A superior performance with consistent strong evidence of:

• a comprehensive, incisive grasp of subject matter;
• an ability to make insightful critical evaluation of information;
• a exceptional capacity for original, creative and/or logical thinking;
• an exceptional ability to organize, to analyze, to synthesize, to integrate ideas, and to express thoughts fluently;
• an exceptional ability to analyze and solve difficult problems related to subject matter 

A very good to excellent performance with strong evidence of:

• a comprehensive grasp of subject matter.
• an ability to make sound critical evaluation of information .
• a very good to excellent capacity for original, creative and/or logical thinking.
• a very good to excellent ability to organize, to analyze, to synthesize, to integrate ideas, and to express thoughts fluently.
• a very good to excellent ability to analyze and solve difficult problems related to subject matter.

A satisfactory to good performance with evidence of:

• a substantial knowledge of subject matter.
• a satisfactory to good understanding of the relevant issues and satisfactory to good familiarity with the relevant literature and technology.
• a satisfactory to good capacity for logical thinking.
• some capacity for original and creative thinking.
• a satisfactory to good ability to organize, to analyze, and to examine the subject matter in a critical and constructive manner.
• a satisfactory to good ability to organize, to analyze, and to examine the subject matter in a critical and constructive manner.
• a satisfactory to good ability to analyze and solve moderately difficult problems related to the subject matter.

A generally weak performance, but with some evidence of:

• a basic grasp of the subject matter
• some understanding of the basic issues
• some familiarity with the relevant literature & techniques
• some ability to develop solutions to moderately difficult problems related to the subject matter
• some ability to examine the material in a critical & analytical manner