Topic is inappropriate to assignment, inaccurate understanding of concepts, unclear and difficult to understand; does not address many assignment requirements. Information has weak or no connection to the assignment topic.

Topic is mostly covered and appropriate to assignment, but does not adequately demonstrate accurate understanding of concepts; mostly clear and understandable; lacks some of the requirements of the assignment description and/or provides little detail; Information relates to the main topic, but few details and/or examples are given.

Topic is covered completely and appropriate to assignment; overview of key concept dimensions is evident; clear and understandable; addresses all of the requirements of the assignment description, with adequate attention to detail.

In-depth coverage of topic; outstanding clarity and explanation of concepts demonstrated in information presented; approaches assignment with depth and breadth, without redundancy, using clear and focused details.

/ 30

Organization is confusing and interferes with reader’s ability to follow ideas.  Weak or no introduction of topic or purpose is unclear, weak, or missing. Conclusion lacks a summary of topic, or is missing or irrelevant.

Ideas are sometimes disorganized or irrelevant; Flow is sometimes choppy; somewhat clear organization. Basic introduction that states topic but is presented in an uninteresting way. Conclusion contains basic summary of topic without final concluding ideas, may inappropriately introduces new information.

Structures ideas in a coherent, organized order that has good flow and an obvious framework.  Proficient introduction that is interesting and states topic.  Conclusion contains good summary of topic with credible concluding ideas and introduces no new information.

Exceptionally clear, logical, mature, and thorough organization permitting smooth flow of ideas; Introduction that grabs interest of reader and states topic in clear, unambiguous terms.  Excellent concluding summary with succinct and precise ideas that impact reader.

/ 25

Demonstrates little logical reasoning for the claims and thoughts within assignment; Many claims are weak or illogical.

Lacks some logical reasoning for the claims and thoughts within the assignment; Some claims are weak.

Uses solid logical reasoning for the claims and thoughts within the assignment.

Provides exemplary logical reasoning for the claims and thoughts within the assignment.

/ 15

Lacks support; Uses poor sources for references; Citations lack credibility, relevance, or academic quality or are not current; Does not meet the minimum number of required citations in assignment description.  APA format and style are not evident.

Provides weak support or not enough support; Citations are not consistently credible, current, relevant or academic; Meets the minimum number of required citations in assignment description   Missing APA elements; in-text citations, where necessary, are used but formatted inaccurately and not referenced.

Provides sufficient support with credible, current, relevant academic citations; Meets the minimum number of required citations in assignment description. ; In-text citations and a reference page are present with few format errors. Mechanics of writing are reflective of APA style.

Provides very strong support from credible, current, relevant, academic citations; Meets or exceeds the minimum number of required citations in assignment description.  Accurate citations and references are presented. No APA errors are evident.

/ 20

Style and voice inappropriate or do not address given audience, purpose, etc. Word choice is excessively redundant, clichéd, and unspecific. Inconsistent grammar, spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing. Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning.

Style and voice are somewhat appropriate to given audience and purpose. Word choice is often unspecific, generic, redundant, and clichéd. Repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language, sentence structure, and/or word choice are present.

Style and voice are appropriate to the given audience and purpose. Word choice is specific and purposeful, and somewhat varied throughout. Minimal mechanical or typographical errors are present, but are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are used.

Style and voice are not only appropriate to the given audience and purpose, but also show originality and creativity. Word choice is specific, purposeful, dynamic and varied. Free of mechanical and typographical errors. A variety of sentence structures and effective figures of speech are used. Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English.

/ 10