new assignment

Symbol Essay Rubric

Completion – Formatting (6pts) and Word/Page Count (5pts)

· Follows MLA formatting guidelines

· Key assignment instructions are followed

· To achieve full scores, completion guidelines should be met.

Introduction and Title (6pts)

· Introduces pertinent topic and subject information

· Smooth transition into thesis statement

· To go beyond an average score, your introduction should clearly develop into your thesis and create a groundwork for the rest of your essay.

Thesis – Essay Type (6pts)

· Arguable

· Supportable

· In introduction

· To go beyond an average score, your thesis should also raise interesting questions or make especially original or insightful points.

Organization (6pts)

· Essay is organized around arguments

· Paragraph each have a clear purpose

· Evidence (quotes and summary) is sorted and placed appropriately

· To go beyond an average score, your essay would also include smooth and professional transitions.

Support/Arguments (6pts)

· Each topic sentence supports thesis statement

· Topic sentences are clear and stated (one per body paragraph)

· Topic sentences directly align with thesis (they match the thesis)

· Claims are relevant, meaningful

· Sufficient (Enough to prove a point)

· Appropriate (Directly relates to the argument)

· Clear (Put into context and explained)

· Integrated (Put into your own sentences smoothly)

· To go beyond an average score, your use of evidence should be clear, direct, and especially effective.

Use of Text/Evidence (6pts)

· Sufficient (Enough to prove a point)

· Appropriate (Directly relates to the argument)

· Clear (Put into context and explained)

· Integrated (Put into your own sentences smoothly)

· To go beyond an average score, your use of evidence should be clear, direct, and especially effective.

Clarity - major and minor grammatical errors (6pts and 6pts)

· Essay is obviously proofread

· Clear sentence structure

· Few spelling or wording errors

· Clear meaning throughout

· To go beyond an average score, your essay would be written with few to no errors.

Voice - (6pts)

· In each paragraph, you connect evidence to claims

· In each paragraph, you make clear connections to thesis

· Essay seems cohesive (is not repetitive or list-like)

· To go beyond an average score, your analysis would develop a writerly voice.

MLA – Formatting (6pts)

· Follows MLA citation guidelines

· In-text and source citations are clear and formatted properly.

· To achieve full scores, MLA guidelines should be met.

Notes: Plagiarism results in zero. No outside sources should be consulted or cited. Students who over-rely on summary will not achieve a passing score.