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Explanation of rubric
For each paper in this class you will be given a rubric – it is a shorthand version of what you will be graded on, here is the longer version. Use it as the code breaker to the rubric. It will help you to understand why you receive points off in certain areas. You are at the all or nothing stage of grading, it is either there and correct or it isn’t.
GRAMMAR – you will lose two points for each grammar error you make up to 20 points for your paper. PLEASE PROOFREAD CAREFULLY. Computers do not contain great grammar programs, synonyms suggestions are often erroneous, and they will not catch words that are misused but spelled correctly. Try writing the story “Ladle Rat Rotten Hood” in your computer. The title is completely incorrect, but the computer will not catch it. Nor can it distinguish when a verb tense is entirely correct, or when there, their, or they’re should be used. I could go on and on. Get a feel for the grammar, practice it.
INTRODUCTION – 4 points of your paper is the introduction.
You must introduce the topic, not the subject. If you are going to prove in your paper that Mark Twain is the father of American sarcasm, do not start out by telling where Mark Twain was born, how he grew up, the list of his novels, etc… Your topic is not necessarily Mark Twain it is his sarcasm – he is the subject, but the topic is sarcasm. If you start out with bibliographical information about Twain, your paper will look like a report, which you will never write in this course. The introduction tells the reader what the paper will be about, which is sarcasm.
Easy one – put your thesis or main topic as the last sentence of your first paragraph – it aids in clarity and the papers for this class are too short for lengthy introductions. Conciseness is the name of the game. Also, never start a paper with your thesis, lead the reader in with an introduction.
BODY – 10 points of your paper
Stick to the topic – do not deviate. Do not go into a cool fact that you found in your research and you really want to work it in. If you can’t, get rid of it. You are on a mission, to prove a point. You will lose your reader with extraneous information or by going off the topic. If you need to know how to change a tire and I give you a long lecture on what the jack is made of and how it was invented, the point has been missed, that doesn’t help you to change the tire. This section is broken down, each deviation from the topic is 5 points off.
CONCLUSION – 4 points of your paper
Restatement of main ideas – you should conclude your paper by telling the reader what you told them. This accomplishment can be extremely difficult. Often I write my conclusion first. That way I know where I’m going and it is easier to get there. Please restate your ideas differently. Saying the same thing in exactly the same way is tedious and shows a lack of a well-thought out argument. Watch out that you do not fall into the pitfall of an announcement in your conclusion, and please avoid sycophantic nods to the reader when concluding, those are considered announcements in a formal paper. They have a place in letters and emails, but not papers.
CONTENT –
Thesis validity -5 points. Your thesis must be arguable, it cannot be a fact. It must be something you prove. Often times the difference between an arguable statement and a fact is one word. That is the arguable word. Stay away from the word “seems” as that is far too opinionated. Also to be valid a thesis is one concise statement covering one idea that is explored thoroughly in your paper. The thesis must be specific and have an easily identifiable focus. Examples – If the prompt is “Discuss a hero and what makes them a hero” A good thesis statement would be “Superman’s ability to sacrifice distinguishes his character as heroic.” Now the essay is going to prove two things one that Superman is a hero but more importantly HOW AND WHY he is a hero which work together. It also uses the word “distinguishes” which must be defined as to why that word is important. That is the arguable word. Please remember that it also invalidates your thesis if it has been proven before and you simply list many other people that agree with you. This structure does not expand your opinion you are simply regurgitating what someone else has said. That is why it is ESSENTIAL that you research before your come up with your thesis. A thesis is the same as a theory and once a theory is proved it becomes fact, even in literature circles. You must put what you think and add to the conversation, not simply restate the conversation. If an academic or critic agrees with you completely, you are not proving a new point, you are proving what he or she proved. Please add to conversations. If you choose a character in a novel that is a Christ like figure, you must prove why that is important, not just that he or she is. A thesis statement is hard and I will ask you to write a lot of them. They help you learn how to argue. Also please don’t contradict your thesis, that is going off topic but do acknowledge your counter argument as this can strengthen your own argument. You can nod to the other side of the argument without going into it in length and please don’t add at the end of the paper a contradictory point if it is not already mentioned in your paper.
ANALYSIS – 13 points
More on opinion is that you must analyze the information. To help you accomplish this part – never put in a block quotation. Always integrate. You never need block quotations, they are a waste of space. They also tend to contain far too much information to analyze fully in the space of the short papers I assign. Do not overwhelm your papers with research. It is all right to have a paragraph without a quotation, especially as most of the papers I ask you to write are short. If readers want to read what a bunch of experts say they can read those experts words on their own. Again add to the conversation. Most of the time you only need a few words from a quotation, you do not need to use it all.. Your opinion must be present in order to analyze. You must also acknowledge the counter argument and refute it in your paper. Since your paper should refer back to the thesis, your body will also include referencing the counter argument again. Think about your paper. Take time with it. If you do it now, it will become easier when you write in college.
MLA Format – Use that Hacker book – 10 points
CITATIONS- 5 points
If there are no citations at all you lose all five points. If you attempt them and they are incorrect, you only get 2 points. Works cited is worth 5 points. THIS PART IS ALL OR NOTHING – you either have it completely correct or you don’t.
USE OF SYNONYMS – 5 points
Watch out for the repetition of any word. You will miss 1 point for each time, if it is rampant, even if it is the same word, you will lose all five points. Make sure your synonyms fit.
NO USE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS – 5 points
Whether you use one once or fifty times, it is five points off. ALL OR NOTHING.
NO ANNOUNCEMENTS – 5 points
A horrible pitfall. You lose all five points for announcements. If you follow a quotation with “This quotation indicates that people seek an unattainable goal in body imagery.” That is an announcement. Announcements have no place in a paper.
USE of TRANSITIONS – 5 points
Here is where the art of writing plays in, lead your reader through the paper. Please don’t jump from topic to topic. Paragraphs should refer back to each other.
THESIS PROVEN – 10 points
If you do not prove your thesis, your entire paper is invalid. To help you accomplish this goal, refer to the thesis in every paragraph, it will help keep you on topic as well as help to prove your thesis. Please make sure you prove a thesis. A report is not a thesis. If you want to prove that autism has been undiagnosed in the populace for decades and you spend an entire paper reporting the modern statistics and the signs and then state at the end that these signs have been in people for many decades, but you do not show the reader where, how, why, etc… you have not proven the point of your thesis – that autism is not a new disease.
LENGTH – 1 point
Meet the length requirements. If it is a one page paper, write a one page paper. Excepting the research paper in this course, all papers are
ONE page
1.5 spacing
Times New Roman
Start at the top – you do not need a header on each paper, only your research paper.
Your research paper will be three to five pages
On the one page papers, it you go over one or two lines you will not get the point, if it is two pages – you will lose the point. It is logistically impossible for me to read the papers and give you timely feedback if you write a longer paper. If the length becomes a problem, not only will you lose the points, you will also lose points for conclusions, proving your argument, etc…
Please stay within the parameters of each assignment.
ALL PARAGRAPHS MUST BE FIVE SENTENCES – 3 points
You will miss 1 point up to 3 for each paragraph under five sentences up to six points.
Never do a title page for papers in this course, MLA does not require a title page.
You will get a rubric and assignment for each paper in this course. There is a brief outline of what we will do in the book. You will write a paper almost every two weeks.
Writing and Communications Paper Rubric
1. Grammar(deduction of two points per mistake)______20 points
Comments:
2. Introduction of main topic, not subject______3 points
3. Main topic last statement of 1st paragraph______1 points
4. Stick to topic______10 points
5. Conclusion – restatement of main ideas______4 points
6. Thesis validity______5 points
7. Analysis______13 points
8. MLA Format
Citations attempted______2 points
Period after parentheses______1 point
No comma between author and page#______2 points
9. Use of synonyms______5 points
10. No use of personal pronouns______5 points
11. No Announcements______5 points
12.Use of transitions______5 points
13.Thesis Proven______10 points
14. Length______1 point
15. 5 sentences each paragraph______3 points
16. works cited page______5 points
General comments: