A. These requirements are met (Yes or No),
or Essay #1 will not be accepted for grading:
_____Manuscript Preparation:
Final/Revised draft (to
be graded) is typed
/
word-processed
and double-spaced, & prepared in
standard manuscript format
(as directed).
_____Genre
& Topic:
This is an Essay
and a Literacy Narrative. [Competencies #1 & 3]
_____Reference
to at least one Dreams's reading is incorporated into the essay.
[Competencies #4 & 7]
_____Plagiarism
is avoided
through proper in-text and Works Cited citation of Dreams's (and, if
applicable, any other outside) source(s). [Competency #5]
Evaluation
Checklist:
PLUS
= Excellent; CHECK PLUS
= Very good;
CHECK = Satisfactory (but could be improved); CHECK MINUS
= Weak/needs work
Key
Criterion on which Grading will be based:
___Overall, essay's thesis/purpose is effectively achieved
with the targeted college-level audience.
B. Essay Writing, Reading, Analysis Skills (80 points
possible)
Targeted WR 121 Competencies #1, 4, 5,
& 6
[Also
addressed: Competencies #7, 10, & 11]
_____1. TOPIC SCOPE:
Topic focus is neither too broad or too narrow for satisfactory development
within the scope of recommended essay length [Competencies #10 & 11]
_____2. CONTENT, TONE/PERSONA, AUDIENCE: college-level critical
and creative
thinking demonstrated; tone and persona are effective for essay topic, purpose,
& audience; persona, tone, diction convey clear sense of author engagement;
strong awareness of audience is demonstrated: “general”
college-level but "uninformed" audience addressed clearly &
effectively [Competency #4, 11 & 6]
_____3. THESIS/PURPOSE, UNITY
: thesis & purpose
clearly established &/or implied; thesis statement
effectively placed; essay is unified (sticks to the
stated/implied thesis & purpose), supported by integrating timely thesis transitions to connect body points to
essay thesis/purpose; title is effective in previewing essay topic and thesis.
[Competency #1]
_____4. ORGANIZATION & COHERENCE:
Overall, organizational plan/arrangement of ideas is sound, logical, effective;
introduction and conclusion are appropriate to thesis/purpose and effective; internal body paragraph
organization is strong, and paragraphs breaks are logical and
"readable";
reasoning is convincing and logical, with no unacknowledged / unreconciled contradictions; good
coherence, continuity, clarity are maintained in the essay--e.g., through explicit,
accurate
transitions, clear expression, grammatical consistency in
person, tense, pronoun reference, etc. [Competency #1]
_____5. BODY PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT: each body
paragraph presents a clear main idea (explicit or implicit topic sentence) which
unifies the rest of the paragraph; good idea progression (unnecessary restatement and
circling are avoided); effective balance of meaningful
generalization and specific supporting development; specific
development is effective to clarify, support, elaborate,
illustrate, dramatize, make vivid the author’s general points--to
"show" readers what the author means; body points
important to support of thesis/purpose are accorded proportional emphasis &
development, and are well explained/analyzed/interpreted; body content is well selected to achieve the essay purpose/thesis.
[Competency #1, 3, 4, & 7]
C. Style & Grammatical Correctness (20 points possible).
Targeted WR 121 Competencies #6 & 1 ["...conform
to standard edited English"]
_____6. STYLE: Overall,
sentence
style & word choice are clear, effective, sophisticated: e.g.
effective/logical use of emphasis, subordination & coordination (to
distinguish main and subordinate ideas), and parallelism; diction is precise
(clear, accurate, concise); pleasing use of sentence variety & vivid,
fresh diction, etc.
_____7. GRAMMATICAL
CORRECTNESS - Effective editing/proofreading demonstrates command of
Standard Written English (including diction, idiom, syntax): major sentence
errors (esp. fragments, fused/run-on sentences, comma splices) are
avoided; sentence structure & word choice do not hurt clarity and
coherence; strong command of other conventions of grammar, usage, punctuation, and mechanics.
[College Essay
Writing, Reading, & Analysis Skills:]
___Competency 1:
Write essays that use a thesis to establish control over
content; supply relevant and adequate supporting details; employ the
organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, and endings;
and conform to standard edited English.
___Competency 2:
Achieve Competency 1 under time constraints (during the WR 121 final exam),
while conforming to expectations of an assigned topic and of edited English
appropriate for timed writing.
___Competency 3:
Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of expository essay
patterns, such as definition, classification, analysis, problem-solution, and
comparison-contrast.
___Competency 4:
Employ observation; personal experience; active, responsive
reading as the basis for essay content.
___Competency 5:
Employ the responsible use of sources (without plagiarizing) as
the basis for essay content.
___Competency 6:
Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing
rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction, idiom, and syntax.
___Competency 7:
Use critical reading and writing to analyze and synthesize
ideas in an academic writing sample, identifying rhetorical patterns, major
assertions, and supporting details.
[Teamwork, Self-Assessment, Revision &
Editing Skills:]
___Competency 8:
Complete appropriate written critical peer reviews of student
essay drafts, including suggestions for revision and editing.
___Competency 9:
Complete at least one (formal or informal) written review of
the student's own writing strengths and weaknesses, including effective
self-prescriptions for improvement.
[Writing
Process Skills:]
___Competency 10:
Demonstrate,
monitor, and articulate the complete idiosyncratic process that the individual
writer uses to complete an essay, including such steps as invention, thesis
formation, organization, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading.
[Communication
& Rhetorical Analysis Skills]
___Competency 11:
Demonstrate an awareness of a variety of purposes and audiences.
