Honors Cup Lab Report Grading Rubric
Section ________
Name: _________________
(A) Physical Presentation of the Report (10)
(10) The report is very organized, clear separation of topics, references neat, well-labeled spectra/figures
(8) Report well organized but exceed the content necessary to make point
(6) Lacking clarity in schemes or figures; arguments hard to follow; hard work to find information
(3) The report has incomplete organization; missing information; very poorly labeled figures/spectra
Score: ______
(B) Introduction/Purpose (12) (<1 page including reaction scheme)
What and why (what makes it interesting?)
(12) The report relates the chemistry to a purpose; contains overall synthesis; why the writer as an individual and
why the world should be interested is clearly stated.
(10) Too vague; purpose lacking in quality
(9) The report is weak in one of the above areas
(6) The report is weak in two or more of the above areas
(3) The report has no sense of purpose; hard to determine the what and why
Score: ______
When a step is not complete as much information as possible should be included. When appropriate, some
or all of the points for an incomplete step should be distributed evenly among those that were completed.
(C) Experimental Procedures (36 total) ( < 1 page each)
For each step, include the procedure that you would submit to a journal (your final, best procedure including work
up and characterization) written as it would appear in an ACS journal (use any JACS or JOC paper as a
reference.) Be sure to put the procedure in your own words even if you ended up essentially using a literature
procedure (cite it properly.) You will have your own work-up and characterization data to include. Remember for
an ACS journal, the characterization of a compound includes but is not limited to physical description, yield,
melting point, the λmax for UV-Vis, only important peaks from the IR, and all 1H NMR peaks (with integration,
splitting, etc.).
(12) Procedures are written as authentic, journal-style experimental text; complete
(10) Minor errors in description, length, or characterization details
(8) Missing reference or characterization data
(6) Missing multiple references or characterization data
(2) Procedures are incomplete in a way that something is missing or misleading
Step1 : ______; Step 2: ______; Step 3:______
(D) Results: Characterization of Intermediates and Target (36 total) (1 page text each)
Did you make what you were trying to make? Are all intermediates and targets fully characterized? Is all spectra
data accounted for? Refer to appropriate tables and labeled spectra.
(12) Concise, organized argument for and analysis of target. Good decisions for methods of characterization and
inclusion of referenced data. All ambiguities accounted for.
(10) Missing minor details or reference data; or better confirmation could be achieved through further
characterization
(7) Poor characterization decision or reference data missing; ambiguities glossed over
(4) Conclusions limited to the data or precedent alone; ambiguities poorly addressed; very poor characterization
decisions
Step1: ______; Step 2: ______; Step 3:______
(E) Analysis of Proposed Procedure and Discussion of how you dealt with it. (36 total) (<2 pages per step)
How did the proposed procedure compare to what you found in lab? What unexpected problems arose and how did
you handle them? (Be concise!) Was this step of the proposal well designed based on your success (or lack there
of) in lab? Note: This is not a venue to vent or complain. Keep it factual; leave emotional judgments out of your
writing.
(12) Writer took logical and positive steps towards overcoming any challenges. Excellent and efficient use of
resources on lab time. Sound reasoning and precedent used to master transformation. Clear analysis of proposal’s
achievement of objectives.
(10) Slightly emotional response; adequate use of resources and time; responses to challenges less thoughtful
(7) Less concise; overly emotional or showing lack of responsibility for use of time and resources
(4) Poor use of resources and response to challenges; shallow analysis of proposal
(1) In appropriate analysis or use of time
Step1 : ______; Step 2: ______; Step 3:______
(F) Summary and Conclusions (20) (1.5 pages total)
(20) Summary succinctly states achievement of target with note on method origin. (Example: Step 1
was achieved but only after altering the literature workup…step two proceeded smoothly as reported in
the literature with a 50% yield….1-2 sentences for each step.) Include the yield for each step and an
overall yield. In your conclusions clearly state what was accomplished and what lessons were learned.
(15) Lacking in succinctness or missing a minor point
(12) Inappropriate length or missing major point
(9) Missing most of either the summary or conclusions
(5) Inappropriate length and missing information on two or more steps.
Score: ______
Attendance and Participation ____/10
Total: _____/150