Collaborative Research Paper (9th grade English) Grading Rubric
Scales
4
10
3.5
9
3
8
2.5
7
2
6
1.5
5
1
4
.5
3
Name: ____________________________________
______ 50 points
Composing
Written Expression
Usage & Mechanics
MLA In-text Citations
MLA Works Cited Page
* Generally unified, all of the parts contribute
to a sharply focused central idea that is
elaborated with key examples, illustrations, &
reasons
* Transitions logically connect the whole
essay within paragraphs makes for an easy
flowing assignment
* Strong organizational plan is apparent.
*Minor organizational lapses do not detract
from meaning.
* Consistent use of point of view
* Sources work together effectively to present
all sides of the topic
* Clearly focused, central idea supported with
key examples, illustrations, reasons, etc.
* Appropriate transitions connect throughout
the essay
* Organizational plan is apparent. Some
organizational lapses do not detract from
meaning
* Consistent point of view with some lapses
into use of 2nd person point of view
* An attempt is made to weave together all
source information to present all sides of the
topic.
* Purposefully crafted message that
causes reader to remember it
* Highly specific word choice and
information creates tone and
enhances voice
* Varied sentence structure creates
rhythm and flow
*Writing contains complete
sentences with little to no errors
*Uses capitalization and
punctuation correctly
*Uses comma rules effectively
to create sentence variety while
avoiding run-ons and fragments
* Uses semi-colons effectively to
create sentence variety while
avoiding run-ons and fragments
*In-text citations are used
throughout the paper with
correct formatting
*Citations are supported
with elaboration or
explanation
* Citations provide relevant,
useful information that
supports the thesis of the
paper
*Contains all sources cited in the paper
* Sources are alphabetized
* Citations properly follow MLA rules
*Variety of sources lead to a welldeveloped, detailed paper
*Evidence of the student’s evaluation of
quality sources can be seen in the types
of sources selected (ie. “.gov” and “.edu”
websites, databases, etc)
* Doesn’t contain any extra information
* Is labeled as the Works Cited page
* On the whole, specific word choice
and information cause message to
be clear
* Occasional vivid, purposeful
language
* Varied sentence structure adds to
writer’s message in some places
* While the writing may contain
some errors in construction,
they do not detract from
meaning or understanding
* Writer makes minor errors
with capitalization and
punctuation
* Uses commas and semicolons with some effectiveness,
but creates minor errors with
run-ons and fragments
*In-text citations are used
throughout most of the
paper with minor errors in
correct formatting
* Citations are supported in
most places with
elaboration or an
explanation
* Citations mostly provide
useful information, though
some restate basic
information and could have
been paraphrased instead
* Contains all sources cited in the paper
* Sources are alphabetized
* Citations attempt to follow MLA rules
* Some sources used show evidence of
the student’s evaluation of the quality of
the source
* Doesn’t contain any extra information
* Is labeled as the Works Cited page
* Student provides some information and
reasoning that suggest little comprehension
or connection with the topic
* Student has ideas and has attempted to
support them with evidence from sources, but
relies heavily on opinion or speculation
* Inconsistent point of view throughout paper
* Source information is present, but ideas are
disjointed or simply listed; lacks a cohesive
connection between all parts of the research
* Weak use of words cause the
message to drift and lack clarity
* Vague words or general
statements flatten tone and voice
* Some sentence variation, but also
awkward construction which may
make the assignment difficult to
read
* Sentence construction errors
detract from the writer’s
message
* Capitalization and
punctuation errors make
content very difficult to
comprehend
* Message is jumbled and
disjointed because of major
grammatical errors
* Major errors with commas
and semi-colons
*Contains some of the sources used in
the paper but is missing others; lists
items not cited in the paper at all.
* Sources are listed in random order
* Citations have major issues with MLA
formatting and are missing key pieces of
information
* Contains irrelevant information or
annotations
* Shows little evidence of an evaluation
of quality sources
* Student provides some information and
reasoning but little evidence of original
thinking
* Student has ideas but has not attempted to
support them with evidence from the sources
*Student can describe the task but has not
begun to attempt an individual response and
is still working to decipher the immediate
significance of the information
* Redundant word choice makes the
essay dull and lacking in “voice”
* Feels repetitive or formulaic
* Major awkward sentence
construction throughout
* General, vague statements
throughout leave the response
feeling like nothing is really ‘said’
only restated or summarized
repeatedly
* Major errors in basic grammar
make the paper nearly
impossible to comprehend
* Run-ons and fragments
detract from the message of the
response and make it hard to
comprehend
*In-text citations are
minimally used and show a
lack of quality sources
*Citations don’t follow MLA
standards in most places
*Citations are dropped into
the paper in most instances
and lack elaboration or
explanation to connect them
to the thesis or topic
sentence
*Huge citations are used in
place of quality analysis and
evidence of original thought
*There are no in-text
citations in the paper
*Most of the material
appears to be cut/pasted
from original sources
without any attempts at
crediting sources.
* Contains few sources or is incomplete
or missing
* Sources are listed in random order
with no regard for the MLA citations
rules for different types of sources
* Contains irrelevant or incorrect
information
* Shows no evidence of an evaluation of
quality sources
Collaborative Research Paper (9th grade English) Grading Rubric
Name: ____________________________________
______ 50 points