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Criteria/Score
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4 Points
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3 Points
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2 Points
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1 Point
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0 Point
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Thesis/Focus
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Fully developed thesis clearly anchors the paper and provides a sense of purpose
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Thesis is clear and shows an understanding of the topic at hand
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Thesis is weak, vague, or too broad for a paper of this length
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Thesis is only implied or very simplistic
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No thesis presented, confusion about the purpose of paper is evident
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Structure/Organization
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Organization is sequential and logical; paragraphs are divided based upon ideas; transitions and links are smooth
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Good organization of paragraphs with competent transitions
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Limited organization; paragraphs stand isolated with weak or non-evident transitions
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Little organization; weak paragraphs, with missing or illogical transitions
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Paragraph structure does not exist, or is a single rambling paragraph, or a series of isolated paragraphs
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Support/Evidence
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Originality and depth of ideas fully supported with consistent evidence; ideas work as a unified whole; support is valid, specific, well chosen, and seamlessly integrated
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Ideas are sufficiently supported; textual support is sound and valid; integration is sufficient
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Main points are only indirectly supported; fair integration of text; support is loosely relevant to the main points, but isn’t specific or sufficient
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Insufficient, non-specific, and/or irrelevant support with minimal interaction to the text
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Clear absence of support of main points; no interaction of the text
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Sentence Structure/Grammar
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Rich and effective sentences; shows great control over variety of sentence styles and lengths; no grammatical errors
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Effective and varied sentences; contains very few minor errors
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Formulaic, repetitive, or tedious sentence patterns; shows some errors in grammar and sentence construction
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Simple sentences used excessively or exclusively; multiple errors in grammar
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Contains many serious and distracting sentence errors; lack of control over basic sentences
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MLA Formatting & Citation/Assignment Requirements
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Paper is in proper MLA formatting and style; no mistakes in citations; paper is within word count
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Paper has minimal lapses in formatting/style, or has very minor errors in citations; within word count
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Paper has multiple errors in formatting/style, or more serious errors in citation; paper may be within 100 words of word count
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Paper has major errors in formatting/style or doesn’t use MLA citation; more than 100 words outside or word count
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Paper is very poorly formatted or doesn’t include citations; more than 200 words outside of word count
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