American Literature I 205 On-line and Resident

Edward Eller

A General Rubric for Evaluating all Writing -- Email, Discussion Board, Essays, and Tests

• Is the writing coherent; that is, does the writing have a central focused idea which all the other parts support and discuss?
• Is the writing developed; that is, does the writing use relevant and specific detail especially from our shared readings to support several ideas related closely to a central idea?
• Does the development of the essay include something new, a new idea or new information in support of the ideas being discussed; that is, is the writing fresh and original or a re-hash of old hat.
• Is the writing free of serious grammar/mechanical errors and relatively free of careless, minor problems?
• Is the writer careful to recognize the source of information; that is, does the writer use clear citations and lead-ins to quotes and paraphrases?