Activity

An overview of the marking process, and some insights from the people who mark your work

These short recordings will give you an insider view of the marking process - what we need to do to make sure that the marking is fair, and addresses all the expectations we have of you as an undergraduate student.

As you listen, take notes on

the assessment criteria, and what they mean
what your markers are looking for at different grades
anything else that you think will help you to understand how to write better essays

Recordings 1-3

The first three clips explain how the system works and, generally speaking, what your marker will be looking for when they evaluate your response to the task they have set you.

Getting down to detail - the criteria unpacked

As you listen to these recordings, do press pause to give yourself time to absorb the content of the essay extracts given on the slides, and try to evaluate their strengths and possible weaknesses in the light of what you have heard so far about how your essays will be marked.

We have five different markers talking here, so you can compare what they are saying about the criteria. While your particular subject area may not be mentioned, you will gain a good understanding of what is generally meant when your tutors refer to the terms mentioned on your feedback sheet, and how to progress from one grade to the next.

Criteria 1 and 2 - Acquisition of Knowledge, and Interpretation and Analysis

Criteria 3 and 4 - Construction of Argument and Relevance

Criterion 5 - Documentation and Presentation

Criterion 6 - Command of English

The CAL UG Marking criteria

Download here vf CAL UG Marking Criteria 2021-22 incl Language Criteria.pdf

Moving on

To find out more about how your work is marked, go to the next unit in this module

Interpreting your feedback sheet

To find out how to improve your performance in each of these criteria, have a browse through the materials under the modules that follow, starting here:

Moving-up-a-gear-acquisition-of-knowledge

To have a look at some samples of essays that were awarded different marks within your own subject area, have a look for the CAL Bank of Assessed Work in your list of Canvas courses