B+: Very good. Solid achievement expected of most graduate students. B: Good. Acceptable achievement. B-: Acceptable achievement, but below what is generally expected of graduate students. A General Writing, Thinking and Presenting Rubric: Element A - Excellent B - Good C – Below Standards Not Acceptable Argument or Thesis Strong and specific argument easily identifiable by intended audience. points and research reinforce the argument throughout the piece. A solid argument identifiable by a reader though not perhaps to the intended audience. Most points reinforce the argument throughout the piece. Generalized or vague argument not identifiable by a reader. Some points reinforce the argument, but many fail to reinforce or relate to the argument. No identifiable argument. Individual points lack cohesion and fail to express a uniform idea. Critical Thinking and Analysis Clear presentation of critical thinking related to the issues, substance, central argument and research. Easily understood by intended audience. All facts, figures and supporting research relate to the central argument or thesis and are effectively contextualized and analyzed for intended audience. Demonstrates effective critical thinking, but some points could be more fully developed. May not be easily understood by intended audience Supporting research relates to the central argument and is mostly contextualized and analyzed for a reader. Overall shallow analysis of topic. Need to delve deeper into subject. Supporting research is either absent or is not and analyzed. Very little analysis. Discussion is entirely without supporting, or analyzing any research of Ideas Ideas are fully developed. Overall the Most ideas are fully developed and thoughtful. Ideas are briefly explained, Difficult to understand
piece is thought provoking. but information and analysis may lead to confusion by a reader. the ideas in the piece. Application of Theory Theory and research clearly reinforces the central argument and ideas Demonstrates understanding of how theory and research is used to reinforce the argument and major ideas some of how theory and research should reinforce the major ideas Fails to demonstrate an of the theory and no clear use of research to reinforce argument or major ideas Word Choice Use of terminology is correct in all instances. Dead and tired clichés and metaphors are avoided. Strong use of simple, precise and effective language easily read and understood by intended and potential audiences Occasional use of inappropriate jargon, acronyms or imprecise terms. Minimal usage of dead and tired clichés and metaphors. Minor issues with wordiness, repetition. Easily understood by intended audience, but perhaps not by other potential audiences. Many mistakes in terminology. Frequent use of dead and tired clichés and metaphors. Some issues with wordiness and repetition. Mostly to intended audience. Imprecise terminology and heavy usage of jargon and acronyms. Wordy and repetitive. and Structure Effective use of formal structure such as subheadings and conventional formatting. Thoughts follow a clear internal logic reinforced by Mostly effective use of formal structure. Subheadings could be more descriptive or formatting could be improved. Thoughts mostly follow an internal logic reinforced by Ideas difficult to follow. Lack of internal Unclear formal structure Overall structure distracts from the meaning of the piece Completely illogical Unstructured, disorganized