| Handed in on time (5) | Handed in late (2) | Not handed in (0) | |||||
| Format | 5000 words, double spaced, MLA style (6) | One error in formatting (5) | Two errors in formatting (4) | Three errors in formatting (3) | Four errors in formatting (2) | Five errors in formatting (1) | Six or more errors in formatting (0) |
| Title page | Neat, complete information; error-free (5) | Neat, single error (4) | Neat, two errors (3) | Sloppy; error-free (2) | Sloppy; incomplete (1) |
Non-existent (0) |
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| Introduction | Well-defined, creative presentation of ideas (6) | Original presentation of ideas (5) | Mundane presentation of ideas (4) | Lacks direction in presentation of ideas (3) | Unspecific, vague presentation of ideas (2) | Rambling; no direction to presentation of ideas (1) |
Non-existent (0) |
| Thesis | Thesis explicitly and emphatically stated (6) | Thesis stated clearly (5) | Clear thesis; buried too deep (4) |
Implied thesis (3) |
Unclear thesis (1) |
No thesis (0) |
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| Logic and Clarity of discussion | Explicitly defined discussion with support for each point (30) | Clearly defined discussion; most points supported (25) | Ideas discussed; inconsistent support (20) | Generalizations; weak support (15) | Arbitrary and random generalizations; weak support (10) | Unsupported generalizations; little to no support (5) | No discussion or support of ideas (0) |
| Organization | Original structure; strong conclusions; smooth transitions (15) | Reasoned structure; strong conclusions; smooth transitions (12) | Mundane structure, stated conclusions; apparent transitions (10) | Hard-to-follow structure; stated conclusion; some transitions (7) | Poor organization; weak conclusion; few transitions (5) | Disjointed; weak conclusion; no transitions (3) | No logical organization; no conclusion; no transitions (0) |
| Style | Eloquent language; fluid and precise sentences; varied sentence length (10) | Articulate word choices; sentences flow smoothly; varied sentence length (8) | Appropriate word choices; mostly well-written sentences; some variation in sentence length (6) | Simple word choices; dependence on simple and compound sentences (4) | Trite word usage; mostly simple sentences (2) | Elementary word choices; simple sentences (1) | |
| Use of sources | Five or more appropriate sources interspersed; correctly used and formatted (10) | Four appropriate sources used; one error in use or formatting (8) | Three appropriate sources used; two errors in usage or formatting (5) | All sources clumped (book report style); correctly used and formatted (5) | Two sources used; three errors in use or formatting (3) | Inappropriate sources; four or more errors in use or formatting (1) | No sources (0) |
| Mechanics | No errors (6) | 1- 2 errors (5) | 3-4 errors (4) | 5 errors (3) | 6 errors (2) | 7 errors (1) | 8 or more errors (0) |
| Works Cited page | 5 or more sources; correctly formatted and annotated (5) | 5 or more sources; no more than 2 errors (4) | 4 sources; no errors; annotated (3) | 4 sources; no more than 2 errors (2) | Fewer than 4 sources; 3 or more errors (1) |
No Works Cited page (0) |