| Thesis |
Generates a clear, persuasive, and argumentative thesis that effectively guides the entire essay and addresses the prompt comprehensively. |
Provides a thesis that is clear and argumentative but may lack full persuasiveness or comprehensive coverage of the prompt. |
Presents a thesis that is somewhat clear but lacks a strong argumentative stance or does not fully address the prompt. |
Offers a thesis that is unclear or minimally argumentative, failing to address the prompt adequately. |
No thesis is present or the thesis is irrelevant to the prompt. |
| Voice |
Composes writing in a consistently professional and academic voice, enhancing clarity and effectiveness throughout the essay. |
Maintains a mostly professional and academic voice with minor lapses that do not significantly impact clarity. |
Uses an inconsistent voice that occasionally detracts from the clarity and professionalism of the essay. |
Demonstrates a lack of professional and academic voice, significantly impacting the essay’s clarity. |
Fails to use an academic voice, resulting in an unclear and ineffective essay. |
| Argumentative Paragraphs |
Formulates well-structured paragraphs that critically and analytically integrate a variety of sources to effectively support the argument. |
Develops paragraphs that integrate sources and support the argument, though some analysis may be lacking. |
Creates paragraphs with limited integration of sources and analysis, weakening the argument. |
Produces paragraphs with minimal source integration and analysis, failing to support the argument effectively. |
Paragraphs lack integration of sources and analysis, providing no support for the argument. |
| Conventions and Grammar |
Demonstrates a high level of proficiency with English conventions and argumentative structure, with few or no errors. |
Shows good proficiency with conventions and structure, with some errors that do not impede understanding. |
Exhibits basic proficiency with conventions and structure, with errors that occasionally impede understanding. |
Displays limited proficiency with conventions and structure, with frequent errors that impede understanding. |
Lacks proficiency with conventions and structure, with pervasive errors that severely impede understanding. |
| Integration of Sources and Format |
Consistently follows appropriate documentation, citation, and format, enhancing the essay’s credibility. |
Mostly follows appropriate documentation and format, with minor errors that do not detract from credibility. |
Inconsistently follows documentation and format, with errors that detract from the essay’s credibility. |
Rarely follows appropriate documentation and format, significantly detracting from credibility. |
Does not follow appropriate documentation and format, severely impacting the essay’s credibility. |
