According to the rubric, an ‘A’ paper keeps the thesis clear and is original in thought. This paper does both exceptionally well. The author lays out all of the documents he/she will present in the paper (no surprise documents) prior to the thesis, and uses these documents as a nice segue into the thesis statement. Every point the paper is carried by an affirmative assertion followed by solid blocks of evidence used to back these assertions, each linked together in a good flow. For example:

“Catherine’s “Statue on Provincial Administration,” by dictating the rankings of persons of power within these provinces, furthermore attempted to eliminate the possibility of another rebellion. For instance, the Statute stipulates that, in the absence of a monarch, rule would pass to each province’s commander in chief. This delegation affirmed that strong authority would govern each province, regardless of the monarch’s physical presence.” (Page 2 of the essay)

Although this phrasing is full of elongated sentences, each phrase beautifully parlays into the next one, and, by building on the preceding phrase, concisely gets the authors point about said document across. The author also doesn’t lose track of his/her own opinion throughout the paper. This is evident when the author writes, “…More likely, Catherine used this stratification to keep track of free peasants. Because each townsperson had to apply for a guild membership, the legal rankings allowed the government to document and oversee its citizens” (Page 3). With very careful diction (use of the words ‘more likely’ to imply the author’s opinion) the author keeps his/her opinion present throughout the paper without losing sight of the focus. The author further gives his/her own insight onto the establishment of these codes, which is evident in the author’s saying:

“Because each townsperson had to apply for guild membership, the legal rankings allowed the government to document and oversee its citizens, consequently reducing the possibility of a rebellion”

With sentences like these and a concise, coherent structure flowing consistently throughout the entire paper, it is easily understandable how it attained an ‘A’.