defintion essay

WOU First Year Writing Trait-Based Rubric for Academic Essays

Version 2.0, Fall 2013

CONTENT 4 3 2 1

<<< High Quality Low >>> Topic

Focused Responsive

Identifies and focuses a topic clearly, and is appropriately specific.

Provides a complete and thoughtful response to the task.

Identifies and focuses a topic, but may be insufficiently clear or specific.

Addresses key features of the writing task.

Identifies a topic, but may be peripheral, lack focus, and/or too general.

Addresses some aspects of the task.

Lacks an identifiable, focused topic.

Does not answer the question or substitutes a simpler writing task.

Thesis

Defensible

Analytical/ Evaluative

Thought- provoking

Asserts a defensible, thought-provoking claim and shows reasonableness and complexity.

Stance shows analysis, evaluation, and/or synthesis and indicates a clear need to explain, prove, or validate assertion.

Shows originality in viewpoint and/or voice.

Asserts a defensible claim, shows reasonableness, but may lack development or complexity.

Stance shows analysis, evaluation, and/or synthesis and indicates a clear need to explain, prove, or validate assertion.

May lack originality in viewpoint and/or voice.

Asserts a defensible claim, but may be overly broad, general, or simplistic; may lack development and/or reasonableness.

Stance lacks analysis, evaluation, and/or synthesis; may weakly indicate the need to explain, prove, or validate assertion.

Minimal originality in viewpoint and/or voice.

Asserts the obvious or lacks connection to an issue. May generate a

May express a vague, general, or undeveloped stance.

Lacks originality in viewpoint and/or voice.

Global Development & Support

Intro/Concl.

Relevance

Progression

Coherence

Reasoning

Introduction and conclusion frame and develop the topic and

Chooses relevant evidence for purpose, stance, and audience.

Develops a complex view of the topic.

Integrates evidence and ideas smoothly.

Develops a complete reasoning pathway that contains logical follow through, considers multiple points of view, and examines assumptions.

Introduction and conclusion contribute to development of topic.

Offers appropriate support; may use varied forms of evidence.

Stays on topic and furthers the discussion.

Links evidence and ideas.

Develops a logical reasoning pathway with minor gaps or leaps while addressing other points of view.

Has an identifiable introduction and conclusion.

May rely on observation or example from source with general, vague, or unreflective inference or opinion.

Inserts occasional information that is tangential or disconnected.

Attempts to connect evidence to ideas but does so partially or inconsistently.

May contain some gaps in reasoning pathway; deals minimally with other points of view.

Introduction and/or conclusion may be brief or missing altogether.

Offers general support that is unreflective, mainly personal, or vague.

Presents marginal or irrelevant information that is off topic.

Does not consistently connect evidence to ideas.

Contains gaps and/or leaps in development and does not examine other points of view.

Paragraph Organization

Connected

Detailed

Purposeful

Has clear progression of ideas that develops point(s) through well- connected sentences (transition words, topic sentences, etc.).

Details proficiently support the paragraph topic.

Fulfills an essential function in the development of the whole piece.

Is marked by appropriate progression with an occasional gap in sentence connections.

Details adequately support the paragraph topic.

Contributes to the development of the whole piece.

Has identifiable progression marked by wandering and/or some disconnected sentences.

Provides insufficient detail to support paragraph topic.

Does not purposefully contribute to the development of the whole piece.

Has unclear and confusing progression and/or frequent disconnected sentences.

Provides generalities or irrelevant details to support paragraph topic.

Provides marginal or unclear contribution to the development of the whole piece.

WOU First Year Writing Trait-Based Rubric for Academic Essays

Version 2.0, Fall 2013

FLUENCY, ACCURACY, & APPROPRIATENESS IN LANGUAGE 4 3 2 1

<<< High Quality Low >>> Word Choice

Varied Specific

Accurate

Uses a variety of specific and accurate words as appropriate for the topic.

Shows accurate control of appropriate words, but not as varied or specific as possible.

Features noticeably general words, repetitions, and occasional inaccurate or informal usage.

Contains predominantly general, repetitive, and sometimes inaccurate or informal words (too colloquial).

Sentence Structure

Purposefully

Varied

Accurate

Purposeful and consistent use of a wide variety of sentence types, opening elements, noun modifiers, and adverbial elements.

No awkward, ungrammatical, or informal structures within a 2 paragraph / ~300 word section.

Purposeful and consistent use of typical sentence types with some variety of sentence openers, noun modifiers, and adverbial elements.

No severely awkward, ungrammatical, or informal structures over a 2-paragraph / ~300 word section.

Little variation of sentence types, openers, noun modifiers, and adverbial elements.

Occasional awkward, ungrammatical, or informal structures over a 2-paragraph / ~300 word section

Reliance on the most basic sentence types with very little variation of openers, noun modifiers, and adverbial elements.

Frequent awkward, ungrammatical, or informal structures throughout the essay.

Punctuation

Accurate Varied

Uses a variety of edited English punctuation consistently to enhance meaning and rhetorical effects.

Uses terminal and internal punctuation of edited English consistently though not always for varied rhetorical effect.

Shows inconsistent use of accurate punctuation for edited English.

Contains frequent errors of terminal and internal punctuation.

Voice, Tone, Formality

Appropriate

The use of words, sentences, and punctuation creates a distinct and engaging voice, tone, and level of formality appropriate to audience, purpose, and genre.

The use of words, sentences, and punctuation creates a consistent voice, tone, and level of formality appropriate to audience, purpose, and genre.

The use of words, sentences, and punctuation creates an inconsistent voice, tone, or formality level that is occasionally inappropriate to the situation.

The use of words, sentences, and punctuation shows a lack of awareness of the voice, tone, and formality level expected in academic writing.

DOCUMENTATION 4 3 2 1

<<< High Quality Low >>> Conventions

Varied Correct

Displays a variety of correct in-text citations.

Complete, correct references.

Demonstrates correct in-text citation format.

Complete, correct references.

Contains in-text citations.

References are always present though they may be incorrect.

Lacks in-text citations. References sources, though with incomplete or imperfect formatting.

Integrating Context

Signaling

Variety

Selects and contextualizes sources to integrate smoothly with own ideas and writing style.

Signals all sources, with a variety of signaling.

Uses summary, paraphrase, and quotation as rhetorical needs dictate.

Offers context for the source with occasional awkward integration.

Signals all sources, but may lack signaling variety.

Uses quotations along with a balance of summary and paraphrase.

Differentiates between source and own ideas but without sufficient context or integration.

Includes occasional signal phrasing.

Lacks balance of summary, paraphrase, and quotation.

Does not differentiate sources from own ideas or omits use of sources.

Lacks signal phrasing.

Excessive quotation; inaccurate or minimal use of summary and paraphrase.

WOU First Year Writing Trait-Based Rubric for Academic Essays

Version 2.0, Fall 2013