On my results report, what does P, M or D mean against the marking criteria?

Examiners award numerical marks out of 20 for each of the assessment criteria, which are totalled and scaled to produce the overall mark for each component. Because each attainment band (Pass, Merit, Distinction or Unclassified) represents a range of marks which could be awarded by the examiner (eg. D = 18, 19 or 20), the overall component mark can vary depending on the criteria marks awarded. 

For example, M/M/D/D could indicate 15/15/18/18 = 17 = M, or 17/17/20/20 = 19 = D.  Similarly, P/P/P/M could indicate 14/14/14/17 = 15 = M even though there are more Passes than Merits awarded, while in the same way D/D/D/M could indicate 18/18/18/15 = 17 = M. 

As such, the overall component mark will indicate in broad terms whether each of the criteria was judged to be low, medium or high in relation to the attainment band.

Mark scale:

U: 0-11

P: 12-14

M: 15-17

D: 18-20