Grading scale

Band scales will be assigned as follows:

Pass Grades

A+ 85-100%

A 80-84%

A- 75-79%

B+ 70-74%

B 65-69%

B- 60-64%

C+ 55-59%

C 50-54%

Fail Grades

D 40-49%

E 0-39%

For the MA, classes of honours are awarded as follows:

75+ 1st class Honours

68-74 2nd class Honours (first division)

60-67 2nd class Honours (second division)

50-59 pass degree

N.B. Final decisions rest with the Board of Examiners

General Guidelines on the use of band scales

All essays in the A range (A+, A, A-) will be of a very high standard. They will be comprehensive in their treatment of the topic, clearly organised and well written and referenced and will involve discussion at a level of sophistication which indicates the sort of understanding of the area that would be required of someone in order to give a useful presentation to the new intake of students studying this topic at the same level. They will be based upon a significant amount of extra study, which goes well beyond the material presented in the class and in set readings.

A+	Assignments will excel in all of the above points.
A-	Assignments will meet all the usual A range requirements except that they may contain a few points that are not adequately discussed.

All essays in the B range (B+, B, B-) will attempt to be comprehensive in their treatment of the topic (although they may omit one or two points of importance). They will be clearly organised overall (although some sections may be slightly lacking in this respect). They will in general, be well written and referenced (although there may be occasional problems in this area). They will be conducted at a level of sophistication which indicates that the candidate could contribute usefully to a debate in this area among peers.

B+	Assignments will, in addition, generally contain some insights that were not included in class discussions on the topic.
B-	Assignments will meet all the usual B range requirements except that they may contain indications that some points have not been adequately understood, that certain relevant aspects of the discussion have been omitted, or that there has been little independent reading and thought.

All essays assigned C range grades will be unsatisfactory in some respect/s and may include to some degree one or other of the weaknesses listed under D and E below. The lowest grade of pass at graduate level is C. There are no C- (restricted grade pass) grades awarded at this level, though a grade of C- may on occasions be given to an individual piece of work.

Grades D & E are given for work which does not reach the minimum standard that is expected in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. This usually means that the student's work demonstrates at least one of the following weaknesses to a serious extent:

- it is too short or limited, indicating a lack of effort by the student;
- it is not related to the topic that was set;
- it shows that the student has not understood the subject matter of the paper;
- substantial parts have been copied from books or journals or from the work of other students (see the guidelines on plagiarism);
- it is so poorly expressed that it is very difficult to understand.