Writing Rubric

Author

Affiliation

Dr. Montaque Reynolds

Stetson University

The following rubric does two things. First, it gives you an idea of how your paper will be graded. I am looking for four important items: thesis, premises, support for those premises, and your contribution.

All written assignments (Reflective Analyses and Essays) are graded on four dimensions. For each dimension:

Excellent: Full points for that category Good: 3/4 of possible points Needs Improvement: 1/2 of possible points Unacceptable: 1/4 of possible points

25.4.1 Thesis

• Excellent: A single, clear statement of the author’s main point and your initial response to this.
• Good: Thesis is present and fairly obvious, but not in one sharp sentence in response to the author.
• Needs Improvement: Thesis must be reconstructed from throughout the paper and does not engage with the author.
• Unacceptable: No real thesis at all.

25.4.2 Premises

• Excellent: Every reason is clearly stated; you distinguish basic premises from defended ones; sub-arguments are provided for controversial claims; basic premises are plausibly true.
• Good: Premises are mostly clear; sub-arguments appear for controversial points; basic premises are plausible.
• Needs Improvement: Premises are hard to identify; missing sub-arguments; basic premises may be questionable.
• Unacceptable: No real premises, or premises are very likely false.

25.4.3 Support

• Excellent: Premises clearly and strongly support the thesis; argument is logically valid or makes the conclusion very plausible.
• Good: Premises support the thesis reasonably well; argument is valid or makes the conclusion plausible.
• Needs Improvement: Premises only weakly support the thesis; argument is invalid and conclusion is not made plausible.
• Unacceptable: Premises do not support the thesis at all.

25.4.4 Student Response (Engagement with Objections)

• Excellent: You thoughtfully address both obvious and less-obvious objections, counterexamples, or opposing views, with original replies.
• Good: You address the most obvious objections with reasonable responses.
• Needs Improvement: You miss obvious objections, or responses are weak.
• Unacceptable: You ignore objections and opposing positions entirely.

Note: Oral appeals for grade changes are not accepted. If you believe you have an extremely strong case, you may submit a one-page written appeal within one week of the work being returned.