The Grading Rubric for Essays

The piece is a joy to read: surprising and pleasing. The writing flows; the writer employs a variety of different sentence structures and a vocabulary which is right for the audience and piece; there are no confusing words or phrases; the writer doesn't switch verb tense in weird places.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material follow the proper format and are nearly without error. Charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations enhance the piece.

The piece has no fragments or run-ons; it almost always follows other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, or paragraphing.

Presentation is especially effective and easy to read.

The writing flows; the writer employs a variety of different sentence structures and a vocabulary which is right for the audience and piece; there are nearly no confusing words or phrases; the writer doesn't switch verb tense in weird places.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material follow the proper format and are nearly without error. Charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations enhance the piece.

The piece has nearly no fragments or run-ons; it almost always follows other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, or paragraphing.

Presentation is effective and easy to read.

The writing is clear; there are nearly no confusing words or phrases; the writer doesn't switch verb tense in weird places.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material follow the proper format and are mostly correct. Charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations are appropriate.

The piece has very few fragments or run-ons; it almost always follows other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, or paragraphing.

Presentation is easy to read.

The writing is understandable; there may be some confusing words or phrases; the writer may switch verb tense in weird places.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material is there, but may be incomplete or not follow the proper format. Charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations are appropriate.

The piece has some fragments or run-ons; it usually follows other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, paragraphing.

Presentation is easy to read.

The writing is difficult or nearly impossible to understand; confusing words or phrases may obstruct meaning; the writer may switch verb tense in weird places.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material may be missing, or may be in a form that is very difficult to follow. If there are charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations, they may be impossible to decipher or have little to do with the piece.

The piece may have many fragments or run-ons; it does not often follow other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, or paragraphing.

Presentation may be sloppy.

The writing is difficult or nearly impossible to understand; confusing words or phrases may obstruct meaning; the writer may switch verb tense in weird places.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material may be missing, or may be worthless for the purposes for which they are intended. If there are charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations, they may be impossible to decipher or have little to do with the piece.

The piece may have many fragments or run-ons; it usually does not follow other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, or paragraphing.

Presentation may be so sloppy that understanding may be nearly impossible.

The writing is difficult or nearly impossible to understand.

Citations, bibliography, and other additional material may be missing, or may be worthless for the purposes for which they are intended. If there are charts, tables, graphs, or illustrations, they may be impossible to decipher or have little to do with the piece.

The piece may have many fragments or run-ons; it usually does not follow other rules about punctuation, spelling, capitalization, or paragraphing.

Presentation may be impossible to understand.