Rubrics provide a useful means to assess quickly a mentor's writing and to reiterate consistently the criteria expected of him or her. Rubrics are an assessment instrument laid out in a grid format. Each cell of the matrix contains short phrases or sentences describing what must be done to attain those criteria at that level of achievement. By providing specific responses to written journal entries according to several, clearly defined criteria, mentors see immediately where they need to do to improve their performance. Moreover, by responding to each journal entry with a rubric, the criteria are constantly reiterated.
Rubric assessments are also a very quick, efficient and an accurate way to evaluate.
The written journal entry simply needs to be matched to the appropriate descriptor. One disadvantage of rubrics is that that can appear to the mentor as somewhat stiff and arbitrary. The written comment is usually a long paragraph. It allows me to sort through my own response to the journal entry. My written response is generally more positive and reflective than the critical, corrective remarks with which professors typically pepper student writing, and it offsets any rigidity the rubric form might suggest to the mentor.