Essay

SCIE  201  Essay  Rubric                                            October  2011  -­‐    January  2012     Name  of  student:    

Marks Exemplary Satisfactory Not Satisfactory

/10

Understand/state the problem, issue, situation

Succinctly and accurately explains and summarises all key elements of the specific situation. (8-10)

Explains and summarises most key elements of the specific situation. (5-7)

Many key elements missing and/or inaccurately explained. (<5)

/10

Select material (evidence / references)

Makes thorough and accurate selection of relevant material. (8-10)

Largely accurate and adequate selection of material for task at hand (5-7)

Significant omissions and/or inaccuracies in selection of material. (<5)

/20

Interpret material Interprets material accurately, convincingly and systematically. (16-20)

Largely accurate, appropriate and justifiable interpretation of material. (10-15)

Interpretation of material is incomplete, inaccurate, distorted or misused. (<10)

/20

Clarity and conciseness: Answers the question, succinct presentation, appropriate complexity.

Argument effectively and efficiently conveyed; highly focused on the question; easily understood. (16-20)

Argument reasonably clear; occasionally misses the point but answers the question; not over-elaborate or over- complicated. (10-15)

Main point and/or argument confused/unclear. Irrelevant information, no transition between ideas. Unclear conclusion. (<10)

/10

Structure and style: Document, paragraph and sentence structure, flow and layout.

Variety of sentence construction; logical flow; style and structure appropriate for task, audience and genre. Uses engaging delivery that enhances understanding. Thoughtful presentation. (8-10)

Not overly repetitive; some variety in sentence construction; generally flows well; some awareness of audience and genre. (5-7)

Overly repetitive or simplistic sentence structure; consistently disjointed, lack of flow; style/structure inappropriate for audience. (<5)

/10

Technical writing skills: Spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, grammar, general proofreading.

Very few spelling errors, correct punctuation, grammatically correct, complete sentences. (8-10)

Occasional lapses in spelling, punctuation, grammar, but not enough to seriously distract the reader. (5-7)

Numerous spelling errors, non-existent or incorrect punctuation, and/or severe errors in grammar that interfere with understanding. (<5)

/10

Academic Integrity1: Appropriate use of references.

Appropriate use of others’ work, acknowledged via in- text citations. Uses APA referencing system consistently and correctly. (8-10)

Other sources acknowledged. Generally uses APA referencing system. (5-7)

Unattributed work from other sources1. Does not attempt to use APA referencing system. (<5)

/10

Holistic judgement: Exemplary written communication. (8-10)

Satisfactory written communication. (5-7)

Unsatisfactory written communication. (<5)

                                                                                                                           

1  Note  that  Plagiarism  will  cause  the  entire  document  to  be  “Unsatisfactory”  regardless  of  quality  of  remaining  parts.