Rails on Track Logo

General Writing and Information Literacy Rubric (SEWS Rubric)

Writing Criteria                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

  Excellent Good Meets Requirements Needs Substantial Improvement Unacceptable*  
 
Thesis / Hypothesis
 
Sophisticated, well developed thesis/hypothesis that is clearly stated Good, competent thesis/hypothesis that is clearly stated Adequate thesis/hypothesis that is clearly stated Weak or unclearly stated thesis/hypothesis No Thesis/Hypothesis
Analysis Sophisticated use of critical thinking to  integrate evidence and to support thesis/hypothesis
 
Good, competent use of critical thinking to integrate evidence and to support thesis/hypothesis Adequate use of critical thinking to integrate evidence and to support thesis/hypothesis Weak use of critical thinking so that evidence is not sufficiently integrated and thesis/hypothesis is poorly supported No analysis applied to support the thesis or to demonstrate understanding of sources/evidence
Presentation
 
Meets professional presentation standards for the discipline and alldirections for the assignment are followed
 
 
Generally meets professional presentation standards for the discipline but may contain a fewcareless errors; directions for the assignment are followed Meets minimal professional presentation standards for the discipline but may contain someerrors that show inconsistency; directions for the assignment are followed Professional presentation standards for the discipline not met due to many formatting errors; not all directions for the assignment are followed p  Is not formatted correctly
p  Does not follow directions
p  Has no title
Grammar / Mechanics Free from errors in
p  Grammar
p  Usage
p  Capitalization
p  Punctuation
p  Spelling
Occasional errors in
p  Grammar
p  Usage
p  Capitalization
p  Punctuation
p  Spelling
Several errors in
p  Grammar
p  Usage
p  Capitalization
p  Punctuation
p  Spelling
Many errors in
p  Grammar
p  Usage
p  Capitalization
p  Punctuation
p  Spelling
Too many errors in
p  Grammar
p  Usage
p  Capitalization
p  Punctuation
p  Spelling
Organization Sophisticated logical organization with a clear line of reasoning
 
 
Good, competent logical organization with a clear line of reasoning Adequate logical organization with a clear line of reasoning Weak logical organization with a clear line of reasoning Writing not logically organized.  Frequently ideas fail to make sense.  Reader cannot identify a line of reasoning.
Comments
 
 
 
         
 
Information Literacy Criteria
  Excellent Good Meets Requirements Needs Substantial Improvement Unacceptable*
Appropriateness of Sources for a Scholarly Paper Excellent choice of sources for a scholarly paper Good choice of sources for a scholarly paper Adequate choice of sources for a scholarly paper Poor choice of sources for a scholarly paper No evidence of sources
Use of Sources to Support the Argument Sophisticated use of sources to enrich thesis/hypothesis; original conclusions or divergent opinions are drawn from sources
 
 
Good, competent use of sources to enrich thesis/hypothesis; sources are fairly represented Adequate use of sources to extend thesis/hypothesis Poor use of sources:
p  Arbitrary source usage
p  Over-use of single source
p  Excessive quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing
Notable discrepancies between References / Works Cited / Bibliography and in-text citations (i.e. sources used in paper without full bibliographic info provided)
Correctness According to Style of References / Bibliography / Works Cited Page All elements of citations present and all sources are cited and formatted perfectly according to style All elements of citations present, but some formatting errors
 
Most elements of citations present but with some formatting errors Major elements of citations are missing along with consistent formatting errors There is no References / Works Cited / Bibliography page
Correctness According to Style of In-Text Citations All quotes, paraphrases, and summaries follow in-text citation rules perfectly according to style.
 
 
Some minor errors (i.e., punctuation) with in-text citation Several major errors in following in-text citation rules
 
p  Consistent major errors in following in-text citation rules
p  Unclear attribution of ideas in paraphrase or summary
p  In-text citations missing
p  Quotes, paraphrases, or summaries not represented correctly
Academic Integrity / Plagiarism
 
 
Exemplary use of sources so that no plagiarism occurs, all sources are represented fairly, and a spirit of academic integrity is exhibited in the writing of the paper and the completion of the assignment Good, competent use of sources so that no plagiarism occurs An isolated incident of unintentional plagiarism due to carelessness Repeated incidents of unintentional plagiarism due to misunderstanding of a single concept p  Cheating
p  Consistent incidents of unintentional plagiarism that show little understanding of academic integrity
*A single check in the far right-hand column – for any criterion -- should result in a failing grade for the SEWS paper.