THESIS STATEMENT

Thesis Statement Evaluation Rubric

Thesis statement is exceptionally well-written and organized. (Scores 91-100)

• Provides significant and interesting insight into topic • States essay’s subject clearly with correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation • Conveys essay’s purpose (informative or persuasive) • Indicates a strongly controlling point of view • Uses specific (not vague) language • Fully supported by essay’s content

Thesis statement is well-written and organized. (90-81)

• Provides good insight into topic • States essay’s topic clearly with correct spelling – may contain error with complex

grammar and/or punctuation • Conveys essay’s purpose (informative or persuasive) • Indicates a controlling point of view • Generally precise word choice • Well supported by essay’s content

Thesis statement fulfills basic requirements of a thesis statement. (80-71)

• Provides acceptable subject, purpose, and focus • Contains minor spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation errors • Generally correct word choice, but may be slightly awkward and/or imprecise • Is adequately supported by essay’s content

Thesis statement is weakly written and organized. (70-61)

• May be a statement of announcement (“In this essay, I will...”) • Contains major spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation errors • Conveys too broad or narrow of a focus • Uses vague language • Is not sufficiently supported by essay’s content

No thesis statement is present. (60-0)

• Paragraphs may contain topic sentences but there is no controlling statement for essay.