Rubric for Essay #1

Thesis Statement 20 pts.	0-5 pts. - There is no discernible thesis statement	6-10 pts. - Thesis statement is weak, poorly focused, and poorly placed	11-15 pts. - There is a thesis statement, but lacks force.	16-25 pts. - Forceful, deliberate, strategically placed statement.
MLA Format, Grammar, Spelling, Mechanics—Tense and Person 30 pts.	0-5 pts. – MLA format has not been followed; work has five or more spelling errors and/or serious grammatical errors; there are tense shifts or agreement errors either in subject/verb or pronoun/antecedent; vague pronoun reference may be a problem; incorrect or wrong word may have been used.	6-10 pts. – MLA format has been used, but presentation has three or more spelling errors and/or serious grammatical errors; there are tense shifts or agreement errors either in subject/verb or pronoun/antecedent; vague pronoun reference may be a problem; incorrect or wrong word may have been used.	11-15 pts. - Presentation has no more than two misspellings and/or grammatical errors; it is consistent in tense (for the most part) and there are no errors in agreement or word usage.	16-20 pts. – Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors; it is consistent in tense, with no more than one or two minor imperfections of flaws
Examples, Content  & Knowledge 25 pts.	0-10 pts. – Student does not understanding or have grasp of essay concept; does not have adequate detail or information for examples used. The few examples that are present are not directly related to the thesis statement	11-20 pts. - Student is uncomfortable with content and is able to write only minimal information, with little detail.  The work displays details, but these are not always directly, explicitly related to the thesis statement.  Reader is forced to draw inferences which may or may not be correct or accurate	21-25 pts. - Student is at ease with content, but fails to elaborate.  For the most part, details, elaborations, and illustrations of examples are adequate and related explicitly to the thesis statement,	26-30 pts. – Student demonstrates full knowledge of the each example, excellent and abundant  detail, and elaborates fully.  All points and examples are directly, explicitly related to the thesis statement.
Organization & Coherence 25 pts.	0-5 pts. - Sequence of information is hopelessly and carelessly mixed creating chaos and confusion in writing.	6-10 pts. - Reader has difficulty following work because the some irrelevant information has superseded significant information	11-15 pts. - Student presents information in logical sequence with information in a coherent order.	16-25 pts. - Information is in a logical, interesting order and sequence, providing coherence throughout paper. There are  no illogical sentences; there are clear transitions with examples in a logical, coherent order. order