history

Exam Rubric Course: Survey United States Hist II - HIST-2020-010

Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

ID term 1 / 66 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

Offers a thoughtful

statement of historical

significance

5 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

May attempt a

statement of historical

significance.

Historical significance

statement may be too

general such as "...first

step toward equality."

3 points

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why.

ID response may

contain some small

inaccuracies.

Response may be

accurate but brief.

2 points

Does not include who,

what, where, when,

why.

Response may contain

many inaccuracies.

Response may be brief.

Response general

and/or may not offer

details.

Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

ID term 2 / 66 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

Offers a thoughtful

statement of historical

significance

5 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

May attempt a

statement of historical

significance.

Historical significance

statement may be too

general such as "...first

step toward equality."

3 points

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why.

ID response may

contain some small

inaccuracies.

Response may be

accurate but brief.

2 points

Does not include who,

what, where, when,

why.

Response may contain

many inaccuracies.

Response may be brief.

Response general

and/or may not offer

details.

Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

ID term 3 / 66 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

Offers a thoughtful

statement of historical

significance

5 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

May attempt a

statement of historical

significance.

Historical significance

statement may be too

general such as "...first

step toward equality."

3 points

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why.

ID response may

contain some small

inaccuracies.

Response may be

accurate but brief.

2 points

Does not include who,

what, where, when,

why.

Response may contain

many inaccuracies.

Response may be brief.

Response general

and/or may not offer

details.

Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

ID term 4 / 66 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

Offers a thoughtful

statement of historical

significance

5 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

May attempt a

statement of historical

significance.

Historical significance

statement may be too

general such as "...first

step toward equality."

3 points

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why.

ID response may

contain some small

inaccuracies.

Response may be

accurate but brief.

2 points

Does not include who,

what, where, when,

why.

Response may contain

many inaccuracies.

Response may be brief.

Response general

and/or may not offer

details.

Criteria Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

ID term 5 / 66 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

Offers a thoughtful

statement of historical

significance

5 points

Offers full explanation

of the ID term.

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why

accurately.

May attempt a

statement of historical

significance.

Historical significance

statement may be too

general such as "...first

step toward equality."

3 points

Addresses who, what,

where, when, why.

ID response may

contain some small

inaccuracies.

Response may be

accurate but brief.

2 points

Does not include who,

what, where, when,

why.

Response may contain

many inaccuracies.

Response may be brief.

Response general

and/or may not offer

details.

Criteria for essay

portion Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

Criteria for essay

portion Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

Thesis Statement /

Statement that

addresses the

prompt

/ 55 points

Contains a clear and

provable thesis that

fully answers the essay

question.

Thesis is located at the

end of the

introductory

paragraph.

Thesis is free of

awkward or unclear

phrases.

4 points

Contains a reasonable

thesis that fully

addresses the essay

question.

Thesis is located at the

end of the

introductory

paragraph.

2 points

Attempts a thesis, but

may not fully address

the essay question.

Thesis may not appear

in the introduction.

Thesis may contain

unclear language that

makes it hard to

understand.

Thesis may offer an

argument that the

student cannot fully

prove with the

evidence from our

course.

1 point

Does not attempt a

thesis.

Criteria for essay

portion Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

Evidence / 2525 points

Carefully selects a

variety of evidence

from all available

readings that best

support its thesis and

addresses the prompt.

Uses at least 10

sources.

Always explains the

evidence and connects

it to the thesis. Every

body paragraph

contains significant

evidence.

23 points

Includes evidence from

available sources.

Uses at least 10

sources.

Includes significant

evidence that supports

its thesis and

addresses the prompt.

Explains most of the

evidence it cites.

18 points

Incorporates some

evidence.

May rely heavily on

few sources or does

not meet the

requirement for

sources.

May use block quotes

(i.e. a quote over two

sentences long)

May not fully explain

the evidence it cites.

Citations may be

incomplete and/or may

not show the number

of sources used.

15 points

Does not contain

sufficient evidence.

May only use a single

source or no sources.

May consist largely of

block quotes (i.e. a

quote over two

sentences long).

May not explain the

evidence it cites.

May not provide page

numbers for citations.

Criteria for essay

portion Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

Analysis / 2525 points

Every single paragraph

offers clear and

reasonable analysis

that directly supports

the thesis and

addresses the prompt.

Every single paragraph

synthesizes available

evidence to support

thesis.

Contains original ideas

that are fully

developed.

Free of serious factual

errors.

23 points

Most paragraphs offer

clear and reasonable

analysis that directly

supports the thesis

and addresses the

prompt.

Connects some

evidence to thesis.

Offers original ideas.

Largely free of factual

errors or

generalizations

18 points

Attempts some

analysis.

May rely on annotated

lists or summaries of

available sources.

May discuss topics

that are not connected

to the thesis.

May contain more

quoted information

than analysis.

May make some

factual errors.

15 points

Does not analyze its

information. Essay may

be driven forward by

opinion statements.

May consist of

randomly chosen

information with no

explanation and

minimal connection to

the paper assignment.

May make numerous

factual errors that

contradict our readings

and our class

discussion

Criteria for essay

portion Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

Organization / 1010 points

Contains a powerful

introduction and

conclusion that avoid

generalizations or

overly broad

statements (such as

"throughout history..."

All body paragraphs

contain topic

sentences.

Each body paragraph

contains only

information that

relates to the topic

sentence.

Free of repetition.

8 points

Organized into

paragraphs of similar

length.

Contains a developed

introduction and

conclusion.

Most body paragraphs

contain topic

sentences.

Most body paragraphs

contain only

information that

relates to the topic

sentence.

A few paragraphs may

be hard to follow.

Largely free of

repetition.

5 points

Organized into

paragraphs.

Contains an

introduction and

conclusion.

Some body paragraphs

contain topic

sentences.

Paragraphs often

contain content that

does not relate to the

topic sentence.

Paragraph length may

vary significantly.

Some paragraphs may

be hard to follow.

May jump from topic

to topic.

May be repetitive.

3 points

Contains serious flaws

in organization, such

as:

Not organized into

paragraphs.

Missing an

introduction or

conclusion.

The paragraphs are

only a few sentences

long.

Does not use topic

sentences.

Hard to follow.

Jumps suddenly from

topic to topic.

Frequently repetitive.

Total / 100

Criteria for essay

portion Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 Criterion Score

Writing / 55 points

Shows clear command

of the English language

and college-level

writing.

Contains no significant

typos, spelling or

grammar errors.

Free of awkward

language, poor choice

of words, or unclear

phrasing.

Employs college-level

language and

understands every

single word it uses.

The essay is free of

overly long, bulky

sentences.

The essay could be

read and understood

by anyone at MTSU.

4 points

Shows a firm grasp of

English language and

college-level writing.

Contains only minor

and infrequent typos,

spelling errors, and

grammatical mistakes.

Contains only a few

instances of awkward

language, poor choice

of words, or unclear

phrasing.

The essay employs

college-level language.

The essay could be

read and understood

by anyone at MTSU.

2 points

Needs significant

revision.

Contains spelling

errors.

Contains grammatical

errors.

Sometimes unclear or

incoherent.

Misuses words.

May be hard to

understand for an

outside reader.

1 point

Has serious and

consistent flaws.

Contains numerous

spelling errors.

Contains numerous

grammatical errors

Often unclear or

incoherent.

Overall Score

Level 4 11 points minimum

Level 3 8 points minimum

Level 2 5 points minimum

Level 1 0 points minimum