Assessment Standards for essays, papers, reviews, reports
and other formal writing

Each of these points will be evaluated independently.
The grade for the paper will be an average of the grades for all points noted here 
(i.e. three A's and three B's = A-, Three A's and Three C's = B, etc.)

	A (superior)	B (Good)	C (Fair)	D (Poor)
Thesis	easily identifiable, plausible, novel, sophisticated, insightful, crystal clear	promising, but may be slightly unclear or lacking in insight or originality	may be unclear (containing vague terms), appear unoriginal or offer relatively little that is new; provides little around which to structure a paper	Difficult to identify at all; may be bland restatement of an obvious point
Structure	evident, understandable, appropriate for thesis; excellent transitions from point to point; paragraphs support solid topic sentences	generally clear and appropriate though may wander occasionally; may have a few unclear transitions, or a few paragraphs without strong topic sentences	generally unclear, often wanders or jumps around; few or weak transitions; many paragraphs without topic sentences	unclear, often because thesis is weak or non-existent; transitions confusing and unclear; few topic sentences
Use of evidence	primary source information used to buttress every point with at least one example; examples support mini-thesis (topic sentence) and fit within paragraph; excellent integration of quoted material into sentences; proper citation given within paper and a "works cited" page	examples used to support most points; some evidence does not support point or may appear where inappropriate; quotes fairly well integrated into sentences; citation mostly proper but may be insufficient or missing in some places where needed	examples used to support some points; points often lack supporting evidence, or evidence used where inappropriate (often because there may be no clear point); quotes may be poorly integrated into sentences; most citations missing or insufficient (where needed)	very few or very weak examples; general failure to support statements, or evidence seems to support no statement; quotes not integrated into sentences (just "plopped in" in an inappropriate manner); no citations or "works cited" page (where needed)
Analysis	author clearly relates evidence to "mini-thesis"; analysis is fresh and exciting, posing new ways to think about the material	evidence often related to mini-thesis though links perhaps not very clear	quotes appear often without analysis relating them to mini-thesis (or there is a weak mini-thesis to support); or analysis offers nothing beyond the quote	very little or very weak attempt to relate evidence to argument; may be no identifiable argument, or no evidence to relate it to
Logic and Argumentation	all ideas in the paper flow logically; the argument is identifiable, reasonable and sound; author anticipates and successfully defuses counter-arguments; makes novel connections to outside material (from other parts of the class or other classes) which illuminate thesis	argument of paper is clear, usually flows logically and makes sense; some evidence that counter-arguments are acknowledged, though perhaps not addressed; occasional insightful connections to outside material made	logic may often fail, or argument may often be unclear; may not address counter-arguments or make any outside connections	ideas do not flow at all, usually because there is no argument to support; simplistic view of topic, no effort to grasp possible alternative views
Mechanics	sentence structure, grammar, and diction (vocabulary) excellent; correct use of punctuation and citation style; minimal to no spelling errors; absolutely no run-on sentences, comma splices or sentence fragments	sentence structure, grammar, and diction strong despite occasional lapses; punctuation and citation style often used correctly; some (minor) spelling errors; may have one run-on sentence, comma splice or sentence fragment	problems in sentence structure, grammar, and diction (usually not major); errors in punctuation, citation style and/or spelling; may have several run-on sentences, comma splices or sentence fragments	big problems in sentence structure, grammar and diction; frequent major errors in citation style, punctuation and spelling; may have many run-on sentences, comma splices and/or sentence fragments

The failing paper: shows obvious minimal lack of effort or comprehension of the assignment (may be much too short to do justice to the issue being explored). Very difficult to understand owing to major problems with mechanics, structure, and analysis. Has no identifiable thesis, or utterly incompetent thesis.

Plagiarism is an automatic failure, no matter how good the paper may be
(if it is not your work you don't get the credit)