Grading Criteria/ Peer Review for ENG 102 Research Paper

E. Johnson, Spring 2007

Writing Process

Were intermediate assignments completed in a timely manner?

Did the student take time to do invention notes that demonstrate analytical thinking?

Was the student prepared for conferences and classes relating to the project?

Does the student’s work demonstrate good use of library resources?

(Bonus) Has the student made good use of Berry Writing Center?

Are all assignments the required length?

Content of paper: Information and Argumentation

Information

Does the student provide all the information that is necessary to understand the history and background of the research topic?

Has the student summarized the information clearly?

Does the student include the right amount of information depending on the importance of each aspect of the topic to the paper’s thesis?

Are there parts of the paper that are irrelevant to the thesis?

How well did the student meet the requirements for the Summary 1 assignment?

How has the student improved the background summary in the revision process?

Argumentation

Does the student give a concise summary of the issue, debate, or problem?

Has the student revised Summary 2 in response to feedback?

Is the student’s position clear or is it vague and ambiguous?

Does the student include sufficient support for his/her position?

Is the support for the argument specific enough, e.g. with concrete examples, or is it too abstract and/or general?

Does the student provide appropriate space (enough but not too much) for voices in opposition?

Does the argument avoid logical fallacies (forthcoming class handout)?

Does the argument make appropriate use of ethos and pathos (forthcoming class handout)?

Organization

Is an analytical thesis clearly stated in the first page of the paper?

Is the background information covered in the first half of the paper?

Are related ideas grouped into paragraphs?

Does each paragraph focus on a specific idea?

Do paragraphs contain information irrelevant to the paragraph topic?

Does the essay develop to deeper levels of analysis as it progresses?

Does the conclusion reiterate why the topic is important without introducing new ideas?

Use of sources

Does the bibliography contain the required number and type of sources?

Is the Works Cited page formatted correctly in MLA format?

Are the parenthetical citations and quotes formatted correctly?

Is all material that is not a) the student’s original idea or b) general knowledge properly attributed to its author/ source?

Does the student choose quotes judiciously so the length and number of quotes is appropriate and the quotes are clearly of value?

Does the student frame the quote by introducing the author and/or relating it to the context?

Has the student demonstrated an understanding of the class readings as they relate to the research topic, and used material from the textbook where relevant?