Grade range

A

B

C

F

Organization

Easy to read, topic introduced, organization clearly evident with proper introduction, body, conclusion

Paper has intro, body, and conclusion but may take a re-reading to understand

Disorganized, leaves reader wondering what is being said; abrupt ending

Fails to meet this criteria by obvious disregard for the expectations stated in the criteria; Disorganized and the reader can not follow the paper at any length

Relevance to material (is the topic addressed?)

The student’s reflection about the topic is explained in clear language; immediately interesting and supported with detail

The entire paper’s content relates to the prompt or topic; the student explains his/her reflections about the topic but may take a rereading to understand

Student does not clearly identify his/her reflections about the topic; may veer from topic

The topic of the paper is not addressed at all; Fails to stick to the topic therefore fails to meet this criteria

Writing style/Clarity

Consistently precise and unambiguous wording, clear and lucid sentence structure. All quotations are well chosen, effectively framed in the text and explicated where necessary.

Mostly precise and unambiguous wording, mostly clear sentence structure. Mostly effective choice of quotation. Mostly effective framing and explication of quotation where necessary.

Imprecise or ambiguous wording. Confusing sentence structure. Poorly chosen quotations, or ineffective framing and explication of quotations.

Consistently imprecise or ambiguous wording, confusing sentence structure. Quotations contradict or confuse student’s text. Serious errors; difficult to comprehend

Presentation/Referencing

Paper is clean, correctly formatted (12-point font, Times New Roman, normal margins), written in full sentences. Quotations are all properly attributed and cited in a consistent style. Virtually no spelling or grammatical errors. APA referencing system is followed flawlessly

Paper is clean, correctly formatted (12-point font, Times New Roman, normal margins), written in full sentences. A few minor spelling or grammatical errors. Proper references are cited and listed in the bibliography and in text citations are included but there are a few errors and omissions.

Paper is clean, correctly formatted (12-point font, Times New Roman, normal margins), written in full sentences. A number of spelling or grammatical errors. References are cited and listed in the bibliography but not in the correct format; in text citations are missing

Paper is sloppy or incorrectly formatted, not written in full sentences. No references included even though the student uses secondary sources.