Structure

Content

Mechanics

Research

Superior

A

Clear beginning, development,

  and conclusion

Appropriate paragraphing

Clear and appropriate transitions

Appropriate length to cover topic

Clearly and coherently focused

   (including a good sense of audience)

Thoughts clearly organized and presented

Logical and clear progression

Arguments clearly supported and/or illustrated

Correct sentence structure

Correct spelling

Correct punctuation

Correct capitalization

Correct usage

Appropriate word choice

Reference page included and

  in correct format

Appropriate cited sources

Appropriate # of resources

Appropriate resources for

  thesis

Very

Good

B

Generally clear beginning,

  development, and conclusion

Generally appropriate

  paragraphing

Generally clear and appropriate transitions

Appropriate length to cover topic

Clearly and coherently focused

  (including a sufficient sense of audience)

Thoughts generally organized and presented

Generally logical and clear progression

Arguments generally supported and/or

  illustrated

Generally free of errors in

    Sentence structure

    Spelling

    Punctuation

    Capitalization

    Usage

    Word choice

Reference page included and

  mostly in correct format

Sources generally cited

  correctly

Appropriate number of

  resources

Most appropriate resources

  for thesis

Adequate

C

Adequate beginning,

  development, and conclusion

Adequate paragraphing

Adequate transitions

Adequate length to cover the topic

Adequately focused (including some sense of

  audience)

Thoughts adequately organized and presented

Adequate progression

Arguments adequately supported

  and/or illustrated

Relatively few errors in

    Sentence structure

    Spelling

    Punctuation

    Capitalization

    Usage

    Word choice

Adequate reference page

Errors in citations

Adequate but limited

  resources

Adequate but limited choice of

  resources

Fair

D

Weak beginning, development

  and conclusion

Weak paragraphing

Weak transitions

Not adequate length to cover topic

Weakly focused (little sense of audience)

Thoughts not clearly organized

Unclear progression

Arguments weakly supported and/or illustrated

Significant errors in

    Sentence structure

    Spelling/punctuation

    Capitalization

    Usage/word choice

Significant errors in

      Reference page

      Citations

      Choice of resources

Inadequate resources

Not Passing

E

Serious and persistent errors in

    Organizational structure

    Paragraphing

Does not cover the topic

Not focused (no sense of audience)

Unorganized

Serious and persistent     errors in:

Sentence structure/spelling

Punctuation/capitalization

Usage/word choice

No reference page and/or

  numerous format errors

Sources not cited or

  incorrectly cited

Few & inappropriate

  resources

    Structure__________

    Content__________

 Mechanics__________

    Research__________

                                       TOTAL________