I can still see a few is little ways I could have made this paper better, but overall the student worked very hard and paid a lot of attention to the nit-picky stuff like punctuation and MLA format. Great details!

This is one of my all-time favorite papers. It is based on primary research. The author was not required to use MLA format or to include sources other than one of the essays from the textbook.

This is another one of my favorites.  Given all the punctuation problems, it probably shouldn't have gotten an A-, but, like anybody else, I guess I'm a sucker for a great story.  This paper also wasn't required to include outside sources or use MLA format.

I really liked this essay a lot, but the ending sort of left me feeling "Awww . . . ."  It's another great example of primary research, and the author was not required to use outside sources or MLA format.

Looking back at it, this paper may have deserved a B+.  It's pretty entertaining to read, but there are problems with sentences, problems with the ending, and problems with Mechanics & usage.

Looking back at it, this paper may have deserved a B-, but I gave it a little extra consideration because an evaluation paper can be tricky to write, and because the student came in so often that I knew how hard he was trying.

This is a really compelling bit of primary research, not the kind of paper one reads every quarter.  It could easily have been an A paper with a little more proofreading and a better ending.

The subject matter of this paper isn't quite as compelling as the last one, but the author does relate his content to a larger issue.  This is a good example of how problems with punctuation, grammar and sentences can drag down a grade.

A couple of grim (and darkly funny) funeral stories keep this paper moving along in comparison/ contrast mode. This time, the ending works pretty well, but problems with sentences and mechanics and usage bring this grade down too.

This paper also has problems with mechanics and usage, and with sentences.  But here, we start to see slightly bigger problems.  At times, things are out of sequence, as if the writer were trying to say everything at once.  The emphasis is off in the conclusion, and there are repetitive spots, as well as places where the author could have gone into more detail.  Great topic, though, and sincere.

I probably gave this a C+ rather than a C because I thought it really did have something important to say.  But once again we see mechanics and usage problems, confusing sentences, and not enough specific details -- a skimpy paper overall.

This author had some good ideas, but the paper lacked any real focus.  The student did a lot of work finding sources and incorporating them into the discussion.  But I got the feeling he was talking about issues he really didn't know too much about.

This author was just another one of the many students who misunderstood the assignment.  He didn't talk to me about a topic or bring me a rough draft.  He has no real point, and he lets Gilbert Highet (the author of "Diogenes and Alexander") play far too big a role in his response.

This author feels pretty strongly about what he has to say.  Trouble is, he has way too many things to say for a paper this size.  He speaks of hackers in general and doesn't even refer to the essay he's supposedly responding to until the bottom of page three. 

This author goes to great lengths to explain something most of us already know: the various kinds of male stereotypes.  The point is, they're harmful.  And, yes, I agree.  But where has the author ever seen, heard or read about one person who was once criticized for being, say, a "girly man"?

This paper doesn't even bother to summarize the essay it's supposedly responding to, and while it may seem to unfold in an orderly way, it reads more like a summary of an encyclopedia article (or maybe a publicity pamphlet) than anything else.  The author did ask me about the topic but never brought in a rough draft.  A big change in sentence style in the last paragraph suggests that he may have been relying pretty heavily on the wording of sources. 

The average grade in my classes tends to be about a C or C+ for Paper (1), give or take, and maybe as high as a B- on Paper (2).  The biggest problems are caused by not talking to me about a topic and not showing me rough drafts.  The second biggest problems are caused by not paying attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, MLA -- and by not getting help from the CWU Writing Center.