synthesized within position. acknowledged. Conclusions, implications, and consequences Conclusions and implications are logical and reflect student’s informed evaluation and ability to place evidence and perspectives discussed into priority order. Conclusions and implications are logically tied to a range of information, incl. opposing viewpoints. Conclusions and implications are logically tied to information (b/c information is chosen to fit the desired conclusion). Conclusions and implications are inconsistently tied to the information discussed and are oversimplified. Literature Review (objective 6) Knowledge base Demonstrates a thorough grasp of the conceptual basis, scope, and significance of the issue/problem; uses terminology and concepts appropriately Demonstrates a good grasp of the conceptual basis, scope, and significance of the issue/problem, but may miss some of the relevant information; uses terminology and concepts appropriately. Demonstrates adequate understanding of the scope and significance of the problem and its conceptual basis; uses appropriate terminology and concepts. Demonstrates inadequate knowledge of significance or scope of the issue/problem; avoids using appropriate terminology and concepts. Relevance Only cites sources that are highly relevant to the issue/problem; identifies major schools of thought and authors in the field Cites sources that are relevant to the issue/problem; identifies major schools of thought and authors in the field, but may miss important ones. Cites some relevant sources and identifies related schools of thought and authors in the field, but shows significant gaps in the pertinent literature. Cites resources that appear minimally or only generally relevant to defining the proposed issue/problem. Scope of opinion and contrasting positions Reveals spectrum of opinions among current researchers of this issue/problem, concisely summarizes these contrasting positions; explains own position in relation to them. Largely reveals spectrum of opinions among current researchers of this issue/problem, summarizes them; generally addresses own position in relation to them. Partially reveals spectrum of opinions among current researchers, but exhibits a fairly narrow focus; may not address own position in relation to them. Extremely narrow focus obscures the scope of opinions for the current research on this issue/problem. Own position may or may not be addressed. Theoretical implications Demonstrates thorough understanding of the theoretical implications of cited research findings; establishes Generally understands theoretical implications of research findings in Understand some theoretical implications cited research findings, but may fail to do Incompletely understands the theoretical implications of cited research;
connections among them or with own research. cited literature and established connections among them or with own research. so comprehensively and may or may not establish connections. does not establish connections. Organization Summarizes sources into schools of thought and demonstrates the relationships among them; shows how cited literature helps to define or formulate the issue/problem, question, and hypothesis Summarizes sources into schools of thought and demonstrates relationships among them. Identifies incomplete schools of thought and weakly demonstrates relationships among them. Literature review resembles an annotated bibliography. Presents an annotated bibliography without clearly demonstrating the relationships among cited sources. Length/Scope Uses appropriate number of sources from largely peer-reviewed professional and academic sources. Uses appropriate number of sources from professional and academic sources. May use inappropriate number of sources; may use largely non-peer reviewed sources. Uses incomplete number of sources of questionable origin. Writing and Organization (OBJECTIVE 4) Purpose of project Project’s goals are clearly stated, though writer is not confined by them; fully controls thesis throughout the project and consistently considers the audience and meets its expectations. Project’s goals are addressed; thesis is identifiable throughout the project, but may stray off topic on occasion; seems aware of audience expectations. Consistent effort to address project’s goals; thesis is generally clear, but may be lost at times; considers audience, but with inconsistencies. Does not consistently address project’s goals; focus shifts frequently and is unaware of or fails to meet audience expectations. Synthesis Synthesizes texts/ideas with expertise and formulates a sophisticated, complex discussion of the topic; organization feels deliberate and compliments the topic Synthesizes texts/ideas with some expertise and begins to formulate a cohesive discussion of the topic; lacks some sophistication; some missteps with organization. Some attempts to synthesize complex texts/ideas, but cannot sustain the effort; global organization is clear, but local organization may stray. Preliminary or no attempts to synthesize texts/ideas; discussion feels disorganized, making cohesion difficult or impossible. Support Makes fully developed assertions and/or draws logical conclusions that are supported by the evidence; consistently Clear are backed up by effective use of evidence; some are largely supported by evidence; some generalities persist. are difficult to identify and are not consistently supported by
includes details, references, and examples that point to the complex nature of the topic. errors in logic; development aided by key details. evidence; repetition frequently takes place of development. Style Evidence of consistent, deliberate, and refined stylistic presence on the page (e.g. appropriate tone, terminology, persuasiveness, transitions, etc.) Writes with complex sentence structures and language; evidence of stylistic complexity. Demonstrates some stylistic adeptness, but style lacks consistency and refinement. Simple sentences and word choice; paragraphs break randomly and may lack focus. Mechanics The writing is near perfect with almost no grammatical, spelling, or formatting errors. Minor errors are present, but not too distracting; content is clear. Some errors impeded reading, but content is generally clear. Errors are significant and detract from meaning; piece requires significant editing. Formatting Formatting meets all the specified requirements. Formatting meets most of the specific requirements. Formatting meets most specific requirements, but show gaps. Disregard specific formatting requirements. * = this rubric assumes that the submitted project meets the basic requirements (a 35-50 page paper or equivalent); projects not meeting those requirements will not receive a passing grade Total Score: Originality Section Score: _____ Critical Thinking Section Score: _____ Literature Review Section Score: _____ Writing/Organization Section Score: _____ TOTAL SCORE: _____ PLEASE NOTE: The POLS faculty have agreed to use this rubric to assess senior projects. However each faculty member has discretion about how much weight to give the various sections of the rubric.