Undergraduate Writing Standards

Writing Standards – Undergraduate Level (Grid Version) (revised Fall 2021)


Criteria

A excellent

B good

emerging skills

D to F below expectations;
may be unacceptable

Comments

Content

(quality of the information, ideas and supporting details)

  • shows strong clarity of purpose
  • offers strong depth of content 
  • applies keen insight and represents original thinking
  • follows guidelines for content
  • shows clarity of purpose
  • offers depth of content 
  • applies insight and some original thinking
  • mostly follows guidelines for content
  • shows some clarity of purpose
  • offers some depth of content
  • applies some insight and original thinking
  • somewhat follows guidelines for content
  • shows minimal or no clarity of purpose offers minimal or no depth of content
  • applies minimal or no insight and original thinking
  • does not follow guidelines for content


Structure

(logical order or sequence of the writing)

  • shows strong coherence and logically developed paragraphs
  • uses highly effective transitions between ideas and sections
  • constructs highly  appropriate introduction and conclusion
  • shows coherence and some logically developed paragraphs
  • uses effective transitions between ideas and sections
  • shows appropriate introduction and conclusion 
  • shows some coherence and logically developed paragraphs
  • uses some transitions between ideas and sections
  • shows some construction of appropriate introduction and conclusion
  • shows minimal or no coherence and logically developed paragraphs
  • uses minimal or no transitions between ideas and sections
  •  shows minimum or no construction of appropriate introduction and conclusion


Rhetoric and Style

(appropriate attention to audience)

  • is highly concise, eloquent and rhetorically effective
  • effectively uses correct, varied, and concise sentence structure 
  • is engaging to read
  • writes highly appropriate prose for audience and purpose
  • is concise, eloquent, and rhetorically effective
  • generally uses correct, varied, and concise sentence structure
  • is somewhat engaging to read
  • writes appropriate prose for audience and purpose
  • is somewhat conciseness, eloquence, and rhetorical effectiveness
  • uses some correct, varied, and concise sentence structure
  • is minimally engaging to read
  • generally writes appropriate prose for audience and purpose
  • shows minimum or no conciseness, eloquence, or rhetorical effectiveness
  • uses little to no correct, varied, and concise sentence structure 
  • is not engaging to read
  • lacks appropriate writing for audience and purpose
  • uses inappropriate jargon and clichés


Information Literacy

(locating, evaluating, and using effectively the needed information as appropriate to the assignment)

  • uses strong academic and other reliable sources
  • chooses sources from many types of resources
  • chooses timely resources for the topic
  • fully integrates references and quotations to support ideas
  • uses academic and other reliable sources
  • chooses sources from a variety of types of resources
  • chooses resources with mostly appropriate dates
  • integrates references and quotations to provide some support for ideas
  • uses mostly academic  and some unreliable sources
  • chooses sources from a moderate variety of resources
  • chooses a few resources with inappropriate dates
  • integrates references or quotations that are loosely linked to the ideas of the paper
  • uses a few or no academic sources and uses unreliable sources
  • chooses  sources that are not varied, mostly  from one type of source
  • chooses many resources with inappropriate dates
  • uses disconnected references and quotations and does not support ideas


Source Integrity

(appropriate acknowledgment of sources used in research)

  • correctly cites sources for all quotations 
  • cites paraphrases correctly and credibly
  • includes reference page
  • makes virtually no errors in documentation style
  • makes virtually no errors in formatting
  • incorporates feedback given in previous written assignments
  • correctly cites sources for most quotations
  • usually cites paraphrases correctly and credibly
  • includes reference page with some errors
  • makes some errors in documentation style
  • makes some errors in formatting
  • incorporates  most   feedback given in previous written assignments

  • provides sources for all quotations without correctly citing them
  • sometimes cites paraphrases correctly and credibly 
  • includes reference page with many errors
  • makes many errors in documentation style
  • makes many  errors in formatting
  • incorporates some  feedback given in previous written assignments
  • lacks sources for all quotations
  • lacks correctly and credibly cited paraphrases
  • shows little to no evidence of source usage
  • includes no reference page or an extremely weak one  
  • entirely lacks correct documentation style
  • lacks correct formatting
  • incorporates little to no feedback given in previous written assignments


Conventions

(adherence to grammar rules: usage, spelling & mechanics of Standard Edited English or SEE)

  • makes virtually no errors in SEE conventions
  • makes accurate word choices
  • makes some errors in SEE conventions
  • almost always makes accurate word choices
  • makes many errors in SEE conventions
  • makes some inaccurate word choice
  • lacks appropriate SEE conventions 
  • makes many inaccurate word choices

he weighting of each of the five areas is dependent on the specific written assignment and the teacher’s preference. Plagiarism occurs when a person presents as one’s own “someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source” (adapted from Council of Writing Program Administrators). 





Grade