Graduate & Professional Studies Writing Center


http://www.emu.edu/writing-program/ 

Phone: 540-432-4316

Students in the school of graduate and professional studies on the main campus have access to a dedicated writing center in Ammon Heatwole House, room 202. The center also offers consultations for off-campus and online students, including students on the Lancaster Campus. Visit the center’s website and the links below for more information.

Writing Standards –Graduate Level (revised 2/22/2017)

Criteria

A excellent

B adequate expectations

C below expectations

Comments

Content
(quality of the information, ideas and supporting details)

  • shows clarity of purpose
  • offers depth of content
  • applies insight and represents original thinking
  • follows guidelines for content
  • shows some clarity of purpose
  • offers some depth of content
  • applies some insight and some original thinking
  • mostly follows guidelines for content
  • shows minimal clarity of
    purpose
  • offers minimal depth of content or incorrect content
  • applies minimal insight and original thinking
  • does not follow guidelines for content


Structure
(logical order or sequence of the writing)

  • shows coherence, and logically developed paragraphs
  • uses very effective transitions between ideas and sections
  • constructs appropriate introduction and conclusion
  • shows some coherence and some logically developed paragraphs
  • uses some effective transitions between ideas & sections
  • shows some construction of appropriate introduction and conclusion
  • shows minimal coherence and logically developed paragraphs
  • uses minimal transitions between ideas and sections
  • shows minimal construction of appropriate introduction and conclusion


Rhetoric and Style
(appropriate attention to audience)

  • is concise, eloquent and rhetorically effective
  • effectively uses correct, varied and concise sentence structure
  • is engaging to read
  • writes appropriately for audience and purpose
  • is somewhat concise, eloquent, and rhetorically effective
  • generally uses correct, varied, and concise sentence structure
  • is somewhat engaging to read
  • generally writes appropriately for audience and purpose
  • shows minimal conciseness, eloquence, and rhetorical effectiveness
  • uses incorrect, monotonous or simplistic 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 assignment)

  • uses academic and reliable sources
  • chooses sources from many types of resources
  • chooses timely resources for the topic
  • integrates references and quotations to support ideas fully
  • uses mostly academic and
    reliable sources
  • chooses sources from a moderate variety of types of resources
  • chooses resources with mostly appropriate dates
  • integrates references and quotations to provide some support for ideas
  • lacks academic and reliable sources
  • chooses sources from a few types of resources
  • chooses a few resources with inappropriate dates
  • integrates references or quotations that are loosely linked to the ideas of the paper


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 some feedback given in previous written assignments
  • provides minimal sources for quotations
  • sometimes cites paraphrases correctly and credibly,
  • includes reference page with many errors
  • makes many errors in documentation style
  • makes many errors in formatting
  • lacks incorporation of feedback given in previous written assignments


Conventions
(adherence to grammar rules: usage, spelling and 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 many inaccurate word choices


The weighting of each of the six areas is dependent on the specific written assignment and the teacher's preference.
Plagiarism occurs when one 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).