Essay Grading Outline

All of your essays are 100-point assessments with the following breakdown:

• 10 points for proper essay structure and grammar
• 10 points for selecting and identifying works appropriate to the prompt
• 40 points for your discussion of work A (four scoreable points at 10 points each)
• 40 points for your discussion of work B (four scoreable points at 10 points each)

Scoreable Points

Now let us look at two paragraphs (broken down into individual sentences) from two different students to identify which sort of citations score and which do not.

In general we are looking for direct citations from the work of art (highlighted in red below) that tie directly back into the prompt (highlighted in blue). If we do not have both of these elements, it is impossible for a student to score highly.

Note, too, that we will use the "Seated Gudea" (Lesson 2.09) as our sample work and that we are using the same prompt from the essay tutorial:

• Choose two works of art from different cultures and art historical periods and discuss how each work conveys its particular society's notion of power and authority.

Sample Second Paragraph I

The Sumerian society saw power and authority, not resting in the hands of rulers, but in their gods alone which the "Seated Gudea" militates. Although Gudea was a Sumerian leader, his seated pose is one of gentile humility before his gods (10pts). The tension in the work, as seen in the musculature of the upper arms and clasped hands, does not focus on Gudea's might as a leader, or even a man. Instead the focus is on Gudea's pious supplication, caught in active prayer and worship (10pts). Gudea's eyes, too, illuminate his piety and that of his people, as they are fixed straight ahead in honest devotion (10pts). Finally, the incredibly durable material of work, basalt, shows that Gudea and the Sumerians were concerned with the perpetual worship of their gods, rather than the glorification of the leaders (10pts).

This student has earned the maximum score (40 points for the second paragraph) because:

• he has selected an appropriate work ["Seated Gudea"],
• offered a correct interpretation and
• has tied specific aspects of the work [pose, tension, gaze and material] to the prompt [Sumerians saw their gods as the source of power] in each of his sentences.

Sample Second Paragraph II

The Seated Gudea shows the ruler of the Sumerian city of Lagash. Gudea claimed that his prayerful devotion saved his city from the Guti who destroyed every city in Mesopotamia except Lagash. This proves that the Sumerians saw power and authority in the hands of their gods and not their kings.

• did not cite any specific aspects of the work (but only mentioned the piece in his first sentence),
• did not write to the prompt in three of his four sentences and
• did not cite facts which relate to the prompt (even though his facts are correct, they do not earn any points because they do not relate to the prompt.)