Interpretation of Grades

While it is hard to draw up a set of descriptors that will encompass every marking decision in a complex program, the following will serve as a general guide to the interpretation of grades in the department of Chinese studies. The information is provided under four categories:

• Modern Chinese language-acquisition units of study
• Classical Chinese language work and textual study
• Essays
• Honours and postgraduate assessment

Modern Chinese language-acquisition units of study

The following guidelines should be interpreted relative to the level of the unit of study concerned. The word “pronunciation” is to be interpreted as referring to tonality as well as phonetic accuracy in Modern Standard Chinese (putonghua, Mandarin).

Pass: 50–64%
The student has maintained an adequate record of attendance at classes / lectures, quizzes, and other minor assessment tasks, and has completed all major assessment tasks. Performance over the semester has reflected serious effort to learn new material while retaining command of old. Results in the final assessment(s) demonstrate sufficient mastery of the material studied to justify admission to the next higher level. However, oral performance in class is typically marred by undue hesitation and frequent errors of grammar, word choice and pronunciation. Reading is slow and not consistently accurate; comprehension typically lags behind character-recognition. Written work contains grammatical errors, incorrectly written characters, and /or incorrect word choices. The student has shown basic competence in reproducing textbook models but has had limited success in adapting them to unfamiliar contexts.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 45% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 35% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Pass result for the unit as a whole.

Credit: 65–74%
The student has maintained a good record of attendance at classes / lectures, quizzes, and other minor assessment tasks, and has completed all major assessment tasks. Performance over the semester has demonstrated success in learning new material while retaining command of old. Oral performance in class is prompt and generally accurate; however, there are occasional errors of grammar, word choice and pronunciation, and/or consistent difficulty with one or more specific features of the language. Character-recognition is positively good, but comprehension of written materials is not always immediate. Written work contains few poorly written characters or clearly wrong word choices, but sentences are sometimes awkward or reflect insecure mastery of specific points of grammar. Performance in open-ended assignments reflects creative and generally successful effort to extend expressive powers beyond the textbook models.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 35% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 40% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Credit result for the unit as a whole.

Distinction: 75–84%
The student has maintained an excellent record of attendance at classes / lectures, quizzes, and other minor assessment tasks, has completed all major assessment tasks successfully, and has shown outstanding competence in learning new material while retaining command of old. Few errors are made in grammar, word choice or pronunciation. Oral performance is usually spontaneous, has more than the rudiments of an authentic ring, and deploys idiom effectively. Reading comprehension is usually immediate and accurate; writing is not only accurate but shows sensitivity to issues of register and diction. Performance in open-ended assignments is creative and generally felicitous. There may be evidence of exceptional initiative in exploring extra-curricular resources and using them productively.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 15% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 18% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Distinction result for the unit as a whole.

High Distinction: 85–100%
High Distinction performance has all the merits of Distinction performance, but at a superior level. Oral performance is spontaneous, has an authentic ring, and deploys idiom effectively. Reading comprehension is immediate and accurate; writing is not only accurate but shows a high degree of sensitivity to issues of register and diction. Performance in open-ended assignments is creative and felicitous. There will probably be evidence of exceptional initiative in exploring extra-curricular resources and using them productively.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 5% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 7% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a High Distinction result for the unit as a whole.

Classical Chinese language work and textual study

The following guidelines should be interpreted relative to the level of the unit of study concerned.

Pass: 50–64%
The student has mastered the material presented in class and in textbooks or other study materials sufficiently to make some sense of assigned passages, although there are errors that suggest incorrectly applied grammar. Other deficiencies that are commonly found in pass-level work include insufficient attention to semantic differences between Classical Chinese and the language of instruction and/or the student's native language. Grammatical patterns may be "learned" primarily through one-to-one translation ("classical clause X means English/modern Chinese clause Y") rather than by mastering grammatical analysis that facilitates the understanding of previously encountered patterns in new contexts. Translations may favor style over accuracy. Textual understanding often remains at a sentence-by-sentence level, so that the coherence of an entire passage may be missed. While the student can demonstrate familiarity with relevant grammatical terminology, the meaning of this terminology has not been fully grasped.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 45% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 35% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Pass result for the unit as a whole.

Credit: 65–74%
Greater attention is paid to the distinctive characteristics of classical vocabulary. Translations reveal an attempt to come to grips with the major differences between Classical Chinese and the language of instruction and/or the student's native language. Comprehension errors are more likely to be matters of vocabulary than matters of grammar; however, some errors suggesting incorrectly applied grammar are still likely to be present. Evidence of grammatical understanding is revealed through ability to analyze patterns and particle functions, using some grammatical terminology. The student shows good grasp of entire passages and is able to discuss them intelligently orally and/or in writing.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 35% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 40% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Credit result for the unit as a whole.

Distinction: 75–84%
Scrupulous care is taken in translation tasks, with attention to traditional (non-colloquial) readings, obsolete meanings, particles and grammatical structure. The student will voluntarily consult dictionaries and/or outside reference works where additional information is needed. Grammar is mastered analytically, and the mastery correlates with good sight-reading abilities. The student can articulate and discuss meanings that are often more implied than directly stated in the assigned passages. Translation is both idiomatic and highly accurate.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 15% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 18% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Distinction result for the unit as a whole.

High Distinction: 85–100%
Well-equipped with problem-solving strategies at lexical, grammatical and broader textual levels, the student demonstrates outstanding ability to prepare assigned passages of Classical Chinese for discussion, presentation and/or translation. The student is able to annotate and critique her/his own translations. Discussion of content will often include intelligent comparison with other texts read during the semester and may address broad cultural issues.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 5% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 7% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a High Distinction result for the unit as a whole.

Essays

The following guidelines should be interpreted relative to the level of the unit of study concerned. They refer specifically to essays (including essays in Chinese), not to compositions assigned as language-acquisition exercises.

Pass: 50–64%
In general, a pass essay represents a substantive effort to address a significant question, shows an acceptable level of understanding of the texts, sources, and/or theoretical ideas on which it is based or to which it is responds, is written in adequate English (or Chinese) for the meaning to be seldom in doubt, predominantly uses the student's own words, and is free of illogicality or factual error so serious as to invalidate the argument in a fundamental way. It is based on a defensible interpretation of the task assigned. All sources and quotations are adequately acknowledged in at least an approximation to a standard format.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 45% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 35% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Pass result for the unit as a whole.

Credit: 65–74%
In general, a credit essay takes a position (that is, puts forward a thesis or reaches a conclusion) in response to a significant question and demonstrates, with an appropriate combination of reasoning and evidence, the grounds on which the position is taken. The purpose of any narrative and/or description that may be present is to contribute to the argumentation or supply adequate background information for the argument to be understood. The reasoning is basically sound, and evidence is used intelligently. The essay shows a good understanding of the texts, sources and/or theoretical ideas on which it is based or to which it responds. The technical aspects of essay writing (such as grammar, spelling, presentation of references and bibliography in a standard format) have generally been mastered. If applicable, the essay will show evidence of broader reading than the minimum required. Quotation is limited to cases in which it serves a good purpose, the level of factual accuracy is high, and the structure is basically logical and coherent. The approach adopted often shows originality.

In longer essays, an attempt is usually made to consider approaches and/or responses to the problem other than that favored by the author.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 35% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 40% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Credit result for the unit as a whole.

Distinction: 75–84%
A distinction essay has the merits of a credit essay, but at a superior level. In addition, it is well-structured and written in good style. The argumentation is convincing. At least in longer essays, opposing viewpoints and conflicting evidence are recognised and dealt with satisfactorily. As appropriate, the essay may be demonstrably informed by wide reading and/or by a sophisticated understanding of one or more applicable theories.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 15% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 18% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a Distinction result for the unit as a whole.

High Distinction: 85–100%
A high distinction essay has the merits of a distinction essay, but at a superior level. In addition, it is characterised by a high degree of originality and written in excellent academic style. It may suggest that the author has research potential in such ways as the following:

1. Critical insights into the work of one or more established scholars;
2. The proposal of a new perspective from which to view a problem;
3. The identification of a problem not adequately recognised in the existing literature;
4. Making an original contribution to knowledge in the subject area.

Under Faculty of Arts guidelines, it is expected that up to about 5% of the students enrolled in a large first-year unit of study, and up to about 7% of the students enrolled in a large senior unit of study, will typically receive a High Distinction result for the unit as a whole.

Honours and postgraduate assessment

In Honours, the term “class” replaces the term “grade.” There are basically three classes. There follows an abridged version of the Honours “class descriptors” that are standard throughout the Faculty of Arts. A more finely differentiated scale is available for First Class Honours; you are encouraged to request a copy of this from your Honours thesis supervisor.

Students taking the postgraduate version of Honours-level seminars will receive percentages and grades, as in the undergraduate program. However, in determining the percentage marks for individual assignments, instructors in this department use the Honours “class descriptors” as a benchmark. The rationale for this is to ensure that students who are using the Master of Asian Studies as a route to possible research postgraduate candidature will benefit from the same rigorous standards as are applied in the Honours program.

Honours Not Awarded: 50–64%
The above range corresponds to a Pass grade in the postgraduate program.
The decision not to award Honours is a difficult one. It is likely to be based on a combination of the following criteria:

1. that the student has not obtained a sufficient mastery of the chosen subject area at a level of depth and complexity beyond that appropriate to the Pass degree, as demonstrated through written work and oral examination;
2. that attendance at classes and participation in Honours discussions has not been sufficient or sufficiently consistent to allow staff to gauge his or her level of achievement at an Honours standard;
3. that the student’s written and oral work in the Honours year has failed to attain an average mark of 65%.

Third Class Honours: 65–69%
The above range corresponds to a low Credit in the postgraduate program.
The award of a Third Class Honours degree expresses the assessors’ view that the student has:

1. demonstrated a barely sufficient general knowledge of the subject through study and reading of both primary and secondary material;
2. produced written work that is barely adequate at Honours level in terms of English expression and documentation, the assembly of relevant material, and the ability to exercise independent critical judgement of the material.

Second Class Honours, Division 2: 70–74%
The above range corresponds to a high Credit in the postgraduate program.
The award of a Second Class Honours Division 2 degree expresses the assessors’ view that the student has:

1. demonstrated adequate general knowledge of the subject through study and reading of both primary and secondary material;
2. produced written work that is clearly adequate at Honours level in terms of English expression and documentation, the assembly of relevant material, and the ability to exercise independent critical judgement of the material.
3. In addition, a student who gains Honours II/2 may occasionally show evidence of original analysis and interpretation of subject matter.

Second Class Honours, Division 1: 75–79%
The above range corresponds to a low Distinction in the postgraduate program.
The award of a Second Class Honours Division 1 degree expresses the assessors’ confidence that the student has:

1. demonstrated superior general knowledge of the subject through study and reading of both primary and secondary material;
2. produced written work that shows a reasonably complex understanding and original analysis of subject matter and its context, both empirical and theoretical, and sometimes shows evidence of independent interpretation;
3. produced written work of a high standard of English expression and documentation.

First Class Honours: 80–100%
The above range corresponds to a meritorious Distinction (80–84%) and a High Distinction (85–100%) in the postgraduate program.
The award of First Class Honours expresses the assessors’ confidence that the student has:

1. demonstrated outstanding general knowledge of the subject through study and reading of both primary and secondary material;
2. produced written work that shows a complex understanding and original analysis of subject matter and its context, both empirical and theoretical, and often shows evidence of independent, plausible interpretation;
3. produced written work of a very high standard of English expression and documentation.