Format rules: 12 pt times font, one and a half spacing, name/course/date in right corner.
English Language Arts 10-2/20-2/30-2
THOUGHT AND SUPPORT (X2)
FOCUS £ Reread the instructions – carefully.
£ Make sure your thesis connects the topic
to the literature.
£ Stay focussed.
£ Pre-writing advice: Create an £ Make sure your support/examples are
outline to keep both you and your linked to your ideas and/or thesis.
reader on track and to serve as a £ Use more support. Persuade me!
checklist. £ More development required.
£ Regarding all writing skills: the £ Read the literature carefully; accuracy
“degree of difficulty” colours the matters.
grading. £ Choose direct examples wisely and for
purpose.
£ Provide a context for all examples
£ Your job is to reveal how your thesis is
“universal” (to humanity/society/your
life/the world)
£ Reread the example paper.
P O I N T à P R O O F
T h i s i s a g r e a t m e t h o d t o u n i t e t h e s e t w o c a t e g or i e s & w i l l m a k e y o u m o r e s u c c e s s f u l i n a l l
I N S U F F I CI E N T = T h e m a r k e r c a n d i sc e r n no e v i d e n c e o f a n a t t e m p t t o f u l f i l l t h e a ss i gn m e n t O R
T h e w r i t i n g i s s o d e f i c i e n t i n l e ng t h t h a t i t i s n o t p o ss i bl e t o a s se ss T h o u g ht a n d S u p p or t
Excellent An insightful understanding of the topic is
demonstrated. The student’s ideas are
E/5 perceptively explored. The literary example
is related effectively to the student’s ideas.
Support is precise and effective.
Proficient A well-considered understanding of the
topic is demonstrated. The student’s ideas
PF/4 are thoughtfully explored. The literary
example is related competently to the
student’s ideas. Support is specific and
relevant.
Satisfactory A defensible understanding of the topic is
demonstrated. The student’s ideas are
S/3 appropriately and straightforwardly
explored. The literary example is related
adequately to the student’s ideas. Support is
relevant but tends to be general.
Limited An understanding of the topic may be
evident but is only partially demonstrated or
L/2 is not always defensible or sustained. The
student’s ideas may be incompletely or
unclearly explored. The literary example is
lacking or does not relate adequately to the
student’s ideas. Support may be deficient,
vague, redundant, or marginally relevant.
Poor An implausible conjecture concerning the
topic may be suggested. The student’s ideas,
P/1 if present, are irrelevant, incomprehensible,
or unexplored. The literary example is
absent or unrelated to the student’s ideas.
Support, if present, is over generalized or of
questionable relevance.
Literary Exploration Scoring Categories and Criteria
FORM AND STRUCTURE(X2) MATTERS OF CHOICE
£ Maintain your focus £ After you have used the author’s full
£ Develop your ideas (more!) name once, you may refer to him/her by
£ Use transitions from idea to idea last name, never first.
£ Use transitions from example to example £ Avoid judgemental statements.
£ Use transitions from paragraph to £ Don’t use slang, vulgar or conversational
paragraph language. This is a mature essay. Make
£ An introduction is necessary thoughtful/precise word choices
£ A conclusion is necessary £ Discussing literature try to avoid using
£ A thesis statement is necessary I/you. Lift your ideas to a universal
£ Frame all paragraphs with both a topic commentary on human nature by using
sentence and a concluding sentence; we/people.
ensure that the conclusion also links to £ Use varied sentence openings, sentence
the thesis. structure, and diction.
£ Finish the paper with your reader in mind £ Craft sentences that are easy to follow,
regardless of length.
£ Use present, active tense (ex. Romeo loves
Juliet, not Romeo loved Juliet).
You need more than facts; you need
à D I S C U S S I O N
£
flavour (I can’t hear you!)
A focused controlling idea or unifying effect Diction is precise and effective. Many
is skilfully sustained throughout the sentences have been successfully structured
response. Development of ideas and
explanations is smooth and coherent. The
for effect and are sometimes polished.
Stylistic choices contribute to the creation of
response flows to an effective closure. a convincing voice.
A controlling idea or unifying effect is Diction is specific and generally effective.
sustained throughout the response. Many sentences appear to have been
Development of ideas and explanations is
coherent. The response moves to an
purposefully structured for effect. Stylistic
choices contribute to the creation of a
appropriate closure. competent voice.
A controlling idea or unifying effect is Diction is appropriate but may be general
evident, but unity may falter on occasion. rather than specific. Sentence structures are
Development of ideas and explanations is
generally clear and coherent. The response
generally straightforward and clear. Stylistic
choices contribute to the creation of a clear
moves to a functional closure. voice.
A controlling idea or unifying effect may be Diction is imprecise and/or inappropriate.
evident, but the response lacks unity. Sentence structures are frequently
Development of ideas and explanations is
uncertain, inadequate, or incoherent. The
ineffective and/or awkward. Inadequate
stylistic choices contribute to the creation of
response may not arrive at an appropriate an uncertain or unclear voice.
closure.
A controlling idea or unifying effect is Diction is inaccurate and/or over
absent. Development of ideas and generalized. Sentence structures are misused
explanations is unclear and ineffective. The
response closes ineffectively.
to such an extent that clarity suffers. A lack
of stylistic choices contributes to the
creation of an ineffective voice.
MATTERS OF CORRECTNESS
£ It is essential that you spell names, titles,
and topic words correctly.
£ Don’t misspell a word given to you in the
topic.
£ Leave yourself enough time to proofread,
edit, & run spell-check. (last sentence to
first is a good strategy to give a fresh read.)
£ Review punctuation & capitalization.
£ Watch for comma-splices, run-on
sentences, or sentence fragments.
£ Apostrophes are for possession or
contractions, never for plurals.
£ Be careful of spellings & homonyms: e.g
there/they’re/their
£ Write in plural for easy gender agreement
(ex. the author tells his or her story à the authors tell
their stories).
£ Read your paper out loud so you can hear
the errors.
£ “i” is not a word; it is merely a letter.
Capitalize it to form the word “I”
This writing demonstrates confident control
of correct sentence construction, usage,
grammar, and mechanics. The relative
absence of error is impressive considering
the complexity of the response and the
circumstances.
This writing demonstrates competent control
of correct sentence construction, usage,
grammar, and mechanics. Minor errors in
mechanics, grammar, and/or complex
language structures are understandable
considering the circumstances.
This writing demonstrates control of the
basics of correct sentence construction,
usage, grammar, and mechanics. There may
be occasional lapses in control of sentence
construction and usage, and/or minor errors
in grammar and mechanics. The
communication, however, is clear.
This writing demonstrates faltering control
of correct sentence construction, usage,
grammar, and mechanics. The range of
sentence construction problems and errors in
usage, grammar, and/or mechanics blur the
clarity of communication.
This writing demonstrates lack of control of
correct sentence construction, usage,
grammar, and mechanics. The unclear and
incorrect sentence constructions and jarring
errors in usage, grammar, and mechanics
impede communication.