Stories: Grading standards

Grade A: A perfect story that is well-written and to the point, with a lead that succinctly sums up the story; one that observes AP style and is free of grammar, punctuation and spelling errors; a story that is well-reported, thorough and has no major "holes" or omissions of fact; one that is objective and fair, that gets both or all sides of a story and is free of bias, distortion and libelous content.

B: A story that is reasonably well-written but has some flaws, such as a lead that fails to sum up the story or some overly wordy passages; one that may have a few AP style or grammar, punctuation and spelling errors; an article that is slightly less well-reported and thorough, with perhaps minor omissions of fact; one that is objective and fair, that gets most sides of a story and is free of bias, distortion and libelous content.

C: A story that has substantial writing flaws, such as a lead that fails to sum up the story, overly wordy or confusing passages; one that has a number of AP style or grammar, punctuation and spelling errors; an article that is not well-reported and has important omissions of fact; one that to some extent is not objective or fair, that does not get both or all sides of a story and may contain bias.

D: A story with major writing flaws, including a poorly worded lead and wordy or confusing passages; one that contains many AP style or grammar, punctuation and spelling errors; one that is poorly reported and has important omissions of fact; an article that is biased, unfair and not objective, or that contains libelous content. Also, any article containing plagiarized material.

F: Any story handed in one week after deadline. Any article containing plagiarized material. A story failing to correct mistakes noted in previous assignments, in class and in instructor's feedback.