The claim / You make a claim and explain why it is controversial. / You make a claim but don't explain why it is controversial. / Your claim is buried, confused, and/or unclear. / You don't say what your argument or claim is.
Reasons in support of the claim / You give clear and accurate reasons in support of your claim. / You give reasons in support of your claim, but you may overlook important reasons. / You give 1 or 2 weak reasons that don't support your claim and/or irrelevant or confusing reasons. / You do not give convincing reasons in support of your claim.
Organization / Your essay has anengaging opening, an informative middle and a satisfying conclusion. / Your essay has a beginning, middle and end. The parts are there, but they don’t make a reader want to keep reading. / Your essay is organized but sometimes gets off topic. / Your essay is aimless and disorganized.
Voice and tone / It sounds like you care about your argument. You show readers how you think and feel about it. / Your tone is appropriate, but your paper could have been written by anyone. You need to tell more about how you think and feel. / Your tone sounds bland or snobbish. There is either no hint of the real you in the essay, or it sounds somewhat phony. / Your tone is too formal or too informal. It sounds like you don't like the topic of the essay.
Word choice / The words you use are interesting and varied. They convey your ideas clearly. / You make serviceable but routine word choices. / The words you use are sometimes dull or soundlike you are trying too hard to impress readers. / You use the same words repeatedly. Some words you use may be confusing to a reader.
Sentence fluency / Your sentences are clear, complete, and of varying lengths. / You have well-constructed sentences. / Your sentences are sometimes awkward, and/or your essay contains run-ons and fragments. / Many run-ons, fragments and awkward phrasings make your essay hard to read.
Conventions / You use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. / You generally use correct conventions. You have a couple of errors you should fix. / You have enough errors in your essay to distract a reader. / Numerous errors make your essay hard to read.
Instructor Rubric
Total Score:______