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Composition Rating Scale

97  93  87  83  77  73  67  63  57  53  N.O.T. 97 Topic is richly and fully developed. Flexible use of a wide range of syntactic (sentence level) structures, accurate morphological (word forms) control. Organization is appropriate and effective, and there is excellent control of connection. There is a wide range of appropriately used vocabulary. Spelling and punctuation appear error free. 95 93 Topic is fully and complexly developed. Flexible use of a wide range of syntactic structures. Morphological control is nearly always accurate. Organization is well controlled and appropriate to the material, and the writing is well connected. Vocabulary is broad and appropriately used. Spelling and punctuation errors are not distracting. 90 87 Topic is well developed, with acknowledgement of its complexity. Varied syntactic structures are used with some flexibility, and there is good morphological control. Organization is controlled and generally appropriate to the material, and there are few problems with connection. Vocabulary is broad and usually used appropriately. Spelling and punctuation errors are not distracting. 85 83 Topic is generally clearly and completely developed, with at least some acknowledgement of its complexity. Both simple and complex syntactic structures are generally adequately used; there is adequate morphological control. Organization is controlled and shows some appropriacy to the material, and connection is usually adequate. Vocabulary use shows some flexibility, and is usually appropriate. Spelling and punctuation errors are sometimes distracting. 80 77 Topic is developed clearly but not completely and without acknowledging its complexity. Both simple and complex syntactic structures are present; in some "77" essays these are cautiously and accurately used while in others there is more fluency and less accuracy. Morphological control is inconsistent. Organization is generally controlled, while connection is sometimes absent or unsuccessful. Vocabulary is adequate, but may sometimes be inappropriately used. Spelling and punctuation errors are sometimes distracting. 75 73 Topic development is present, although limited by incompleteness, lack of clarity, or lack of focus. The topic may be treated as though it has only one dimension, or only one point of view is possible. In some "73" essays both simple and complex syntactic structures are present, but with many errors; others have accurate syntax but are very restricted in the range of language attempted. Morphological control is inconsistent. Organization is partially controlled, while connection is often absent or unsuccessful. Vocabulary is sometimes inadequate, and sometimes inappropriately used. Spelling and punctuation errors are sometimes distracting. 70 67 Topic development is present but restricted, and often incomplete or unclear. Simple syntactic structures dominate, with many errors; complex syntactic structures, if present, are not controlled. Lacks morphological control. Organization, when apparent, is poorly controlled, and little or no connection is apparent. Narrow and simple vocabulary usually approximates meaning but is often inappropriately used. Spelling and punctuation errors are often distracting. 65 63 Contains little sign of topic development. Simple syntactic structures are present, but with many errors; lacks morphological control. There is little or no organization, and no connection apparent. Narrow and simple vocabulary inhibits communication, and spelling and punctuation errors often cause serious interference. 60 57 Often extremely short; contains only fragmentary communication about the topic. There is little syntactic or morphological control, and no organization or connection are apparent. Vocabulary is highly restricted and inaccurately used. Spelling is often indecipherable and punctuation is missing or appears random. 55 53 Extremely short, usually about 40 words or less; communicates nothing, and is often copied directly from the prompt. There is little sign of syntactic or morphological control, and no apparent organization or connection. Vocabulary is extremely restricted and repetitively used. Spelling is often indecipherable and punctuation is missing or appears random. N.O.T. (Not On Topic) Indicates a composition written on a topic completely different from any of those assigned; it does not indicate that a writer has merely digressed from or misinterpreted a topic. N.O.T. compositions often appear prepared and memorized. They are not assigned scores or codes. Additional Composition Codes Following your number score there might be one or more letter codes. Each letter code means that one feature of your writing was especially strong or weak for your score level; not strong or weak enough, however, to raise or lower your overall score. For example, your vocabulary could be especially strong for your score level of 77, but not strong enough to raise your overall score to 83. The codes do not replace your number score; they add detail to it. We think this extra information about your writing will be interesting and useful to you and to admissions officers reviewing your application. There are 22 codes (shown below). Each describes one feature of writing. None of these features works alone, but each one can affect writing quality. Codes, like number scores, are assigned independently by two to three trained readers. Please remember that code letters do not raise or lower number scores. The alphabetical order of the codes has no positive or negative meaning. For example, “a” does not mean excellent, and “f” does not mean poor or failure. Letters are used simply as a convenient means for reporting score information. Composition Codes   a topic poorly or incompletely developed b topic well developed c organization inappropriate to material d organization uncontrolled e organization well-controlled f connection poor g connection smooth h syntactic (sentence-level) structures simple i syntactic structures complex j syntactic structures uncontrolled k syntactic structures controlled l poor morphological (word form) control m good morphological control n vocabulary narrow o vocabulary broad p vocabulary use inappropriate q vocabulary use appropriate r spelling inaccurate s punctuation inaccurate t paragraph divisions missing or apparently random v question misinterpreted or not addressed  x other (see score report)