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A "6" essay demonstrates superior competence in writing on both rhetorical and syntactic levels.

A "6" paper

• is effectively organized and developed
• intelliegently addresses the topic, showing maturity of thought and expression
• uses clearly appropriate details to support a thesis or illustrate ideas
• shows unity and consistent facility in use of language
• demonstrates a high level of syntactic variety and appropriate word choice
• is nearly free of error

A "5" essay demonstrates clear competence in writing on both the rhetorical and syntactic levels, though it may have occasional minor errors.
A "5" paper

• is generally well-organized and well-developed, though it may offer fewer details than a "6" paper
• may address some parts of the topic better than others
• shows unity, coherence, and progression
• demonstrates some syntactic variety and range of vocabulary
• displays facility in language

A "4" essay demonstrates competence in writing on both the rhetorical and syntactic levels.
A "4" paper

• is adequately organized
• addresses the topic adequately, though perhaps not complete
• uses some details to support a thesis or illustrate ideas
• demonstrates adequate but not distinguished facility with language and syntax
• may contain some errors that obscure meaning

A "3" essay, while it may demonstrate some developing competence in writing, remains flawed on either the rhetorical or syntactic level or both.

A "3" paper may reveal one or more of the following weaknesses:

• inadequate development or organization
• failure to support or illustrate generalizations with appropriate or sufficient detail
• multiple errors in sentence structure and/or usage
• inappropriate choice of words or word forms

A "2" paper suggests limited competence in writing.

A "2" paper may be seriously flawed by one or more of the following weaknesses:

• failure to organize or develop
• little detail or irrelevant specifics
• serious and frequent errors in usage and sentence structure
• problems with fluency and focus

A "1" paper demonstrates incompetence in writing. A "1" paper may reveal the writer's inability to comprehend the question, may be incoherent or impressively illogical. A paper that is severely underdeveloped falls into this category.

How the WST Essay is Scored

1. Each essay is read twice, by two separate readers.

2. After a score (anywhere from 6 to 1) is assigned, the essay is passed to another reader, who then reads it and assigns another score.

3. If the readers are more than one number apart, i.e., a 4 and a 6, then the essay will be read a third time to determine the correct score.

4. The scores must be only one number apart, i.e., a 6 and a 5. Those scores would give the essay a final score of 11.

5. A student must receive at least two 4's, because a score of 8 is the lowest passing essay score.

6. The highest score an essay can receive is a 12 (two 6's). Along with a 12, the student must receive at least a score of 50 on the objective protion of the test.

7. A score of 12 on the essay and 50 on the objective, or a score of 11 (6 plus 5) along with an objective score of 69 can allow the student to waive 100W (if his or her department allows it).

8. Along with a score of 8 being passing, scores of 9 (5 plus 4), 10 (two 5's), and 11 are passing. Those scores must also be accompanied by a score of 50 on the objective portion of the test.

9. If a student scores a 6 (two 3's) or a 7 (4 plus 3) on the essay portion, he or she must get a score of 60 or greater to pass with an essay score of 7, or a score of 63 or greater to pass with an essay score of 6.

10. All other combinations of scores fail.

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