Evaluation: Out-of-Class Essay #1

Evaluation: (Out of Class) Essay #1        Name:_____________________________
Worth: 15% of Course Grade
WR 121, Prof. C. Agatucci, Fall 2002                                               ___ Submitted Late: ½ Grade Penalty
    ___ Submitted on time: Revision Option available: Original graded Essay #1 must be resubmitted with Optional Revision for regrading.
I. BASIC REQUIREMENTS are met (Yes or No):
___1. Manuscript Preparation: Final draft is typed/word-processed, double-spaced, & standard manuscript format used for heading, running page headers, margins, font/point size, etc.
___2. Genre: This is a non-fiction, expository essay controlled by a clear thesis/purpose
___3. & 4. Topic Scope & Essay Length: Topic focus is neither too broad or too narrow for satisfactory development within scope of recommended essay length: 3-to-5 typed, double-spaced pages-- 750 to 1000 words--not counting Works Cited page at the end of your essay
___5. At least one print source cited & Plagiarism is avoided: correct in-text citation of summary, quotation, and/or paraphrase; complete MLA-style bibliographical entry for source/s cited given in Works Cited (on separate last page of essay).

__LEARNING OUTCOME 4: Employ one or more sources responsibly (without plagiarizing)…

II. ESSAY WRITING SKILLS on Free-Choice Topic (80 points possible):______________
___Content, Author Engagement, Audience: college-level critical/creative thinking demonstrated (e.g. imaginative treatment, insightful analysis, relevant issues/complexity explored, does not oversimplify or ignore contradictions); clear sense of author engagement & topic knowledge; strong sense of audience: author is writing to communicate with targeted & general (incl. “uninformed”) college-level readers.

___LEARNING OUTCOME 1: Write essays that [A] use a thesis to establish control over content;
[B] supply relevant and adequate supporting details drawn from observation, personal experience and reading; [C] employ organizational strategies of effective beginnings, transitions, and endings; . . .

___A. Title, Thesis/Purpose, Unity: thesis & purpose clearly established (or implied) & well placed; essay is unified by (sticks to) stated/implied thesis & central purpose, timely thesis transitions integrated to connect body points to essay thesis; effective title forecasts topic focus/thesis/theme.
___B. Body Paragraph Structure & Development: each body paragraph presents a clear main idea (explicit/implicit topic sentence) unifying 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 overall essay purpose/thesis.
___Well-selected citation is incorporated smoothly and grammatically correctly into essay - using ellipses, brackets, block quotation if applicable. Commentary accompanies citation to interpret/explain its relevance to student’s essay/point.
___C. 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; strong coherence, continuity, clarity maintained in the essay--e.g., through explicit, accurate transitions, clear expression, grammatical consistency in person, tense, pronoun reference, etc.

LEARNING OUTCOME 3 Demonstrate ability to use a variety of expository essay patterns . . . This Essay uses these strategies of development: _________________________________

___LEARNING OUTCOME 1 Write essays that . . . conform to standard edited English.
___LEARNING OUTCOME 5 Demonstrate, in an essay, a sustained style employing rhetorically effective tone, persona, diction [Word Choice], idiom, and syntax [Sentence Structure].