a particular mark has been awarded.  Schools should agree, in advance of the assessment, whether internal moderators have access to the pro forma / mark sheets completed by the first marker before or after they mark a candidate’s work.

15.4   Detailed marking criteria for assessed group work, the assessment of class presentations, and self/peer (student) assessment must be established and made available to students and examiners.

15.5   In respect of group work, it is often desirable to award both a group and individual mark, to ensure individuals’ contributions to the task are acknowledged. The weighting of the group and individual mark and how the marks are combined should beset out in the unit specification .

University generic marking criteria

15.6   The common University generic marking criteria , set out in table 1, represent levels of attainment covering levels 4-7 of study. Establishing and applying criteria for assessment at level 8 should be managed by the school that owns the associated programme, in liaison with the faculty . A new level-specific University generic marking criteria ( UoB only ) has been agreed for introduction from 2024/25.

15.7   The common marking criteria are designed to be used for an individual piece of assessed student work. The descriptors give broad comparability of standards by level of study across all programmes as well as level of performance across the University. They reflect the QAA Framework for Higher Education Qualifications but need to be benchmarked against subject specific criteria at the programme level.

15.8   Faculties, with their constituent schools, must establish appropriately specific and detailed marking criteria which are congruent with the University-level criteria and, if appropriate, the level of study. All forms of programme-specific marking criteria must be approved by the Faculty .

Marking scales

15.9      Assessment must be marked and returned as an integer using one of the sanctioned marking scales, as follows:

•            0-100 marking scale
•            0-20 marking scale

or using a pass/fail marking scheme (see 10.33).

Any mark on the chosen marking scale can be used.

A five-point A-E marking scale is only available for programmes in the School of Education.

Standard setting in marking is permitted in programmes where it is a professional accreditation requirement.

15.10   Schools should utilise the marking scale that is best suited to the form of assessment. This and the marking criteria for the assessment should be established prior to its commencement.

15.11    Where the averaging of different component marks within an assessment or the outcome of two markers creates an assessment mark with a decimal point, markers should reconcile any significant difference in marks and make a deliberate academic decision as to the exact mark on the scale that should be awarded. Otherwise the mark will be rounded to the nearest integer and returned (if on the 0-20 marking scale, then this should take place before converting to a mark on the 0-100 scale).

Exceptions to the sanctioned marking scales

15.12   Highly structured assessments that are scored out of a total number less than 100 may be utilised where each mark can be justified in relation to those marks neighbouring it. In these cases, the mark must be translated onto the 0-100 point scale, mapped against the relevant marking criteria, and students informed of the use of this method in advance of the assessment in the appropriate medium (e.g. on Blackboard).

Reaching the ‘Unit Mark’ (see also Sections 29 and 37 )

15.13    Marks gauged on the 0-20 scale should be translated to a point on the 0-100 scale before entry into the VLE to calculate the overall unit mark for the purposes of progression and classification (see table 2 ).

15.14   The 0-20 point scale is a non-linear ordinal scale; for example, a mark on the 0-20 point scale IS NOT equivalent to a percentage arrived at by multiplying the mark by 5. Table 2 provides an equivalence relationship between the scales to enable the aggregation of marks from different assessment events to provide the overall unit mark which will be a percentage. This is illustrated below for a notional unit.

In this example, the MCQ uses all points on the 0-100 scale whereas all the other assessments use the 0-20 point scale .

To achieve the final unit mark each component mark needs to be adjusted as:

15.15      The overall unit mark must be expressed as a percentage as the University’s degree classification methodology is based on the percentage scale.

15.16       The final programme or taught component mark will be calculated by applying the agreed algorithm to the unit marks (see sections 32 and 39 ).

  TABLE 1:   Generic Marking Criteria mapped against the three marking scales

  TABLE 2: Relationship between the three marking scales

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