General Education Learning Outcome (GELO) for English Composition (EC)
General Education Area 4A
4A GELO EC 1: Students will be able to write a college-level research paper that shows ability to use quotations correctly, follows
the conventions of MLA format and of standard written English, and shows adequate topic development.
Assessment Method: Assessment will be done department wide in even-numbered years in the spring semester, in March.
Each instructor will submit the first six research papers from their fall English 1A sections to the department coordinator. The
coordinator will code the papers and black out student and instructor names. The entire department will take a day in March to
evaluate the papers using a rubric which assesses how the student does in five categories: MLA format; use of quotations; citations;
works cited list; and writing. Each category will be assessed on a scale of 1-4, with 4 being high. Anonymous results for individual
instructors will be compiled, distributed, and discussed.
Evaluation Rubric for late-semester English 1A research papers
No Evidence (1)
Rubric for Assessment of GELO EC 1
Inadequate Evidence
Adequate Evidence (3)
(2)
Clear Evidence (4)
Quotations
and
summaries
The essay almost never employs
quotations and/or summaries
correctly to support claims. Quotes
or summaries may be “dropped”
into the paper without proper lead
ins or lead-in punctuation. They are
integrated with insufficient context,
making it difficult for the reader to
decipher who is speaking, what the
person’s credentials are, etc.
Quotes may be poorly chosen and
contribute little to the argument.
Or, source material may simply be
absent.
The essay sometimes (up to half the
time) employs quotations and/or
summaries correctly to support
claims. Quotes or summaries may
be “dropped” into the paper without
proper lead ins or lead-in
punctuation, but at least half the
time, this is handled correctly. In
up to half the instances, quotes or
summaries are integrated with
sufficient context. In these
instances, quotes are mostly well
chosen and contribute to the
argument.
The essay almost always employs
quotations and/or summaries
correctly to support claims. Quotes
or summaries are virtually never
“dropped” into the paper without
proper lead ins or lead-in
punctuation, but almost always, this
is handled correctly. Quotes or
summaries are almost always
integrated with sufficient context.
Quotes are mostly well chosen and
contribute to the argument.
The essay employs quotations and/or
summaries correctly to support claims.
Quotes or summaries are all carefully
brought into the paper, with proper lead
ins and lead-in punctuation. Quotes or
summaries are well chosen and are all
integrated with sufficient context. The
source materials contribute to the overall
tone and authority of the paper.
MLA
manuscript
format
The essay does not use MLA
manuscript format.
The essay has 4 or more variances
from standard MLA manuscript
format.
The essay has 3 or fewer variances
from standard MLA manuscript
format.
The essay has no variances from MLA
manuscript format.
Revised 9/8/10
MLA Citation
The essay consistently fails to
employ the MLA system of
parenthetical source citations
correctly if at all. Its Works Cited
page is missing, or if present, it
contains many major formatting
errors.
The essay employs the MLA system
of parenthetical source citations, but
generally does so unevenly and/or
incorrectly, clearly demonstrating
an incomplete knowledge of the
basic conventions of MLA citation
and of the connection between intext citations and Works Cited
entries. Its Works Cited page
contains many minor errors and
occasional major formatting errors.
The essay employs the MLA system
of parenthetical source citations
with sufficient correctness, clearly
demonstrating an adequate
knowledge of the basic conventions
of MLA citation and of the
relationship between in-text
citations and the Works Cited
entries. It may still demonstrate
some punctuation errors in the
citations or some difficulty with
less-common citation types. Its
Works Cited page is adequately
formatted, with only minor errors.
The essay employs the MLA system of
parenthetical source citations with nearly
complete correctness. Its Works Cited
page is adequately formatted, with few or
no errors.
Conventions
of Written
English
Mark the paper as a “1” if there are
five or more, combined, major and
minor errors per page.
Mark the paper as a “2” if there are
four or more minor errors per page
and three major errors per page.
Mark the paper as a “3” if there are
no more than three minor errors and
no more than two major errors per
page.
Mark the essay as a “4” if there are no
more than two minor errors and one
major error per page.
Thesis and
Argument
Development
The essay lacks a thesis and logical
supporting evidence.
The essay has a thesis that is too
broad and unfocused, and/or the
thesis is not an assertion dealing
with a debatable topic. Essay’s
development is weak because the
supporting evidence is not
adequately relevant, detailed and/or
logical. Sources are poorly chosen,
limited and/or not utilized in an
appropriate manner. The essay may
simply be a report.
The essay has a thesis that is narrow
and focused enough to adequately
cover. The thesis makes some form
of an assertion dealing with a
debatable topic. The thesis is
adequately developed with
supporting evidence that is
sufficiently relevant, detailed and
logical. Sources are generally wellchosen for their appropriateness and
credibility and are suitably utilized
as proof for the thesis.
The essay has a thesis that is narrow and
focused. The thesis is an assertion on a
debatable topic and is effectively
developed with supporting evidence that
is relevant, detailed and logical. Sources
are well-chosen and effectively utilized
as proof for the thesis.
Passing grade: a score of 3 or above (out of 4) on all five categories.
Revised 9/8/10