Graduate Writing Standards

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

Criteria	A excellent	B adequate expectations	C below expectations
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).