Author:______________________________________________________________

 

The essay has an original and interesting angle.

 

_____ truly fresh & interesting (exceeds expectations)

_____ a bit predictable but interesting (good; better than most)

_____ ordinary (expected at this level)

_____ quite predictable (below expectations)

 

The essay demonstrates accurate analysis with creative and evaluative qualities.

 

_____ sees beyond the obvious; makes unexpected connections/commentary

_____ masters the obvious with clear connections/commentary

_____ shows some control of analysis; connections/commentary are ordinary

_____ notable flaws in analysis; connections/commentary are thin or unjustified

 

The essay demonstrates excellent reasoning.

 

_____ flawless logic in interpretation &  inference

_____ nearly flawless logic in interpretation & inference

_____ acceptable logic in interpretation & inference; some errors or extreme leaps of inference

_____ notably flawed logic in interpretation & inference

 

The essay is well-focused & well-organized with strong transitions.

 

_____ powerfully focused with masterful flow and sophisticated use of transitions

_____ strong focus; flows well with good transitions

_____ slight focus shifts, may be accompanied by some elementary transitions

_____ notable focus shifts, usually accompanied by elementary or missing transitions

 

The essay is well-developed with specific and appropriate references to & explanations of the text.

 

_____ extensive & powerful textual proof and explanation of textual proof; properly documented

_____ adequate & competently chosen textual proof and explanation of textual proof; properly documented

_____ minor lapses in amount or quality of textual proof &/or explanation of textual proof, &/or documentation

_____ notably inadequate or inappropriate textual proof &/or explanation of textual proof; poor documentation

 

The essay has strong academic voice and style with variety of sentence types & diction.

 

_____ powerful academic voice with sophisticated variety of sentence & diction choices

_____ good academic voice with above average variety of sentence & diction choices

_____ acceptable academic voice with expected variety of sentence & diction choices

_____ notably informal with little variety of sentence and diction choices

 

The essay is mechanically sound.

 

_____ stylistically sophisticated & virtually flawless

_____ stylistically sophisticated with some lapses in control of mechanics

_____ stylistically ordinary with only minor lapses in control of mechanics

_____ stylistically ordinary with obvious lapses in control of mechanics

 

OVERALL ASSESSMENT:________