Category Title

A Title is interesting & descriptive; includes information about the topic being discussed and the argument the student is making.

B Title is descriptive but not very catchy

C Title is catchy but isnt descriptive

D Title is misleading

F Title is missing

First paragraph/ introduction

First paragraph sets up essay so that thesis is clear & intent of paper is understood

First paragraph is mostly clear & supportive of thesis.

First paragraph is a little confusing but does support the thesis.

First paragraph is confusing & doesnt match the rest of the essay.

First paragraph is missing or misleading.

Thesis

Argument is clear, interesting, unique & arguable. Essay supports the thesis.

Argument is clear, interesting, & arguable but not as unique as an A thesis. Essay supports the thesis well.

Thesis isnt really arguable, & no original ideas are being forwarded, but thesis is supported by essay.

Thesis isnt making an argument but is only rephrasing facts or textual summary OR thesis seems mis-matched from support presented in essay.

No real argument or central idea seems to hold the piece together.

Evidence

Body of essay makes good use of quotations from text to support argument.

Body of essay makes mostly good use of quotations from text OR quotes are overused

Quotations should appear more often. More support is needed.

Quotations selected do not support the argument being made.

No quotations are used.

Evidence placement

Quotes from texts are introduced in a way that does not interrupt the narrative of the essay and shows the relevance of the quote.

Quotes are mostly introduced and used well.

Quotes need to be better introduced or inserted in a way that does not interrupt the narrative.

Quotes interrupt narrative and are not introduced.

No quotes are used.

Category Ideas

A The essay is interesting demonstrates original critical analysis of course concepts

B The essay is interesting and includes some critical analysis of course concepts

C Essay makes good use of critical analysis skills but seems to be a little be re-hashed from class discussion or makes a slightly obvious argument

D Essay makes an obvious argument & shows no insight or critical thinking on the authors part

F No real ideas are being presented; author seems to be summarizing the text &/or class discussion.

Requirements

Essay meets formatting and length requirements. Essay is well organized and easy to follow.

Essay is long enough but is missing important elements. Essay is mostly well organized and easy to follow.

Essay is not long enough. Essay is not very well organized.

Essay is far too short for college level writing. Essay is very unorganized and difficult to follow

Style & grammar

Paper is free from grammatical, stylistic, and spelling errors

There are very few grammatical, stylistic, or spelling errors

Paper contains many errors that are distracting to the reader.

Errors are distracting to the point that argument of paper becomes unclear.

Paper is unreadable.

Final paragraph/ conclusion

Essay ends by recapping ideas presented in essay and does not introduce new material. Reader is left understanding what essay tried to accomplish.

Essay ends by re-capping ideas presented in essay and does not introduce new material

Essay ending does not fully re-cap ideas or conclusion introduces new ideas not yet addressed in essay.

Essay conclusion is too abrupt.

No conclusion can be found.

Works Cited

Includes works cited page with all sources cited in alphabetical order in MLA style

Works cited is confusing

Some sources from works cited page are missing

Works cited page is missing.

No works were cited, so works cited page is empty or missing.