The information on this page is meant to help students understand the departmental consensus, to the degree that there is one, regarding the grading of individual assignments. Each faculty member in the Department of History, however, will have their own interpretation of this consensus.

It is the student’s responsibility to attend closely to the course syllabus, assignment descriptions, oral indications in class and in conference, and written comments on graded assignments in order to gain a more precise understanding of the interpretation that guides a given course.

A+

Work of unusual distinction. Therefore, in the History Department, this grade is rarely awarded.

A

Work that distinguishes itself by the excellence of its grasp of the material and the precision and insight of its argument, in addition to being well executed and reasonably free of errors.

B

Work that satisfies main criteria of the assignment, and demonstrates command of the material, but does not achieve the level of excellence that characterizes work of A quality.

C

Work that demonstrates a rudimentary grasp of the material and satisfies at least some of the assigned criteria reasonably well.

D

Work that demonstrates a poor grasp of the material and/or is executed with little regard for college standards, but which exhibits some engagement with the material.

F

Work that is weak in every aspect, demonstrating a basic misunderstanding of the material and/or disregard for the assigned question.