Final Essay Intro to Philosophy

Rubric for the Essays Note: These are the criteria by which your essay will be graded. Take note of these when writing and revising your essay! Note that the first three criteria listed below are the most important features that help you to achieve the course and assignment goals, but the final two are not to be neglected.

I would also direct you to review the Course Goals listed on the syllabus, as those are the goals toward these essays should help you to progress. Finally, if you have any questions, email me!

For each category below, I will assign a score of zero to four, with four being the best score. I provide a brief description of what each score means in each category. Students wishing to receive an A, therefore, should write essays that have the characteristics described under each category as receiving a 4.

The Thesis Is the thesis (i.e., the main claim or view being defended -- the conclusion) clearly stated?

4: The thesis is stated clearly and accurately in the first paragraph. 3: The thesis is stated, but not clearly, in the first paragraph, or it is stated clearly in the second paragraph. 2: The thesis is not stated clearly in the first paragraph nor in the second, but it is suggested there and elsewhere in the paper. 1: The thesis is never stated explicitly, but the reader can guess what the thesis probably is. 0: There is no discernible thesis governing this paper at all/

The Argument Are the reasons supporting the main claim presented clearly? Do they in fact support the main claim?

4: All of the relevant reasons in support of the thesis are stated clearly and accurately in the paragraphs following the statement of the thesis. Furthermore, each reason is well-supported with evidence from the text. 3: Most of the relevant reasons are present, stated clearly, and have a good degree of support provided from the text. 2: There are significant reasons omitted from this discussion, or they are haphazardly introduced, or they lack a significant amount of necessary support the text. 1: No necessary and relevant reasons are provided explicitly, but a charitable reader can guess what the reasons are; furthermore, there is no evidence provided form the text to establish them. 0: The thesis entirely lacks any argument, either explicit or implicit.

The Structure Do the parts of the paper hang together well and form a coherent whole? Are the transitions among parts clear and precise?

4: The paragraphs are well-structured such that the thesis is established first, followed with each paragraph providing and exploring a distinct reason in support of the thesis. The reader always knows where they are in the conversation or development of the argument and the purpose of each paragraph is clear and distinct. 3: The paragraphs are roughly clear and hang together well-enough to support the thesis. The reader usually knows the purpose of each paragraph and how it supports the thesis and advances the discussion. 2: There are several paragraphs that are not relevant to supporting the thesis or that create confusion in the reader. The purpose of several paragraphs is unclear, or they are redundant, or simply not relevant to the larger discussion. 1: Many necessary parts of the discussion are omitted and the paragraphs are disjointed and difficult to follow, but the reader can usually guess at how the reasons and discussion hang together, but it takes work and charitable reading to do so. This is a confusing paper. 0: There is no discernible structure to the thought presented in this paper. It is not only confusing to read but obviously confused in the author’s own mind.

The Language Is the writing clear? Is it readable? Are there grammar or spelling errors?

4: The prose is readable, fluent, and never an obstacle to understanding the train of thought. 3: There are some awkward sentences and some poor word choices but they generally do not obstruct understanding. Occasional re-reading may be necessary to understand, but not much. 2: There are sufficient grammar and work choice errors to make it difficult at times to understand the author’s intent. Such papers have many sentences that require several reads to figure out, but, once they have been re-read, their meaning is clear enough. 1: There are stretches of this paper where the author’s meaning is lost due to grammatical confusion, awkward word choice, and a general failure of writing. Even with careful re-reading the meaning of the sentences is often lost. 0: This paper is a garbled mess that is almost entirely unintelligible.

Citations Are all of the the sources cited in such a way that a reader could find the original source? Are they cited clearly and carefully?

4: The reader always knows what is the author’s and what is not and how to find the exact passage in the original source. 3: The reader always knows what is the author’s and what not, but the citations are vague. 2: The reader always knows what is the author’s and what is not, but the citations are almost non-existent, to the point as to be entirely useless (as when one cites only the title of a book). 1: The reader cannot always tell which ideas are the author’s; this is a paper in danger of committing plagiarism. 0: This is a paper that presents others’ work as the author’s and thus has committed plagiarism.