ESSAY #4 GRADING PROFILE
ARGUMENTATIVE/PERSUASIVE RESEARCH PAPER: ISSUES AND ETHICS
NAME: ____________________________________________ GRADE: _________ / ___________
ESSAY EVALUATION CRITERIA CATEGORIES
 Content, Quality and Use of Sources, and Argumentative Structure and Strategies: 55%
1. Content (18 % of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
18 17
16 15
Adequate (C)
14 13
Needs improvement (D)
12 11 10 9
2. Quality and use of sources in-text as evidence and development (22 % of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
Adequate (C)
Needs improvement (D)
22 21
20 19
18 17
16 15 14 13
3. Organization of argument and argumentative strategies (15 % of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
Adequate (C)
Needs improvement (D)
15 14
13 12
11 10
9 8 7

Unacceptable (F)
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Unacceptable (F)
12 11 10 9 8 7
6 5 4 3 2 1
Unacceptable (F)
6 5 4 3 2 1
Sentences, Diction (word choice and usage), Tone, Punctuation, Mechanics, and Formatting: 45%
4. Sentences (15 % of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
15 14
13 12
Adequate (C)
11
Needs improvement (D)
10 9 8 7
Unacceptable (F)
6 5 4 3 2 1
5. Diction and tone (12 % of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
Adequate (C)
12 11
10 9
8
Needs improvement (D)
7 6 5 4
Unacceptable (F)
3 2 1
6. Punctuation, capitalization, and manuscript mechanics of body of essay (8% of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
Adequate (C)
Needs improvement (D)
Unacceptable (F)
8 7
6
5
4 3
2 1
7. Format of final project: title page, outline, essay, and works cited page (10% of grade)
Excellent (A)
Good (B)
Adequate (C)
Needs improvement (D)
Unacceptable (F)
10
9
8
7
6 5 4 3 2 1
_____ TOTAL POINTS EARNED IN ABOVE CATEGORIES
_____ This essay was submitted late (-10).
_____ This essay is missing one or more required parts of the research and writing process: list of possible topics,
research schedule, research proposal, hard copies of all sources used in the essay, rough draft with editing marks,
and self/peer critique page. (No marked rough draft and/or no sources = F/50.)
_____ This essay is missing the required outline (-10 points).
_____ This essay is missing the required MLA works cited page with a minimum of three entries (-30).
_____ This essay does not meet the minimum standards for acceptance in academic or business communities due to
numerous word form and/or sentence errors, major problems with content and/or organization, and/or severe
problems with MLA in-text/works cited documentation (grade of F/50).
_____ This essay contains plagiarized material and receives a grade of 0/F with no opportunity to revise.
_____ TOTAL NUMERIC GRADE
_____ FINAL LETTER GRADE
(The full grading profile with descriptions of all grade categories is on our Learning Web under Essay #4.)
English 1301 Grading Profile for Argumentative/Persuasive Research Paper, Lindemann
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