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  Assessment Criteria for Writing Assignments

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The assessment criteria for writing on EAP courses, including summary writing, are that students will be marked on their effective communication with the intended audience and fulfillment of the assignment task as shown through the following:

Relevance
This means is your writing an answer to the question in the assignment, and have you followed the instructions about what to write.

Comprehensiveness
This means have you given a full answer, for example in summary writing have you summarised all the important ideas in the text.

Coherence of Ideas
This means do your ideas fit together to make a whole text. For example, in summary writing, have you identified the writer's main idea and how the idea is discussed in the text.

Organisation and Development of Ideas
This means are the ideas, and your paragraphs about these ideas, well organised; and do they develop; eg. from an introduction, through discussion, to a conclusion.

Cohesion
This means do you use words to help the text stick together; eg. firstly, secondly, then, finally, (do not use 'at last'). You can also refer to things you have written about already in this text, using words like: this, they, he, them, that. You should also show the direction and logic of you ideas by using words like, because, in addition, therefore, although, so, however (If you use 'moreover' be very careful that the idea after moreover is more important than the idea before it, and that there is a good reason for this unusual organisation).

Use of Appropriate Layouts / Formats
This means knowing and using the right layout or format of the text you are writing. Click here for an example about reports. In summary writing you only need a title and the summary. It is a good idea to reference the text you are summarising so you or another person can find the original text later, and to use separate paragraphs for different ideas.

Appropriate Register
This means the correct formality and politeness for the situation. It also means using the same type of words as a professional in the field; eg. a computer professional should talk and write about 'peripherals', not 'things you connect to your computer'.

Accuracy of Vocabulary and Grammatical Structures
This means is you grammar and vocabulary correct.

Range of Vocabulary and Grammatical Structures
This means are you using vocabulary and grammar that let you express your ideas well, or does your lack of grammar and vocabulary restrict the efficiency and fluency of your writing.

For English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses your academic writing should also follow academic writing style.

Compliance with Academic Writing Conventions

This means are you following the commonly accepted way academics write this kind of text. Academics (eg. your English teachers) have special requirements for academic writing, for example, they want to be able to find your original text(s) easily, so they require you to reference these text(s). They also expect you to do some critical thinking about your writing.

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Last updated on: Friday, December 14, 2001.