Anticipated the needs of your
audience:
--Developed an effective introduction & conclusion
--Remembered that your audience is not familiar with your reaction / background or text(s)
--Summarized or described the
material as needed & provided essential background information
Articulated and developed a
strong thesis:
--Made sure that your essay has an organizing principle
--Developed a focused argument that explores, analyzes & explains your response to a text
Organized your analysis
effectively:
--Organized your paragraphs
clearly & effectively
--Selected an overall
"outline" structure that works with your thesis
Written balanced paragraphs that
are fully developed & well-organized:
--Crafted effective, assertive
topic sentences that introduce each paragraph
--These assertions should support,
extend, complicate and develop your thesis
--Balanced evidence & analysis
--Used summary & description as evidence to support & extend your
assertions
--Used well-integrated,
and properly cited quotations from the text(s) as evidence
--Used description of your background & personal
narrative as evidence
--Explained how this evidence supports your points;
i.e., explained your reasoning
Analyzed your reaction to the
text(s) in terms of your personal experiences
--Explained what your response
to the text is in a thoughtful & sensitive manner
--Shown some pattern(s) in the text that triggers these responses
--Discussed how
or why these textual elements resonate meaningfully with who you are –
simply
describing your response and then
talking about the text is not sufficient
--Remembered that who you are will
affect your response, but that reading texts can also affect
who you are!
Demonstrated the ability to
effectively incorporate primary sources in your essay
--Effectively framed,
incorporated & cited quotations & paraphrase per MLA style
--Attached a correct and complete Works Cited page.
Become conscious of distracting
patterns of writing errors & corrected them!
--Constructed complete sentences;
Avoided awkward constructions; Used the active voice
--Employed correct punctuation;
Employed correct grammar; Varied sentence type
In addition to the above, this B
paper shows:
--A clearer sense of the needs
of readers in the academic discourse community
--A logical organization that goes
beyond the list approach
--A more sophisticated &
specific analysis of your reaction & the text
--Interesting & effective use of
personal narrative & description of experience
--Expression on the sentence level
that is not only clear but fluent
--Generally correct attempts to meet
documentation/citation requirements
In addition to the above, this A
paper shows:
--An outstanding anticipation of
the needs of readers in the academic discourse community
--An insightful & sensitive
analysis & exploration of your reaction through specifics elements of
your
own experience and the text.
--A strong conclusion or discussion
that helps the reader understand why this topic matters
--Mastery of documentation
requirements
--Sentence level style that is not
only correct & fluent, but that makes the essay more engaging
This D paper has one or more of
the following serious problems:
--Lack of awareness of the needs
& expectations of readers in the academic community
--Insufficient analysis of the
relationship of between your response, background & the text
--Inconsistent or confusing pattern
of organization
--Confusing or inadequate evidence,
examples, logic or other rhetorical strategies
--Confusion over documentation
requirements
--Confusing or awkward expression on
the sentence level
--Distracting patterns of error