Grading rubric research paper

1. Excellent Strong Fair Needs Work Does not meet
minimum
standards
Voice and
Rhetorical
Style:
Strong Rhetorical style;
Argument persuades the
reader effectively from firm
beliefs; Very enthusiastic
delivery
Rhetorical style readily
moves audience, if
beliefs are not
strong; somewhat
enthusiastic delivery
Somewhat moving; text
fails to sway a reader
with moderate beliefs;
Lackluster delivery;
awkward at times
Fails to move all but
the weakest held
beliefs; Delivery is
often Awkward
Work lacks a voice;
little, or no enthusiasm;
little effort to engage or
sway the reader
Structural
Integrity and
Organization:
Effective thesis; body
flows from thesis;
conclusion effectively
warps up the work;
transition appropriately
guide the reader through
the reading
Appropriate thesis and
conclusion; Body
supports the thesis and
conclusion; transitions
sometime a little rough
Thesis statement and
conclusion is present;
Body lacks a clear
direction; supporting
evidence loosely tied to
theme
Thesis or conclusion
inappropriate for the
work; Supporting
evidence disconnected
to thesis or conclusion
Work lacks structure;
lacks a thesis or
conclusion; body seems
haphazard; transition
are not present
Supporting
Research
Exceeds the minimum
number and type of
research sources. Special
interest sources are
acknowledged as such.
Web sites utilized are
authoritative. Information
is thorough and relevant
Meets the minimum
number and type of
research sources.
Sources are identified.
Web sites utilized are
authoritative.
Information is less
thorough but still
substantial and relevant
Meets the minimum
number and type of
research sources.
Sources are identified
Web sites utilized are
authoritative.
Information is adequate;
relevance made clear
May not meet the
minimum number or
type of research sources
required. Sources may
not be clearly
identified. Information
may be insufficient;
relevance not always
made clear
Does not meet the
number or type of
research sources
required. Sources are
not clearly identified.
Not all web sites
utilized are credible.
Information may be
irrelevant, missing, or
relies on assertion
rather than research
Ideas and
Concepts:
Offers a new and insightful
look at the material;
Clearly demonstrates a lot
of thought went into the
work
Occasional insight; good
understanding of the
course concepts;
occasionally develops
new ideas
Merely repeats what has
been discussed in the
text/course material;
adequately applies
course ideas, with little
insight
Work show some
effort, but contains
little insight; ideas are
lacking in development
Little or no effort put
into the work; Lacks a
development of the
ideas; offers no original
content

2. Application of
the Material:
Superior understanding of
the lesson/text; Clearly
demonstrates course
concepts in the work;
insightful application of
concepts
Demonstrates a clear
understanding of the
material, but does not
offer any new insights;
appropriate use of
terminology
Demonstrates some
knowledge of the course
material; Some
misapplication of the
course material;
occasional insight
Work is only loosely
relevant to the course
material; frequent
misuse of terminology
and concepts
Completely off topic,
or only an occasional
reference to course
material; severe misuse
of terminology
Sentence
Structure and
Variety:
Sentence length varies to fit
the situation, giving the
text variety and clarity
Frequent variation in
sentence length, adding
strength to clarity
Some sentence length
variation, occasionally
adding to clarity
Infrequent sentence
length variation; Many
awkward sentences
Virtually no sentence
variation, leading to
lack of clarity; text
lacks overall
integration
Vocabulary
Choice and
Usage:
Word choice and usage
reflects an expansive
vocabulary; word choice is
appropriate, and adds depth
to the writing
Word choice is
consistently interesting
and expressive; an
occasional misuse of
terms
Vocabulary is
occasionally expressive
and insightful, but lacks
panache; word choice
mostly appropriate
Vocabulary is fairly
pedestrian; some
misused word choices;
Frequent use of
awkward words
Vocabulary
unintelligible, dull,
and/or non-descript;
words are frequently
misused
Mechanics,
Grammar, and
Proofing:
Virtually free from
mechanical, grammatical,
punctuation, and spelling
errors; All of the
assignment requirements
were met.
Occasional minor errors
do not distract the
reader; the majority of
assignment
requirements were met.
Some significant errors
are present, but the
overall meaning is clear;
about half of the
assignment requirements
were met.
Errors are distracting,
but the meaning is still
clear; only some of the
assignment
requirements were met.
Errors distract the
reader, to the extent the
meaning is unclear; the
assignment
requirements were not
met.
MLA
Formatting
Requirements:
The
essay
is
formatted
in
MLA
style.
All
references
to
sources
are
accompanied
by
MLA
style
in-­‐text
citations.
Quotations
are
used
and
integrated
appropriately.
There
is
an
accurate
works
cited
page.
The
essay
is
formatted
in
MLA
style.
Most
references
to
sources
are
accompanied
by
MLA
style
in-­‐text
citations.
Quotations
are
generally
used
and
integrated
appropriately.
There
is
an
accurate
works
cited
page.
The
essay
meets
some
MLA
style
requirements.
Some
references
to
sources
are
accompanied
by
MLA
style
in-­‐text
citations.
Quotations
are
used
and
sometimes
integrated
appropriately.
There
is
a
works
cited
page,
but
it
may
have
errors
or
be
missing
sources.
The
essay
meets
some
MLA
style
requirements.
Some
references
to
sources
are
accompanied
by
MLA
style
in-­‐text
citations.
Quotations
are
used
but
rarely
integrated
appropriately.
There
is
a
works
cited
page,
but
it
may
have
errors
or
be
missing
sources.
The
essay
does
not
meet
MLA
style
requirements.
There
are
no
in-­‐text
citations.
Quotations
are
not
used
or
integrated
appropriately.
There
is
no
works
cited
page.