At the end of the term, students with 93-100 points will receive an A; 90-92 an A-; it is unlikely that more than a few students will fit into the A category.

Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.

Students who are able to achieve this grade will:

· show, by means of their written exams and their participation in class discussions, an understanding of the material we have covered, and recognize and apply the legal principles we have covered to a variety of fact patterns;

· recognize the overall policy or purpose of a particular legal framework, and express a reasoned opinion about its efficacy;

· be able to express themselves, both orally and in writing, clearly and concisely, and independently carry out legal research by means of Westlaw or other appropriate research tools.

· generate and present a research paper that will be of educational value to themselves and to other students in the class.

Students who receive 87-89 points will receive a B+; 83-86 a B; 80-82 a B-; students who are better than average, but not excellent, will fit into the B category.
This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.

There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.

Students who are able to achieve this grade will:

· show, by means of their written exams and their participation in class discussions, that they have studied and understood the material we have covered, and apply legal principles to hypothetical fact patterns, even though they may not grasp the subtleties of the issue presented in all cases;

· express themselves, orally and in writing, well enough to be understood, but with some disorganization;

· effectively rely on research sources that are provided to them, even though they may not be able to independently generate their own research sources;

· complete and present a research paper that will be interesting and educational to some other students in the class.

Students who receive 77-79 points will receive a C+; 73-76 a C; 70-72 a C-; average students will fit into the C category.
This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.

Students in this category will:

· show, by means of their written exams and their participation in class discussions, that they have read the material we have covered, and perhaps memorized specific legal theories or provisions;

· will express themselves, both orally and in writing, in ways that are difficult for the listener to understand, even though they might have a valid point to make;

· produce a research paper that merely summarizes other scholarly work.

Students who receive 67-69 points will receive a D+; 63-66 a D; 60-62 a D-; below average students will fit into the D category.

This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.

Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included. In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.

Students in this category will:

· show, by means of their written exams and their participation in class discussions, that they have read some of the material we have covered in the course;

· will express themselves, both orally and in writing, in ways that are devoid of content with respect to the material that has been covered in the course;

· will have difficulty in producing a research paper.

Students who receive fewer than 60 points will fail.

Students in the F category have a work which fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.