Grading Rubric for Papers

I wanted to give you some idea of how your papers will be judged. There will be a maximum of 80 points awarded for the paper, to which I will add the points for your close readings, as well as one point for each grammar exercise turned in, to come up with your total paper grade.

PS - Don't forget, it will reflect poorly on your grade if I cannot read your paper - please use a printer cartridge with enough ink :-)

An “A” paper (72 - 80 points):
Will have few, if any, grammatical/spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors.
Will have a clear and well defined thesis statement, which controversial, provable, and suitably concentrated in focus.
Will use textual evidence and detailed close of multiple passages to conclusively prove argument presented in the thesis statement.
Will not digress or wander off topic. Will stick to discussing the text in body paragraphs. Will not only cite numerous details in specific textual reference, but will also carefully explain relevance of details to thesis argument.
Will be at least 4 double spaced, typed pages.
Will include a correctly formatted works cited page.
Will be in well written, logical, and persuasive prose. Language will be interesting and engaging, not artificially elevated or repetitive. Effectively uses appropriate vocabulary for literary analysis ( i.e. occasional mention of “tone“ as opposed to “feel,” Animal imagery” instead of just “animals,” “Visual or textual medium” instead of “pictures or words”.) Will often use parallel structure in sentence construction.
Will be written in mostly, if not completely, active voice. Will use first and second person sparingly, if at all.

A “B” paper (64 - 71 points):
Will have a relatively small number of grammatical/spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors.
Will have a clear thesis statement, which will be provable, but may be less than controversial, or somewhat too broad in focus.
Will use evidence and close reading to effectively prove argument presented in thesis statement.
Will not digress or wander off topic. Will stick to discussing the text in body paragraphs. Will not only cite details in specific textual reference, but will also explain relevance of details to thesis argument.
Will be at least 4 double spaced, typed pages.
Will include a works cited page with all pertinent information.
Will be in well written, persuasive prose. Language will be interesting, not repetitive. Uses some vocabulary of literary analysis. Will sometimes use parallel structure in sentence construction.
May have some instances of passive voice, but will try to remain in active voice most of the time. Will avoid first and second person, for the most part.

A “C” paper (56 - 63 points):
May have some repeated grammatical/spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors.
Will have a discernible thesis statement, which will be either provable, controversial, or
suitably concentrated in focus.
Will use evidence and close reading to attempt to prove argument presented in thesis statement.
May occasionally digress or wander off topic. Will stick to discussing the text in body paragraphs most of the time. Will cite details in specific textual reference, will attempt to explain relevance of details to thesis argument.
Will be at least 4 double spaced, typed pages.
Will include a works cited page with all pertinent information.
Will be in persuasive prose. Language will be mostly interesting, not artificially elevated, and not repetitive. May misuse some terms, but attempts to use some vocabulary of literary analysis. Will use parallel structure in sentence construction at least once.
May have repeated instances of passive voice, but shows effort to try to remain in active voice some of the time. May use first or second person immoderately.

A “D” or “F” paper (less than 56 points):
May have many repeated grammatical/spelling/punctuation/capitalization errors.
May have no discernible thesis statement, or thesis statement is neither provable, controversial, nor suitably concentrated in focus.
May not use evidence and close reading to prove argument presented in thesis statement.
Often digresses or wanders off topic. Often fails to stick to discussing the text in body paragraphs. Fails to cite details in specific textual reference, fails to explain relevance of details to thesis argument.
Is less than 4 double spaced, typed pages.
May not include a works cited page with all pertinent information.
May continually use language that is artificially elevated or repetitive, or repeatedly use language inappropriate to literary analysis. May repeatedly neglect to construct sentences in parallel form.
May have repeated instances of passive voice, or have repeated use of first or second person, or both.