Grading Rubric for Essay

An A Paper:

Thesis: Contains a clear and innovative central idea.

Organization and Support: Has clear organization. The major points are developed logically and are supported with concrete, specific evidence or details. Well chosen quotations are plentiful and show considerable study of the text.

Citations: Uses parenthetical documentation following MLA guidelines.

Style: The essay reveals the writer's ability to select effective, appropriate words and phrases; to write varied, sophisticated sentences; to make careful use of effective transitional devices.

Mechanics: The essay is essentially free from mechanical errors; it contains no serious grammatical errors. Writer is a good editor of his or her own work.

B Paper:

Thesis: Contains a clear central idea which is strong but not as original or interesting as an A paper.

Organization and Support: Contains most of the qualities of good writing itemized above. The essay generally differs from a "A" in that it shows definite competence, but lacks distinction. The examples and details are pertinent, but may not be particularly vivid or sharply observed. Student may not have done an in-depth analysis of the narrative or may not have reached as many original conclusions.

Citations: Uses parenthetical documentation following MLA guidelines.

Style: Word choice is generally accurate, although vocabulary is not advanced. Style is effective but not sophisticated.

Mechanics: The essay may contain a few errors in grammar and mechanics, but nothing serious.

C Paper:

Thesis: Central idea is fairly clear, but may be worded awkwardly. The idea may be a fairly obvious point that is not conducive to analysis.

Organization and Support: Organization is clear enough for the reader to follow the writer's plan. The paragraphs coherently present some evidence or details to substantiate the points. One or two paragraphs may have problems with unity. Some points may lack strong supporting evidence from the primary text or secondary sources.

Citations: May not conform to MLA guidelines. (OVER)

C Paper, cont.

Style: The writer uses ordinary, everyday words accurately and idiomatically and generally avoids both the monotony created by series of choppy, simple sentences and the incoherence caused by long, tangled sentences.

Mechanics: May contain a few serious grammatical errors and several mechanical errors, but they are not of sufficient severity or frequency to obscure the sense of what the writer is saying.

An Unsatisfactory Paper (D or F): Any one of the following problems to an extraordinary degree or it has several to a limited degree:

It lacks a central idea.

It lacks clear organization.

It does not develop its points or develops them in a repetitious, incoherent, or illogical way.

Citations and Bibliography do not conform to MLA guidelines.

It does not relate directly to the assigned topic.

It contains several serious grammatical or mechanical errors.

Ordinary, everyday words are used inaccurately or unidiomatically; it contains a limited vocabulary so that the words chosen frequently do not serve the writer's purpose.

Syntax is frequently rudimentary or tangled.

The essay does not meet the assigned length.