A root section is much like a section, but with a few key differences: 1) a marking scheme can have only one root section; 2) a root section has no parent section; 3) root sections have an extra attribute that regular section does not have. The extra attribute is the following:

• Marking Style: affects the way that scores will be calculated using a marking scheme. There are two styles: credit and demerit. Credit assumes that the markee starts with an overall score of zero, and works towards (and possibly exceeding) 100%. Demerrit assumes that the markee starts with an overall score of 100%, and gets demerritted toward (and possibly exceeding) 0--though it is also possible to give "bonus marks" to increase the overall score.