Excellent

Topic was clearly identified, specific, and appropriate. Thesis statement accurately reflected paper’s contents. Acceptable 14 points Topic was identified Needs improvement 10-6 points Topic was unclear Not Acceptable 4 or fewer Topic was not identified

Not Acceptable

Topic was not identified. No thesis statement.

Excellent

Content was clearly relevant to the topic. No opinion statements. Included sufficient detail to differentiate among multiple sources on the same topic. Reader gains good information from the paper. Not Acceptable 30 or fewer points Content was not relevant to the topic. Used opinion statements throughout.

Not Acceptable

Content was not relevant to the topic. Used opinion statements throughout. Included forbidden sources such as Buzzfeed, newspapers, or other non-scholarly work. Sources were unrelated or glossed over.

Excellent

Paragraphs and sentences were formatted well. Topic was logically presented. Paper was organized as topical rather than article-by-article and written as literature review not annotated bibliography Acceptable 28-20 points Paragraphs and sentences were mostly formatted well. Topic was mostly logically presented. Made several thematic/topical connections between articles for the chosen topic. Needs Improvement 18-14 points Paragraphs and sentences had formatting issues. Topic was not presented in logical order. Some themes were developed, but overall essay was written as annotated bibliography not literature review Not Acceptable 30 or fewer points Paragraphs and sentences were not organized. Topic was presented without a logical order or each article was presented separately without connecting themes (annotated bibliography instead of literature review) Not Acceptable 12 or fewer points Paragraphs and sentences were not organized. Topic was presented without a logical order or each article was presented separately without connecting themes (annotated bibliography instead of literature review)

Not Acceptable

Paragraphs and sentences were not organized. Topic was presented without a logical order. Articles were presented in isolation instead of synthesizing them together into a new product about this topic. Paper was primarily quotes and no synthesis of scholarly material.

Excellent

Paper was of required or greater length. Acceptable 14 points Paper was just short of minimum length requirements. Needs Improvement 10-6 points Paper length was significantly less than required. Not Acceptable 4 or fewer points Paper length was very short.

Not Acceptable

Paper length was very short.

Excellent

ASA style was used correctly throughout. References and citations were clear. Author included reference page (in correct order). Quotes were correctly cited in ASA style. Acceptable 16-14 points ASA was used but with minor lapses in use. References and citations were used. Author included partial reference page. Needs Improvement 12-10 points ASA was loosely used with several errors. References and citations were inadequately used or unclear. No reference page included. Not Acceptable 8 or fewer points ASA Style was not used. No references or citations.

Not Acceptable

ASA Style was not used. No references or citations. Quotes were not cited correctly.

Excellent

No grammatical or spelling errors (or very minor). Followed formal writing rules. Acceptable 16-14 points Several minor grammatical or spelling errors. Needs Improvement 12-10 points Significant errors that interfere with meaning. Not Acceptable 8 or fewer

Not Acceptable

Errors interfere with meaning throughout the paper or paper used first and second person throughout. Did not follow formal writing rules