Disability and sports

Integrated Paper Rubric

Ideas for Content Development

1) Distinguish between assertion (opinion) and evidence in the studies you’ve read.

2) Identify methodological strengths and weaknesses of the studies you’ve read.

3) Identify relationships among the studies/journal articles you’ve read independently and the material we’ve read for class.

4) Identify major trends in the research.

5) Identify gaps in the literature.

6) Design a table, an organizational aid, or include a cultural artifact that compares/contrasts important characteristics of the material you’ve read and reviewed.

Areas of Evaluation (What Constitutes an A-D Grade per Evaluation Area)

This rubric will be stapled to the first page of your paper to generally explain my overall evaluation of your work. As usual, I will write comments and margin notes that explain my evaluation process. By the last day of class, please provide me with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (make sure it accommodates the size of your paper) with an address that will reach you over Winter Break so that I may return your evaluation and the marked-up version of your final paper.

In general, your paper should be approximately 90% academic content and 10% personal narrative content. If you successfully weave these throughout, I will not be picky about the allocation of the personal and the academic. Your paper should be approximately 8-10 pages long (double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font). Not including the cover page or references.

Students often ask how many citations of outside sources they should use. It honestly depends how many sources you need to back up your claim, and to acknowledge the work of the scholars you have read. In order to avoid plagiarism, you must include a citation EVERY time you include an idea that is not yours or when quoting an author.

My general rule of thumb is that you should include 3-4 outside readings per manuscript page or 3-4 outside readings for every 1,000 words. On the title page, include the number of pages you read beyond the textbook. Keep a tally of how many pages you have read while working on this paper.

A truly superior paper weaves together academic argument/content and personal narrative seamlessly with minimal surface errors. This is what constitutes an A+.

I. Original, Creative, and Critical Thinking

____ This paper demonstrates original/creative thought or a strong critical thinking component. The writer takes risks and successfully argues and develops their points.

____The writer demonstrates some original thought,but fails to fully develop their ideas. Critical thinking is apparent, but the writer does not demonstrate complete arguments.

____Limited original thought or creative thinking illustrated; the ideas are there, but are not fully acknowledged or developed. The writer does not fully develop a research statement/thesis or argue/take a stand against the cited authors (you can agree with cited authors, but you must explain how they support your research statement/thesis). This paper is a conversation with the authors/media you cite.

____The paper lacks original thought and creative thinking.

II. Purpose

____The paper has a well-developed research statement/thesis with an insightful set of criteria (what you plan to accomplish by the end of the assignment). The introduction introduces the issues at stake and the conclusion indicates what will change as a result of your argument. A personal narrative or a hooking device early in the paper is strongly encouraged.

____The paper has a workable (although formulaic) research statement/thesis that leads the reader into the paper and serves as a guide to its contents, but the main thesis fails to adequately explain the consequences or end result of this argument.

____The paper has some components of a research statement or thesis (topic/theme, personal position, hint at organization), but may be underdeveloped or missing a clearly articulated motive for writing.

____The paper lacks an argumentative research statement/research question/thesis that does not accurately convey what the paper develops.

III. Content

____The paper demonstrates excellent development of each idea presented and focuses on RELEVANT details. Clearly explained examples support the claims, and the topic is thoroughly researched with appropriate citations.

____The paper contains adequate evidence to support its claims, but would benefit from more research, more thorough interpretation of quotations, or from more specific development of relevant points.

____The paper has some development, but lacks sufficient evidence or contains irrelevant details that do not develop a clear sense of purpose.

___The paper needs more details on every level (main ideas, related ideas, and specific ideas).

IV. Audience

____The author is clearly attentive to the values of the intended audience. The author defends beliefs not shared by the intended audience and handles counter-arguments with respect.

____The paper contains examples that are likely to appeal to a specific audience, but could benefit from acknowledging underlying assumptions or more effective handling of counter-arguments.

___The paper shows some awareness of an audience, but relies on beliefs that the audience may not share or fails to convincingly address counter-arguments that the audience might propose.

____The paper does not appear to have a specific audience in mind or is disrespectful to the intended audience by failing to seriously address counter-arguments or by engaging in an offensive tone.

V. Organization

____The paper contains strong topic sentences and builds upon the argument set forth in the research statement/thesis. Clear transitions connect ideas both on the paragraph level and the sentence level.

____The overall structure of the paper is clear, but some topic sentences are weak. Transitions that would clarify the relationships among the main ideas are either occasionally missing or misleading.

____Paragraphs are not organized around a central idea and the overall structure of the paper is difficult to follow. If you fail to include paragraph breaks, I will not grade your paper. There is no excuse or exception for this—PERIOD.

VI. Mechanics

____The paper demonstrates mastery over the basics in sentence completeness, structure, variety, word choice, and punctuation. It maintains a clear and efficient style expected of students at the college level.

____The paper demonstrates sufficient control over mechanics, although some areas may still need sentence level revision. Occasional wordiness, passive voice, punctuation errors, pronoun references, or unclear modifiers may still be present.

____The paper shows that mechanics are an area of concern. There may be recurring sentence fragments, comma splices, word usage errors, or redundant clauses. Excessive wordiness or punctuation errors may also be a concern.

____The paper lacks basic control over mechanics and contains excessive proof-reading errors, or has habitual problems with subject-verb errors, sentence fragments, or punctuation errors.

General Comments: