Sample Grading Rubric
From UCSB English Department Knowledge Base
| Welcome to the English Department Knowledge Base at the University of California, Santa Barbara. |
|---|
Contents |
[edit] An "A" Paper
An "A" paper commands attention because of its insightful development and mature style. It:
- engages the topic in a cogent, thoughtful, individual way, developing its points with telling details;
- chooses words aptly and sometimes inventively;
- varies sentences effectively, thus helping create a unique and personal voice;
- demonstrates mastery of the grammar and usage conventions of standard English.
[edit] A "B" Paper
A "B" paper is clearly competent. It:
- responds intelligently to the topic, organizing appropriate details in coherent paragraphs and providing a sense of orderly progress between ideas;
- uses words precisely if not creatively;
- varies sentence structure enough to read smoothly;
- uses competently the conventions of written English, containing few, if any, errors in sentence structure, punctuation, capitalizations, or usage.
[edit] A "C" Paper
A "C" paper is satisfactory, sometimes marginally so. It usually:
- responds adequately to the topic, showing a clear sense of organization but also some weakness in transitions and in paragraph structure and development;
- uses less precise vocabulary, clichéd language, redundancy, or repetition;
- varies sentence structure enough to avoid monotony;
- contains minor errors in mechanics and usage (e.g., comma splices), and perhaps one or two more distracting errors in sentence structure (e.g., subject-verb agreement or fragments).
[edit] A "D" Paper
A "D" paper usually lacks coherence and development and exhibits serious weakness in its writer's ability to handle written English. A D paper is unsatisfactory in one or more of the following ways:
- It responds less than effectively to a topic. Although a major idea may be clearly stated, the paper usually has inadequately developed or illogically sequenced paragraphs that lack clear transitions between ideas;
- it uses vocabulary that may be acceptable but is often imprecise;
- it seldom varies sentences or contains a number of awkward phrases;
- it may be marked by repetition of words and ideas, wordiness, or monotony;
- it makes enough errors in usage and sentence structure--errors in agreement, pronoun reference, punctuation, and modifier placement--to cause the reader serious distraction.
[edit] An "F" Paper
An "F" paper shows serious weaknesses, often of several kinds. An F paper presents marginal content but may:
- distort the topic, lacking organization and development with specific details;
- often employ very basic vocabulary or misuses of words;
- make no attempt to vary sentences;
- contain many distracting mechanical errors in almost every sentence.
