Assessment Criteria for the School of Language Studies

Assessment in the SLS is based on a variety of tasks which evaluate acquisition of particular skills, concepts, and analytical techniques and their application to both familiar and new material; knowledge and understanding of the cultures associated with the languages taught in the school; and the ability to carry out research. The particular mix of tasks and their relative weighting will vary with the nature of the course and will be reflected in the proposed assessment outlined on the syllabus of each course. Grading will be done on the criteria below, as applicable to the particular tasks. Most students will not perform equally well on all tasks, and overall grades for a course should follow these criteria, as appropriate:

Criteria for individual assessment items (as appropriate):

High Distinction (80 and above):

The candidate
• produces work of exceptional quality showing a command of subject matter and appreciation of issues;
• demonstrates a high level of intellectual work;
• has a clearly formulated argument which is developed throughout the work;
• engages the question or topic throughout the assignment;
• demonstrates ability to choose appropriate data, to successfully analyse data and to use data analysis in support of the argument;
• demonstrates outstanding ability to apply concepts and analytical techniques acquired in the course to new, complex, material;
• demonstrates outstanding level of competence in all language skills, including interactional competence and is able to extend and apply these skills in approaching unfamiliar material;
• demonstrates a very high level of cultural and intercultural awareness and skills;
• demonstrates wide reading of relevant literature;
• has expressed himself or herself well.

Distinction (70-79):

The candidate
• produces work of high quality showing strong grasp of subject matter and appreciation of major issues though not necessarily of the finer points;
• demonstrates a good level of intellectual work;
• has a clear argument which may not be fully sustained throughout the work;
• masters most of the concepts and issues raised by the question;
• demonstrates ability to choose appropriate data, to successfully analyse most of the data and to use the data in support of the argument;
• demonstrates outstanding ability to apply concepts and analytical techniques acquired in the course to all but the most complex new material;
• shows diligent research;
• demonstrates high level of competence in all language skills, including interactional competence, or a very high level of competence in some skills and a lower level in others, with an ability to apply this competence to unfamiliar material;
• demonstrates a high level of cultural and intercultural awareness and skills;
• has expressed himself or herself clearly.

Credit (60-69):

The candidate
• produces work of good quality showing an understanding of subject matter and appreciation of main issues though possibly with some lapses and inadequacies;
• demonstrates a solid level of intellectual work;
• has an argument which may not be fully sustained throughout the essay and is possibly marred by minor weaknesses;
• demonstrates some ability to engage with the data and to use the data in support of the argument;
• demonstrates good ability to apply concepts and analytical techniques acquired in the course to fairly straightforward new material;
• demonstrates competence in most language skills, including interactional competence, and ability to apply these skills in approaching relatively straightforward material;
• demonstrates a good level of cultural and intercultural awareness and skills;
• demonstrates a fair range of reading;
• has prepared and presented his or her work well, although expression may need improvement in places.

Pass (50-59):

The candidate
• produces work of fair quality showing awareness of the main issues in the question but has difficulty framing a relevant response;
• demonstrates a competent level of intellectual work;
• has an argument which may be weak;
• takes a factual approach and does not attempt to interpret the findings;
• demonstrates a modest level of engagement with the data and use of the data in support of the argument;
• demonstrates satisfactory acquisition of concepts and analytical techniques taught in the course when presented with material of a familiar nature;
• demonstrates satisfactory competence in language skills, including interactional competence;
• demonstrates a satisfactory level of cultural and intercultural awareness and skills;
• demonstrates a modest level of research;
• demonstrates a need for improvement in written expression and understanding of scholarly conventions.

Fail (below 50):

The candidate
• produces work of poor quality;
• shows a lack of understanding or misconception of the issues and concepts raised in the question;
• does not present a clear argument;
• demonstrates insufficient grasp of the relevance and interrelatedness of the material being presented;
• demonstrates limited evidence of engaging with the data;
• demonstrates insufficient or no grasp of concepts and analytical techniques taught in the course;
• has attained an unsatisfactory level in the language skills required;
• has attained an unsatisfactory level of cultural and intercultural awareness and skills;
• demonstrates a poor level of research;
• uses expression that is difficult to understand and is careless about scholarly conventions, spelling and other aspects of presentation.