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Rubrics
A rubric is a guide to grading student papers that consists of a scale with levels (A-F, 100-0, 5-0, etc.) along with a description of student performance corresponding to each level. The description includes the evaluative criteria used and standards indicating how well those criteria are met by grade level. Rubrics allow for holistic or impressionistic scoring of student texts, with multiple criteria considered but evaluation ultimately resulting in a single score or mark. At their best, rubrics promote uniformity, simplicity, and consensus in grading; they’re relatively accessible to students; and they can be developed for the course in general or for each assignment in it. They’re probably also the most text-based form of grading, with evaluation typically tied to pre-determined textual qualities such as clarity and organization.
A rubric for Penn State’s first-year writing course can be found in the St. Martin’s Guide to Teaching Writing, 5th ed. The standards consist of four criteria – purpose, reasoning & content, organization, and expression – indexed to five grade levels. A preamble to the rubric cautions users that “every essay will not fit neatly into one grade category; some essays may . . . have some characteristics of B and some of C. The final grade the essay receives depends on the weight the instructor gives each criterion.” The standards for A and C papers are below.
The A Essay
1. The A essay fulfills the assignment—and does so in a fresh and mature manner, using purposeful language that leads to knowledge making. The essay effectively meets the needs of the rhetorical situation in terms of establishing the writer’s stance, attention to audience, purpose for writing, and sensitivity to context. Furthermore, the writer demonstrates expertise in employing the artistic appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos appropriately.
2. The topic itself is clearly defined, focused, and supported. The essay has a clear thesis that is supported with specific (and appropriate) evidence, examples, and details. Any outside sources of information are used carefully and cited appropriately. The valid reasoning within the essay demonstrates good judgment and an awareness of the topic’s complexities.
3. The organization—chronological, spatial, or emphatic—is appropriate for the purpose and subject of the essay. The introduction establishes a context, purpose, and audience for writing and contains a focused thesis statement. The following paragraphs are controlled by (explicit or implicit) topic sentences; they are well developed; and they progress logically from what precedes them. (If appropriate, headings and subheadings are used.) The conclusion moves beyond a mere restatement of the introduction, offering implications for or the significance of the topic.
4. The prose is clear, readable, and sometimes memorable. It contains few surface errors, none of which seriously undermines the overall effectiveness of the paper for educated readers. It demonstrates fluency in stylistic flourishes (subordination, variation of sentence and paragraph lengths, interesting vocabulary).
The C Essay
1. The assignment has been followed, and the essay demonstrates a measure of response to the rhetorical situation, in so far as the essay demonstrates some sense of audience and purpose.
2. The topic is defined only generally; the thesis statement is also general. The supporting evidence, gathered honestly and used responsibly, is, nevertheless, often obvious and easily accessible. The writer demonstrates little awareness of the topic’s complexity or other points of view; therefore, the C essay usually exhibits minor imperfections or inconsistencies in development, organization, and reasoning.
3. The organization is fairly clear. The reader could outline the presentation, despite the occasional lack of topic sentences. Paragraphs have adequate development and are divided appropriately. Transitions may be mechanical, but they foster coherence.
4. The expression is competent. Sentence structure is relatively simple, relying on simple and compound sentences. The paper is generally free of sentence-level errors; word choice is correct though limited. The essay contains errors in spelling, usage, and punctuation that reveal an unfamiliarity with the conventions of Standardized American English discussed in class.
The full rubric can be found here.
UMass Amherst English Professor Haivan Hoang has used the rubric below for grading her College Writing students’ Unit II papers. (Note that such a rubric is only fully comprehensible in conjunction with the teacher’s assignment, in-class instructions, written comments, etc.)
A: A surprising and original take on at least two readings! The essay not only demonstrates meticulous development of ideas (practicing what we’ve discussed in class), but also takes risks with essay form (opening, structure, diction). Each draft reflects thorough revision and consideration of other readers’ suggestions. The essay demonstrates firm understanding of response strategies, response to the what and the how of the readings.
B: Essay is a critical response that not only thoroughly analyzes and synthesizes ideas from two essays, but also extends or enriches other writers’ ideas. The essay portfolio is complete and demonstrates your willingness to revise extensively. In the final draft, the essay is focused and develops ideas using methods we’ve discussed in class.
C: Essay portfolio is acceptable. Final draft demonstrates satisfactory understanding and summary of the readings. In the essay, your focus clearly asserts your perspective, but this focus may be somewhat broad. Or the essay and paragraph development may require greater in-depth attention and elaboration. Or the essay might need to work the balance between asserting your perspective or engaging the reader; weighing too much on one or the other risks either hiding your own perspective or not fully respecting others’ ideas.
D/F: Essay portfolio may be incomplete and/or final draft does not satisfy the minimum requirements. That is, the essay does not address the assignment or does not articulate a clear purpose. The essay summarizes other writers but fails to demonstrate your perspective, your commentary.
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Updated September 3, 2008
