Table of the Soviet and English Marking Systems (With Corresponding Comments)

The use of unsatisfactory depends on the minimum standard demanded in a particular case. For the variation in the pass mark in school examinations, see unit 340.

a tick ("отметка, галочка") — usually put beside each correct answer. It may seem unnecessary to put anything beside a correct answer, but it is a positive sign that the answer is correct, and has not been overlooked. It becomes a reflex action with most teachers to tick correct answers as their pen moves down the page. Then, if they are marking out of ten, they simply add up the ticks to arrive at the final mark.

A tick is also used in the case of work which is not given a mark, to show that the teacher has read it.

to cross out — something which is completely wrong, or, in some cases, something which should not be there at all.

to underline — something which is wrong, but not necessarily completely wrong. Some teachers underline definite mistakes with a straight line, and other things, which are not wrong, but not the best version, with a wavy line.

The following abbreviations are widely used by language teachers. They are usually put in the margin.

These words have the same meaning but differ stylistically. Mistake is stylistically neutral, and therefore used in a wide variety of situations, whereas error is confined to very formal style.

The distinction between these two pairs of opposites is also stylistic. Right/wrong are stylistically neutral, whereas correct/incorrect are formal.

a bad/serious mistake — грубая ошибка A very bad mistake which is also amusing may be called a howler in colloquial speech.

A degree is an academic qualification awarded on completion either of a higher education course (a first degree) or a piece of research (a higher/further degree). In practice the word degree alone generally implies a first degree, other degrees being referred to more specifically, as higher/further degree, doctorate, and so on (see below).

Formerly degrees were awarded only by universities, but during the past 15-20 years they have gradually been extended to polytechnics, colleges of education and colleges of higher education (see units 46, 38, 39) for courses of an equivalent standard.

(1) vocational, or less academic, or considered to be of a
lower academic standard;

(2) awarded by a non-university institution, or, if by a uni
versity, after a shorter course than a degree course.

One example is the Diploma in Art and Design (DipAD); another is the Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE), a new qualification introduced with the colleges of higher education (see unit 39) and awarded after a two-year course corresponding to the first two years of a degree course (which usually lasts three years).

Certificate is a very general word denoting any document which officially declares (or certifies) something, and is used in various expressions, including birth certificate, marriage certificate and medical certificate (see unit 257). In education it is used of a document certifying that a person has completed a course of study and/or passed a certain examination and, by extension, of the examination and qualification themselves. Thus public examinations taken in schools are called the General Certificate of Education and the Certificate of Secondary Education (see unit 340). In higher and further education a certificate is similar to a diploma. Like a diploma, it is usually:

(1) vocational, or less academic, or considered to beof a low
er academic standard than a degree;

(2) awarded by a non-university institution, or, if by a uni
versity, after a shorter course than a degree course. For
example, the usual qualification awarded by a college of
education is the teacher's certificate, and the qualification
obtained by graduates after a one-year course in the univer
sity faculty/department of education is the postgraduate certi
ficate in education (called the diploma in education in some
universities). In technical institutions many people take the
ordinary and higher national certificate.

If there is both a diploma and a certificate in the same subject, the diploma is usually of a higher standard, or awarded after a longer course.

368. Unless otherwise stated, all the following expressions
may be used with all three words.

to award a degree—widely used in the sense of give in formal and semi-formal style

to confer a degree—used occasionally in the above sense in formal style, mainly with reference to higher degrees. Not used of diplomas and certificates.

to be admitted to a degree/the degree of...—used in official language in the same sense as to be awarded a degree.

e.g. No student can be admitted to a first degree unless he has completed full-time attendance for at least three university sessions. (From the prospectus of Birmingham University)

to take a degree (in smth.)—to follow a degree course and pass the necessary examinations,

to get a degree (in smth.)—widely used in informal style in the sense of receive.

It is less often applied to first degrees, diplomas and certificates than to higher degrees.

daily awarded. This is sometimes called a graduation ceremony. Diplomas and certificates are not usually awarded at special ceremonies.

degree certificate—document certifying that the holder has been awarded a degree. Certificate is not generally used with diploma. Simply diploma is used to denote the document.

In British English to graduate generally means "to complete a first degree course and pass the necessary examinations, to take one's degree" (see above). It is used as follows:

However, it is not usual to say / graduated from Oxford with no adverbial modifier. In such cases / was at Oxford or / took my degree at Oxford is preferred, at least in non-formal style. In formal style one can say:

Even in cases like (a)—(е) above, the verb to graduate is often replaced by some less formal word(s), for example:

To come down (from Oxford/Cambridge) is also used in the sense of "to complete one's studies", "to graduate" in such sentences as:

This expression does not seem to be used of other universities (see also to go up to Oxford/Cambridge, unit 107).

Graduate, both as a verb and a noun, are traditionally associated only with universities, but since the introduction of degree courses at other institutions (see unit 27) the use ot graduate has been correspondingly extended. We may speak of university graduates and, for example, polytechnic graduates (see also unit 189).

cation, and is used of all colleges and even high schools (see unit 18). In addition the verb is used not only as illustrated above, but with a direct object, in the sense of "выпускать".

e.g. i. The college graduated 300 engineers last year. Graduation is used in such sentences as:

This is rather format style, and in non-formal style some other version would be more usual, for example:

370. The English system of degrees is rather complicated,
and therefore often puzzling to foreigners. Here is a list of
the different types of degree, with brief explanations. It
must be emphasised that this is only a general outline, and
that practice varies to some extent from one institution to
another.

371. A first degree is usually awarded at the end of a three-
year course, which most people start at the age of 18/19,
after leaving school. In most institutions the awarding of
the degree depends entirely on the final examinations (see
unit 341), although some institutions now demand a dis
sertation too (see unit 376).

A first degree may also be called a Bachelor's degree, and the name of a particular degree is Bachelor (from Latin bac-calaureus) followed by the name of the faculty. Thus a first degree in the faculty of arts (see unit 61) is called a Bachelor of Arts, in the faculty of science (see unit 62) a Bachelor of Science, and so on. These degrees are often referred to by their initials, both in speech and writing:

Bachelor's degrees are at two levels: Honours and General/Pass. At some institutions an Honours degree is awarded

after a more specialised course (an Honours course); at others the course is the same for everyone and Honours degrees are given to those students who are more successful in their examinations.

Honours is abbreviated to Hons when given with the letters В A, etc., for example, В A (Hons).

372. A higher degree is one which is awarded after further
study, usually, although not always, involving research,
and corresponds on the- whole to the Soviet ученая степень.
Academic degree is not often used, but when it is it applies
to all degrees, including first degrees. Higher degrees are
sometimes also called further degrees.

Research degree is also used, but it is not an exact synonym of higher/further degree; it means a degree involving research, and not all (although most) higher degrees are research degrees (see below).

Originally this was a degree awarded on acceptance of a thesis based on a short period of research, usually soon after graduation. It was taken either as an additional qualification for a profession, for example, teaching, or as an introduction to real research, that is, work on a doctoral thesis.

In some universities this is still so. During recent years, however, there has been an increasing tendency to make the Master's degree an advanced examination degree, awarded after a year's postgraduate course of study, rather than a degree by thesis. Neither in its new nor its old form does it correspond to any Soviet degree.

As in the case of the Bachelor's degree, the name of the particular degree depends on the faculty. Thus a Master's degree in the faculty of arts is called Master of Arts (MA), in the faculty of science Master of Science (MSc), and so on.

The place of the traditional MA, awarded on acceptance of a thesis, has been taken in some universities by a new Master's degree, the Master of Philosophy, or the MPhil

, as it is usually called in conversation. The use of the word philosophy does not mean that the degree is restricted to philosophy. The name is the same for all faculties, and one may have an MPhil in English, or mathematics, or

geography. From a practical point of view philosophy here means the same as наук in the names кандидат and доктор наук.

An MPhil thesis must contain original material, but is of a lower standard than the PhD (see unit 374 below).

This is called in full Doctor of Philosophy, but is usually referred to as PhD

. The word order is that of

the original Latin (philosophies doctor). As in the case of the MPhil described above, philosophy has no special reference to philosophy; the name is invariable for all faculties.

A PhD is awarded on acceptance of a thesis which must be an original contribution to knowledge. Research for this degree usually takes about three years, although the length of time needed varies considerably according to the subject. This degree is generally considered to be of an equivalent standard to the Soviet кандидатская степень.

There is another type of doctorate, which is called in full a senior doctorate, to avoid confusion with the PhD. The name of a particular senior doctorate depends on the field of specialisation.

These degrees are much higher than the PhD, and are comparable in importance to the Soviet doctor's degree. However, they differ from the latter in that they do not involve the writing of a thesis. A person wishing to apply for such a degree submits his published works to a board, or committee, who then decide whether these works justify the award of the degree. There is no equivalent in England to the Soviet doctorate.

375. The usual procedure in British universities is as fol
lows. The candidate (that is, the person applying for the deg
ree) submits his thesis to an examining board appointed by
the board of studies (a committee of professors and lecturers,
of which there is one for each subject). This examining board,
or committee, as it is sometimes called, usually consists of

two or three specialists in the candidate's field. They read the thesis and then summon the candidate to an oral examination), sometimes called a viva

(from the Latin viva voce). At the oral/viva the candidate is questioned on his thesis, and sometimes on other related topics. Although the oral is open to the public, in practice only the candidate and the examiners usually attend. After the oral the examiners come to a joint decision and either accept or reject the thesis. Occasionally a thesis is referred back, which means that some -fault(s) must be remedied before the thesis is accepted.

The expression to defend one's thesis is used in Britain nowadays only in the general sense of producing arguments to support one's thesis, answering objections. Moreover, thesis here may be understood not as the written work but in its original sense, defined by Hornby as "statement or theory (to be) put forward and supported by argument".

(First) degree is usually the most appropriate translation, since a Soviet диплом is awarded after five years'specialised study at an institution of higher education. The use of diploma implies a shorter course, or one of a lower academic standard (see unit 366).

First should be included only when it is necessary to distinguish this degree (—диплом) from a higher degree (ученая степень).

Дипломная работа is difficult to translate into English, because there is¹ nothing of this kind in most higher educational establishments in England. In order to graduate, students only have to pass the necessary examinations. In some institutions, however, mainly newer ones, students also have to write a dissertation, that is, a sort of extended essay based on some independent study or investigation, and this practice seems to be spreading. Dissertation could therefore be used as a translation of дипломная работа, bearing in mind that it exists only in some English institutions. The SOED defines dissertation as "a discourse, a spoken or written treatment of a subject at length". In American English, however, dissertation is a work submitted for a higher

degree (BrE thesis). This fact, and the possible confusion with the Russian диссертация make dissertation a far from ideal translation of дипломная работа.

The only other solution seems to be some descriptive expression with graduation, for example, graduation essay/ paper/dissertation. (For the use of essay, see unit 291, for paper, unit 294.)

Дипломный проект can be translated as graduation project. Remember, however, that this is not a set expression and that project has a wider use in modern English (see unit 412).

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