Grading Rubric
Characteristics of the Essay
Addresses the topic entirely and relevantly, assesses arguments with clarity, superior command of the concepts
and logical structures, explores all possibilities with regards to interpreting and evaluating the argument,
responds to the strongest objections skillfully, and has a unique and insightful approach. Paper is exceptionally
well-organized, coherent, cohesive, and entirely free from grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors. Proper
citation is used, length requirement is met, and the writing style reflects superb appreciation and understanding of
syntactic variation, vocabulary, and paragraph structure
Addresses the topic entirely and relevantly, assesses arguments with clarity, strong command of the concepts and
logical structures, explores most possibilities with regards to interpreting and evaluating the argument, responds
to the strongest objections competently, and may or may not have a unique and insightful approach. Paper is wellorganized, coherent, cohesive and mostly free from grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors. Proper
citation is used, length requirement is met, and the writing style reflects an appreciation and understanding of
syntactic variation, vocabulary, and paragraph structure.
Addresses the topic entirely, generally assesses arguments with clarity, strong command of the concepts and
logical structures, explores at least some of the possibilities with regards to interpreting and evaluating the
argument, responds to most of the strongest objections adequately, and may or may not have a unique and
insightful approach. Paper is well-organized, coherent, cohesive, and may contain several grammatical, spelling,
and typographical errors, but not enough to obstruct meaning. May contain a minor misunderstanding of a minor
point, but exhibits an adequate understanding of the main themes and arguments. Proper citation is used,
although it might be inconsistent or awkward (such as incorrect or too lengthy in-text citation), length
requirement is met, and the writing style may or may not reflect an appreciation and understanding of syntactic
variation, vocabulary, and paragraph structure.
Addresses most if not the entire topic, assessment of arguments is apparent, but may be unclear at times or might
not demonstrate a strong command of the concepts and logical structures, might misconstrue at least one
important argument. Might ignore or fail to adequately respond to an important objection. Paper is fairly wellorganized, but might exhibit incoherent structure at times, and contains several grammatical, spelling, and
typographical errors, sometimes such that meaning is obstructed. Missing citations or inconsistent citations. Paper
may fall slightly short of length requirement, and the writing style is generally simple and unvaried.
Addresses at least part of the topic, assessment of arguments is apparent, but is unclear and does not demonstrate
a strong command of the concepts and logical structures. Misconstrues most of the philosophical concepts,
themes, or ideas. Ignores or does not respond to major objections. Paper might be unorganized and have
incoherent structure at times, and contains grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors, such that meaning is
often obstructed. Citation is either inconsistent or ignored altogether. Paper is either too short or response is
chiefly irrelevant, and the writing style is generally simplistic and unvaried.
Does not address the topic, or addresses it irrelevantly, there is either no real assessment of arguments, or the
assessment suggests a gross misunderstanding of the concepts and logical structures. Paper is unorganized and
has incoherent structure often, and contains copious grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors, such that the
meaning is often obstructed. Ignores or inadequately responds to objections. Citation is either entirely
inconsistent or ignored altogether. Paper is either too short or response is chiefly irrelevant and the writing style
is generally simplistic and unvaried.
Does not address the topic or addresses it irrelevantly, no real assessment of arguments is apparent but instead, a
gross misunderstanding of the concepts and logical structures is used to assert claims wildly and without any
evidence of critical thinking. Paper is unorganized and has incoherent structure, and contains copious
grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors, such that meaning is often obstructed. Citation is inconsistent or
absent. Paper is either too short or response is chiefly irrelevant, and writing style is simplistic and unvaried.
Papers receiving a score of 10-30 had one or more of the following problems:
Topic was entirely ignored or answered irrelevantly. There was no evidence of utilization of critical thinking skills,
concepts, and logic acquired in class. No reference to texts used in class, length requirement was grossly unmet,
and paper is largely incoherent.
No paper was received or paper was plagiarized
Score
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
10-30
0