• a clear main idea or thesis statement
• some awareness of audience (e.g., the author, instructor, classmates, general public) and purpose (e.g., to inform, entertain, persuade, etc.)
• content that supports the essay's central purpose
• a generally appropriate balance of abstract and concrete material
• a reasonably unified structure
• few major mechanical errors (e.g., sentence fragments, run-ons, verb tense shifts)
• few serious problems with documentation

• a clear and perceptive main idea or thesis
• considerable awareness of the essay's audience and purpose
• a cohesive and clear structure that includes effective transitional elements
• prose that's clear and also uses some basic elements of sophisticated style (e.g., varied sentence lengths and structures, strong verbs, emphatic elements)
• few mechanical errors of any kind
• few errors in documentation

• incisive, original, and significant content
• a tightly woven structure that advances the author's purpose with the audience
• abstractions that are supported with well-chosen, sharp detail
• nuanced prose that exemplifies inventive stylistic techniques (e.g., varying rhythms, parallel elements, appropriate figures of speech)
• fresh and precise diction
• practically no errors in mechanics or documentation

A D or NC essay: a below-average essay, which has one or more of the following qualities:

• an unclear central purpose
• deficient or superficial content
• a structure with clear gaps in unity or coherence
• abstractions lacking concrete support
• a preponderance of either excessively confusing or overly basic sentences
• many mechanical errors or several major ones
• serious errors in documentation