Paper Criteria Sheet

          

Grading Criteria

Below is a list of different criteria by which people judge essays. Any one of them is enough to raise or lower a grade, but your grade will be determined by a holistic use of all the criteria below. Pay attention to the weaknesses that are pointed out as I grade your papers; these troubles may require a focused edit and revision of your papers in the future.

 

          

1) Thesis Strength:

This is a reflection of your paper’s thesis and includes several factors. A strong thesis should be found in the paper’s introduction as a clear, one sentence, argumentative thesis which lets the reader understand what’s to come in this paper. Also, the different arguments in the body need to prove the thesis as the paper unfolds; the reader should not lose track of arguments and forget what the thesis is a few pages into your writing. Everything in the paper should tie back to the thesis and support it.

 

          

2) Organization:

This includes all issues of the structure and outline of your paper. A paper needs to have a strong, logical flow with one thought leading necessarily to the next. An essay which seems to wander, has no transitions, or feels choppy or predictable doesn’t have strong organization. Organization also includes a strong introduction which slowly brings the reader into the topic, a strong body which provides all the arguments, and a conclusion which wraps up your arguments and brings the reader back out of the paper.

 

          

3) Paragraph Logic:

Paragraphs are defined as a single unit of thought, or one single argument. If paragraphs run too long or too short, or if there aren’t breaks where the thoughts shift, you’ve written a weak paragraph. The basics of a paragraph include a topic sentence, the evidence, and a transition to the next paragraph; without these, paragraphs tend to wander and have no strong focus. In a research paper, aim for paragraphs which focus on a specific argument and/or have a direct quote or paraphrase of an outside source.

 

          

4) Sentence Combining:

This criteria includes all issues found in sentence combining. A paper needs to show not only mastery over but also effective use of simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. Any error in these sentence constructions will count against you. Aim for sentence variety and try to construct sentences which show different subordination, coordination, and varied connotations and denotations.

 

          

5) Mechanical Strength:

All mechanical issues from spelling to syntax to punctuation use is counted here. Use of all punctuation that doesn’t influence sentence combining is considered in this criteria. Colons, dashes, semicolons, commas, hyphens, and all the rest are found in this category.

 

          

6) Parenthetical Citation:

All issues of internal, parenthetical citation must be adhered to. In all citations, readers need to know a page number and a last name, so they can look it up in your works cited later.

 

          

7) Works Cited Page:

All papers will need to have an accurate MLA format works cited page. Edit this page often to root out even the smallest of errors.

 

          

8) Source Evaluation:

Papers need to not only quote outside sources, but they need to discuss the relevance of such quotes. In the body of your paper, you need to make sure three things happen when you cite an outside source. First, you must introduce your readers to the quote by briefly telling them who said it and where it came from. Second, you must give the quote or paraphrase. Third, you must take some time to discuss the source—what does this information prove; how does hit help support your thesis; what conclusions should the reader make from this quote?

 

          

9) Assignment Requirements:

This criteria includes all the specific requirements and instructor asks for in the paper description. Things like word count, spacing, mandatory number of outside sources, and how many web sources you can use would be included here. Most importantly, this criteria include the actual paper topic. If you failed to write the paper you were asked to write, or if you stray off topic entirely, you are not fulfilling the assignment requirements.