Rubric 1: Six Criteria for Good Writing
In an effort to eliminate the mystery behind the grading of written work, I will be reading and evaluating your essays according to the six criteria below. These criteria are an effort to define concrete goals for you to achieve in your written work. They will help you to understand that writing a paper is more than offering your instructor a point of view that he or she "wants." Rather, writing a paper is a process as intricate as proving a mathematical theorem or a philosophical argument. The way that you go about building your argument is as important as what your argument actually is. These six criteria should help you to see the elements that go into making that argument an effective one. I will rate each of the criteria on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest. The score that results from this rating will then translate into a letter grade as follows:
| Points | Grade Point | Letter Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 29–30 27–28 25–26 23–24 21–22 19–20 17–18 15–16 13–14 11–12 09–10 00–08 |
3.80–4.00 3.50–3.70 3.20–3.40 2.90–3.10 2.60–2.80 2.30–2.50 2.00–2.20 1.70–1.90 1.40–1.60 1.10–1.30 0.80–1.00 0.00–0.70 |
A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F |
Responsiveness
Your paper must respond appropriately to the assignment. It must show that you have understood that the assignment asks you to write both according to the topics assigned and a formal, argumentative essay, with a thesis statement, concrete example, quotes, analysis and a thought-provoking conclusion.
Thesis
Does your paper have a clear conceptual argument, or thesis, to it, a claim that says clearly what your argument is? Is that thesis/claim specific and clear to your readers? Does it appear in the first paragraph of your paper? Is your thesis/claim complex enough so that it is not already self-evident? Will it make your audience care? Does your thesis/claim have authority behind it? Is it assertive and sure of itself?
Focus
Does the rest of your paper focus clearly on the argument you laid out in your thesis? Have you followed the logic required by your conceptual thesis, excluding what is irrelevant? Do you make clear what the different parts of your paper have to do with each other and with your thesis/claim? Does the paper made good organizational sense? A well-focused paper will follow clearly first from the thesis and then from one idea to the next. It will avoid unclear digressions, and its different parts will all be relevant to the thesis/claim.
Fullness
First, have you established your argument fully in your introduction? Is that first paragraph a solid basis for your ideas about the argument you want to present? Throughout the paper, do you give your arguments enough time? Do you say enough, staying with each point long enough to convince your readers that you know what you are talking about, without simply reiterating your thesis statement with different words in each paragraph? Do you develop your ideas logically so that your argument can be followed, and so that your readers will grant you authority for what you say? Do you follow up quotations from the text with analysis so that your readers will understand why that quotation was integral to your argument?
Specifics
First, do you make your argument in terms that are as specific as possible? Do you give examples and details so that your readers can actually see what you mean? Do you quote sufficiently from your text, providing quotations as concrete evidence for your argument? Are the grounds you give and the text you quote relevant to the point you are trying to make? And second, are there enough road signs — transitions and connections — so your readers know where you are going?
Presentation
How well have you edited your paper? Are there spelling errors, awkward sentences or punctuation problems? Does your style fit your purpose? Is the voice clear? Is your diction (word choice) appropriate? Is your prose clear and smooth? Are your sentences varied in style and length? Is your reader going to be able to read your essay without being distracted by spelling errors, typos and misplaced punctuation?
From Six Criteria for Good Writing (adapted from the Department of English, Hunter College)
