HISTORICAL SYNTHESIS RUBRIC
OVERALL GOALS
*
OVERALL PROBLEMS
Synthesis of evidence—in outline or paper form—is *
well organized and thoughtfully proceeds from one
point to the next
Synthesis of evidence—in outline or paper form—
does not have clear organizational structure because:

There is no clear thesis statement in
answer to the Broad Historical Question

*
Introduction is clear and concise and presents the *
student’s chosen answer to the Broad Historical
Question within the context of information drawn *
from the 5Ps document description
*
Synthesis of evidence is clearly directed toward the *
student’s chosen answer to Broad Historical
Question
Evidence is chosen from broad variety of primary *
sources and reinforced with secondary-source
information where necessary
*
*
*
Conclusion provides a clear answer—and the *
limitations of the answer—to the Broad Historical
Question.
*
Information does not flow in a logical
manner
Introduction does not clearly present student’s
answer to the Broad Historical Question
Introduction does not include contextual information
from 5Ps necessary to properly situate the reader
Evidence as a whole is not directed toward answering
the Broad Historical Question via support of the
student’s thesis statement
Evidence is chosen from very narrow selection of
primary source and does not represent source as a
whole
Evidence from primary sources is not properly
reinforced by additional information from secondary
sources
Conclusion does not adequately answer the Broad
Historical Question
Conclusion does not state the limitations of the
answer.
Individual Evidence Presentation
Goal
*
*
Possible problem(s)
Analysis of how evidence helps answer Broad *
Historical Question is clearly presented
Analysis of individual evidence is placed in context *
using information from the 5Ps document
description (and from secondary sources where
necessary)
*
*
*
Analysis of individual evidence is accurate and *
historically significant
Analysis of individual evidence is not specifically
directed at the Broad Historical Question
Analysis of individual evidence is not effectively
placed in context using information from 5Ps
document description
Analysis of individual evidence is placed in context
using 5Ps, but chosen context is inaccurate
Analysis of individual evidence needs additional
information from secondary source
Analysis is essentially descriptive / inaccurate / does
not explain historical significance of evidence