Evaluation Instrument for Papers and Essays

I. The ideas, the content:

A. does the essay or paper address the topic or fulfill the assignment?

B. is it focused well?

C. does it show evidence of the kind of "critical thinking" skills called for in the assignment, such as abilities in analysis, synthesis, evaluation, problem-solving, etc.?

Click here for link to web page of Foundation for Critical Thinking

D. are the main ideas supported effectively through such aspects as examples, facts and statistics, a reasoning process, testimonial (what others have said), passages from a text(s)?

E. are the ideas developed in adequate depth, detail?

F. Rhetorical considerations - does the writing have . . .

- a clear sense of purpose?
- a clear sense of the audience?
- a clear sense of the expectations of the occasion (if applicable)?

G. Do any of the following words, phrases apply to the way in which the writer has engaged the material:

perceptive? insightful? thoughtful?

reflective? creative? imaginative?

probing? observant? effective reading, interaction with text(s)?

Other:

II. Expression of the ideas

A. Organization - is the essay or paper effectively structured, with such aspects as . . .

1. a clear thesis?
                        2. strong topic sentences?
                        3. clear transitions?
                        4. strong paragraphing?

5. a strong introduction and conclusion?

B. Diction, word choice - is the essay or paper characterized by effective and appropriate diction?

Appropriate vocabulary? Click here for link to freevocabulary.com, with a list of 5,000
"Collegiate Words with Brief Definitions"

              Free of clichés? Click here for list of clichés pooled by ENG 105 class
                        Free of inappropriate slang?
                        Free of inappropriate colloquialisms?

Interesting links regarding words, names, language forms

C. Syntax - sentence structure: is the writing characterized by sentence structure that is

1. sound and varied?

2. free of syntax errors such as . . .

- run-ons?

- fragments?

- faulty modification?

- faulty comparison?

- faulty parallelism?

Other:

D. Punctuation - does writing reveal an awareness of the conventions of punctuation with respect to the following:?

        Periods
                    Commas
                    Semicolons
                    Colons
                    Apostrophes
                           Link to Apostrophe Protection Society
                    Hyphens
                    Dashes
                    Quotation Marks
                    Exclamation marks
                    Question marks
                    Parentheses and Brackets
                    Ellipsis dots
                    Italics, underlining
                    Capitalization
                    Virgule (slash)
                     Positioning of punctuation marks

E. Grammar - does writing demonstrate an understanding and command of such aspects as . . .

- subject-verb agreement?
                        - irregular verbs?
                        - pronoun reference?
                        - pronoun agreement?
                         - proper tense?
                        - proper voice (i.e. active/passive)
                        - Numbers/amounts

- Spelling
                                - Challenges in spelling
                                - Confusion with common homonyms, sound-alike words
                               - More extensive listing of homonyms, words with similar sounds, appearance
                                - Difficult-to-spell "loan" words from other languages

- Other:

F. Tone and voice - does the piece of writing adopt an appropriate attitude towards the subject, audience?

G. Use of sources - if sources are called for . . .
Click here for explanation of basics of using sources, APA or MLA documentation patterns

1. Does the writing show evidence of effective research?
                        2. Is it clear that the writer is aware of what needs to be documented and what doesn't?
                        |Click here for FAQs about plagiarism|
                        3. Does the paper suggest that the writer is aware of principles governing the fair use of sources?
                        4. Does the writer use direct quotes, paraphrase, summary effectively?
                        5. Are cited materials incorporated smoothly into the paper? With appropriate punctuation?

H. Documentation format - if sources are used . . .

1. does the writing reveal a thorough knowledge of APA or MLA documentation format?

Click here for a link to Marian University Reference Manual, Terena Kleckner et al, 2008

Click here for APA documentation formats for different kinds of sources (i.e. on References Page)

Click here for MLA format for Works Cited page [under construction]

I. Manuscript format - is the presentation and appearance appropriate in terms of . . .

1. margins
                        2. pagination
                        3. title page
                        Other:

J. Proofreading - has the paper been proofread adequately?

III. Additional criteria, expectations for specific assignment:

"Meta-Questions" about Good Writing