Rubric Styles

  • Generic vs. Task-Specific
    • Generic rubrics reflect the expectations for multiple assignments in the same course.
    • Task-specific rubrics reflect the assessment criteria for a particular assignment.
  • Holistic vs. Analytic
    • Holistic rubrics list all the assessed characteristics of a given assignment collectively (e.g. listing the qualities required for an A, B, C, etc.).
    • Analytic rubrics break down each assignment trait with different levels of success. These levels of success may or may not be separately described in the rubric.
  • Weighted vs. Unweighted
    • Weighted rubrics assign specific grades or point values to each assessed quality, with the sum of these determining the overall assignment grade.
    • Unweighted rubrics might provide feedback for each assessed quality, but only assign a grade or point value to the assignment as a whole.

Rubric Types

  1. Simple “Slider” Box (Generic, Analytic, Unweighted)
    • Advantages: Quick for instructors to score and for students to read
    • Disadvantages: Feedback provided by this rubric is somewhat vague
    • Notes: Tables like these can be an effective way to summarize an instructor’s marginal and end comments, provided students understand what each category encompasses (e.g. what is being measured under “Interpretation”). They are rarely effective in the absence of additional written comments from the instructor.

  2. Prose Description of Skill Equivalencies (Generic, Holistic, Unweighted)
    • Advantages: Students can see what is expected for improvement, which creates a consistent set of expectations across multiple assignments.
    • Disadvantages: Does not, by itself, provide any feedback to students on individual assignments. Additionally, this is a lot of texts for students to process.
    • Notes: A rubric like this might serve as a helpful reference for multiple assignments, but would ideally be supplemented by a second, more assignment-specific rubric to provide useful feedback for students.
  3. Grading Chart (Task-Specific, Analytic, Unweighted)
    • Advantages: Clearly defines expectations for each quality level, providing students with expectations for improvement in weak areas.
    • Disadvantages: Table is not specific to each student, making it difficult to address individual strengths and weaknesses —e.g. a given essay might have some aspects of structure that are “Excellent” and some aspects that are “Fair.” (Some instructors get around this by highlighting relevant phrases on the rubric for each student.
  4. Weighted Grading Chart (Task-Specific, Analytic, Weighted)
    • Advantages: Questions encourage students to evaluate their own work before turning in assignments.
    • Disadvantages: Feedback is not specific to each student, making it difficult to address individual strengths and weaknesses—e.g. a given essay might have some aspects of structure that are “advanced” and some aspects that are “emerging.” Some instructors get around this by highlighting relevant phrases on the rubric for each student.
    • Notes: Many instructors find rubrics like this too restrictive, particularly for large, complex assignments. They tend to work best for providing quick feedback on smaller assignments with relatively few variables.

Rubric Examples

Example 1 (Generic, Analytic, Unweighted):

A black and white grid showing 7 rows and 5 columns. The rows are: Thesis/Argument, Key Terms, Evidence, Paragraphs, Clarity of Writing, and Revision. The columns are Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor.

Example 2 (Generic, Unweighted, Holistic):

IDCS-100: Games and Gaming Cultures
What Your Essay Grades Mean

The final grade on your essay is, obviously, an evaluation that affects your final grade in the course. However, it’s also a powerful, but very limited, way of conveying how well the essay fulfilled the goals for the assignment in question. Thus, it’s vitally important for you to understand exactly what my expectations are for each grade level, so you can build on your strengths and address any weaknesses in future writing assignments. So, here’s the breakdown of what each grade means to me and what an essay needs to do to earn it.

D or F

To earn either a D or an F, an essay has to fail to meet one or more of the basic requirements of the assignment. That usually means one or more of the following things:

  • The essay has no clear argument or central claim, or the one given is either not arguable or does not match the ideas presented in the body of the essay.
  • The essay has major structural flaws; individual paragraphs don’t develop clear points, or the points don’t appear to connect to each other. Key terms are never defined or are defined but then dropped.
  • Several major conclusions in the essay are presented without evidence to support them or to explain the author’s logic. Citations are missing or inconsistent.
  • The essay contains enough major grammar errors to make it difficult to read.
  • The tone of the essay is inconsistent and/or inappropriate for the assignment.
  • The essay shows little to no sign of revision between the conference draft and the final draft.
  • The essay is incomplete.
  • The essay does not address significant aspects of the assignment.

There’s no getting around the fact that D and F are not desirable grades, However, earning one of these grades doesn’t mean that you are a bad writer or a bad student overall; it simply means that you did poorly on this particular assignment. An essay grade reflects the quality of a single piece of work, not the quality of the student who wrote it.

C

A grade of C, by definition, means “average.” By my interpretation, that means a C essay meets the minimum requirements of the assignment, through it may have some significant problems of deficiencies as well. C essays will:

  • Have a solid set of central claims that address a clearly defined issue.
  • Have a clear overall structure that logically develops the central claims.
  • Effectively support the majority of its points with cited evidence.
  • Be reasonably free from major grammatical errors (i.e. errors that make the essay hard to read)
  • Improve noticeably in revision.

The important thing to remember is that, as far as I’m concerned, a C is not a bad grade. You’re welcome to feel differently, but please understand that, when I assign a C, I’m telling the writer, “this essay could have been better, but it did everything that it absolutely needed to do to fulfill the assignment.”

B

If a C grade means “average,” then a B grade, by definition, means “above average.” In other words, a B essay contains all the required elements of the assignment, but it puts those elements together in a way that makes the final product stronger than the sum of its parts. In addition to the C requirements above, B essays will:

  • Develop a strong argument that requires original, critical thought beyond the ideas discussed in class or presented in the readings.
  • Have strong paragraphs throughout that clearly develop each individual point and clearly connect to each other.
  • Effectively support all conclusions with correctly cited evidence.
  • Be largely free from grammar errors and easy to read.
  • Improve significantly in revision.

A

Since an A is the highest grade you can earn, an A essay should be as well-written as I could possibly expect a 100-level college essay to be. That doesn’t mean it has to be perfect, but it does have to combine the elements of the assignment and the writing techniques we’ve discussed in class extremely well. In addition to the C and B requirements listed above, A essays will:

  • Develop particularly complex or challenging arguments (or take simple arguments and effectively expand and complicate them) over the course of the essay.
  • Clearly build on issues raised by the reading and/or class discussion, adding something new to the existing conversation(s) around those issues.
  • Have strong paragraphs, effective transitions, and smooth connections between all major points.
  • Explain evidence and engage sources in a way that reflects not only a clear understanding of the issues and ideas surrounding the argument but also provides an illuminating take on the evidence.
  • Be almost entirely free from major grammar errors and reasonably free from minor editing and proofreading errors.
  • Improve significantly in revision, either in the quality of the writing, the overall strength of the argument, or both.

If that sounds hard to do, that’s because it is. After all, if you don’t have to work hard to earn an A on an assignment, then both the grade and the assignment are pretty meaningless. However, it’s by no means impossible to earn an A in my class. If you’re willing to work hard to develop your writing skills and polish each essay, you can do it.

Example 3 (Task-Specific, Analytic, Unweighted):

Poor/Developing

Fair

Good

Excellent

Discourse
  1. Tone or content consistently do not fit audience
  2. One or more requirements of assignment not addressed
  1. Meets all expectations of the assignment
  2. Tone of content does not always fit
  3. May not clearly engage conversations around the subject
  1. Meets all expectations of the assignment
  2. Clearly attempts to engage the audience and academic conversations on the subject
  1. Meets all expectations of the assignment
  2. Effectively engages target audience throughout
  3. Clearly contributes to one or more academic conversations on the subject

Thesis / Argument
  1. Thesis is missing or purely descriptive
  2. Essay as a whole does not present a consistent argument
  1. There is a clear thesis with at least one evaluative claim
  2. Thesis may be inappropriate scale (too broad or narrow)
  3. Significant aspects of the thesis may be underdeveloped, or thesis may not match argument of essay
  1. Thesis is complete and appropriate scale
  2. If thesis is incomplete or underdeveloped, essay eventually develops a clear argument with three clear claims (descriptive, evaluative 1, evaluative 2)
  1. Thesis is complete and outlines a complex argument of appropriate scale for the assignment
  2. All parts of thesis are addressed in body of the essay
  3. Argument is developed consistently throughout the essay

Evidence
  1. The majority of the claims in the essay are not supported with sufficient evidence
  2. Quotes from secondary sources are missed and/or not linked clearly to the primary analysis
  3. Citations are missing or unclear
  1. Most (but not all) claims in essay are supported by evidence
  2. Use of evidence may be shallow or superficial
  1. All major points are supported with evidence
  2. Evidence is generally used effectively and appropriately in essay
  3. Some uses of evidence may be underdeveloped or incorrect
  1. Essay uses evidence effectively throughout essay
  2. Evidence is used to create complex connections between the author's ideas and the source materials

Structure
  1. Majority of paragraphs don't make a single, clear point that develops the argument
  2. Paragraphs or topic sentences frequently contain too much description, with little or no analysis
  1. Paragraphs generally contribute to the overall argument
  2. Paragraphs may make multiple points or change points mid-paragraph
  3. Some or all topic sentences may be purely descriptive
  4. Logic of essay may occasionally be difficult to follow
  1. Paragraphs generally develop a single point that supports the argument
  2. Some paragraphs may be purely descriptive
  3. Some topic sentences may not summarize point of paragraph
  4. Logic of essay is generally easy to follow
  1. All paragraphs make a single, clear point
  2. All paragraphs begin with a clear, evaluative topic sentence
  3. Logic of the argument is easy to follow throughout the essay

Revision / Process
  1. Revision from conference draft to final draft is effectively nonexistent
  1. Author has made small or superficial changes to individual points
  2. Essay as a whole has not significantly changed or improved
  1. Changes from conference draft to final draft affect essay as a whole
  2. Significant problems or deficiencies in conference draft have all been addressed
  1. Changes from conference draft to final draft significantly improve the use of one or more elements (argument, structure, evidence, etc.)
  2. Overall complexity or strength of argument improves significantly in revision

Clarity
  1. Grammar and/or sentence structure are frequently difficult to understand
  2. Logical connections between sentences are consistently clear
  1. Sentences and overall ideas are generally easy to understand
  2. May have frequent grammar or sentence structure errors
  1. Writing is largely free of grammar or sentence structure errors
  2. Ideas are consistently easy to follow
  3. May have cases of awkward/incorrect phrasing or word choice
  1. Grammar and sentence structure are almost entirely error-free
  2. Writing style is clear, engaging, and consistently appropriate for Discourse of the assignment

Example 4 (Task-Specific, Analytic, Weighted):

Adams State University, Colorado
Assessment of Final Analytical Paper

5: Exceeds Expectations; 0: Does Not Meet Expectations

Analysis: 5 (40 pts) 4 (34 pts) 3 (28 pts) 2 (22 pts) 1 (16 pts) 0 (0 pts)
The paper presents a thorough, accurate analysis of topics such as form, harmonic/melodic content, phrase structure, and motivic use/development. Terms are used correctly, a formal chart is used, and the paper demonstrates a strong understanding of the piece and concepts discussed in class.

Insight/Thesis: 5 (20 pts) 4 (17 pts) 3 (14 pts) 2 (11 pts) 1 (8 pts) 0 (0 pts)
The paper illustrates insightful connections through contrast, comparison, and synthesis. Normative and unusual features of the work are discussed, and comparisons are made between different sections of the piece, other works by the same composer, and/or other works of the same genre/form. The paper is engaging, has a thesis, and is not simply a collection of facts.

Writing/Grammar: 5 (20 pts) 4 (17 pts) 3 (14 pts) 2 (11 pts) 1 (8 pts) 0 (0 pts)

The paper is appropriate in length and contains correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Sentences/paragraphs are well organized and structured. The writing is coherent and expresses ideas clearly.

Organization: 5 (10 pts) 4 (8 pts) 3 (6 pts) 2 (4 pts) 1 (2 pts) 0 (0 pts)

The paper is well organized, presents facts/opinions clearly, and develops facts/opinions coherently. Facts/opinions are presented in a well-organized manner. Thesis/findings are stated clearly in the introduction and are summarized effectively in the conclusion.

Research: 5 (10 pts) 4 (8 pts) 3 (6 pts) 2 (4 pts) 1 (2 pts) 0 (0 pts)

The paper includes pertinent research and historical background, demonstrates strong research skills, uses appropriate sources, and cites effectively. Footnotes and bibliography of sources is included using the Chicago Manual of Style format. See Blackboard for information.

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