iRubric: Research Paper Rubric

The essay shows little to no effort to establish a clear argument to an intended audience. The paper does not meet the minimum requirements of the assignment.

The paper does not offer a clear argument to an intended audience, and readers may struggle to understand the purpose of the essay. The essay may fail to meet the expectations of academic readers.

The paper makes a basic argument to a vaguely defined audience, and readers may struggle to see the new dimension or focus offered by the paper. The essay may offer too much summary or may drift too often away from the intended purpose. The paper mostly adopts an appropriate tone for serious, intelligent, educated readers, though at times may fail to develop an effective ethos in the minds of readers.

The paper makes a strong argument to a specific audience, though the argument or sense of audience could be more clearly conveyed. The paper builds a relationship with readers, but may at times forget to convey the importance of the issue to the audience at hand. The paper sustains an argumentative focus throughout the paper, with perhaps only one or two places that start to drift away from the intended purpose. The paper adopts an appropriate tone for serious, intelligent, educated readers.

The paper makes a clear, focused argument to a specific, persuadable audience. The paper extends an ethical, mature, generous relationship with readers. The paper conveys the importance of the issue and avoids drifting from its intended purpose. The paper keeps an argumentative stance, avoiding excessive "reporting" of what's already known. The paper adopts an appropriate tone for serious, intelligent, educated readers.

The essay is missing most required elements of the discussion and rarely offers appropriate evidence to develop parts of the discussion. Nearly all parts of the discussion are in need of additional examples, source material, and analysis.

The paper fails to include all necessary pieces of the argument and may be missing necessary discussion of context, counterargument, major points, or integration of personal experience. Claims are rarely developed with sufficient evidence and analysis.

The paper includes most of the necessary pieces of the argument on a basic level, though some key components may be missing or insufficiently discussed. Personal experience is integrated, though readers may struggle to see the relevance of that experience to the topic. Most claims are supported with evidence, though several parts of the argument need more synthesis of evidence to be persuasive. The balance between evidence and analysis may need improvement.

The paper effectively includes nearly all necessary pieces of the argument, with only one or two minor pieces that could be more fully developed. Personal experience is integrated, though could perhaps be more meaningfully connected to the research topic. All claims are supported with evidence, though one or two places could benefit from additional synthesis of evidence. The paper offers a generally effective balance between source material and the writer's independent thought.

The paper effectively includes all necessary pieces of the argument, including relevant context, counterarguments, and major points. Personal experience is integrated meaningfully to frame the project. All claims are supported with a synthesis of compelling evidence and analysis, offering an effective balance between source material and the writer's independent thought.

The paper does not follow current MLA citation and formatting guidelines. The paper is missing all (or nearly all) elements required by MLA guidelines.

The paper does not adequately follow current MLA citation and formatting guidelines. The paper may be missing several in-text citations and/or a Works Cited page, or may exhibit numerous inconsistencies with MLA format and/or citation.

The paper mostly adheres to current MLA citation and formatting guidelines, including in-text citations and a Works Cited page. Source material is integrated responsibly in most parts of the essay, though there may be scattered inconsistencies in citation practice. The paper may fail to include an image with the paper, or that image may not be connected to the topic.

The paper adheres to current MLA citation and formatting guidelines, including appropriate in-text citations and a properly formatted Works Cited page. Source material is integrated responsibly throughout, taking into account the expectations of academic audiences, with only one or two inconsistencies. At least one image is included in the paper, with appropriate citation practice, though that image may not be as compelling for illustrating the topic as some other choices.

The paper adheres to current MLA citation and formatting guidelines, including appropriate in-text citations for all sources in the paper and a properly formatted Works Cited page. Source material is integrated responsibly throughout, taking into account the expectations of academic audiences. At least one image is included in the paper, with appropriate citation practice.