Adapted from various writing rubrics

Your goal is to craft essays and research papers that meet the three "C"s of outstanding composition. These goals are to write papers that are correct, clear, and concise. Papers must be typed, double-spaced, stapled, and employ professional margins (1") and fonts (12 point). Papers should always have a thoughtful title that conveys what the paper is about. Papers should always use some accepted style of attribution. Often, professors prefer particular attribution styles so it is always wise to find out what the professor's preference is. Stay within the maximum word or page count to have the best chance of earning full credit, or ask the professor is you may extend the maximum word or page count if you feel it is necessary to do so. Assuming that you've met the basic requirements for each paper, full credit depends upon excellence along these criteria:

• Your paper is grounded in a wide range of sources, possibly including book, monographs, government documents, scholarly journals, periodicals, magazines, news sources and quality internet resources. For final projects, a wide range of sources offering different views and perspectives about the topic you are researching will help you form a more sophisticated and complete set of ideas and arguments from which to develop your paper. Classroom notes should offer background to your research, but do not count as cited evidence.

• Your paper is well organized. Dedicate your first paragraph or two to an attention-grabbing introduction and thesis which offers a clear forecast of what your paper will examine. Successive paragraphs must develop major points and develop seamless transitions that help the reader understand how you are developing your paper's main theme. Your final paragraphs should offer a succinct review of your paper's main arguments, juxtaposed with a well reasoned, thought provoking conclusion that demonstrates why your argument or point of view has value.

• Your paragraphs are well structured, logically organized, and packed with information. The first sentence of a paragraph is the topic sentence and it introduces the idea the paragraph will develop. Pay very close attention to your topic sentences, ensuring that they relate to your paper's theme or, if you are developing a particular section or part of your theme, the main point of that particular section. If possible, can you relate the ideas already developed in previous paragraphs to this next paragraph? After the opening sentence of a new paragraph, the next few sentences offer support and clarity to the idea presented in the opening sentence. The concluding paragraph should reiterate the main point of the paragraph in a way that helps the reader recognize how the paragraph helps further explain what you have already written about. Also, keep in mind that short journalistic style paragraphs, as well as paragraphs lasting a page or more, risk the appearance of being poorly developed.

• Your paper should be free of clichés (such as "Don't have a cow, man"), along with errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Use one of the newer word processors that offer spell and grammar-check. Try to figure out efficient ways to write sentences. Can you reduce three or four words into one or two to make the sentence less lengthily? Also, feel free to share your draft with a anyone to get advice. A wonderful tip is to have someone, or yourself, read the paper out loud so you can hear what your sentences and ideas sound like. You will be amazed how obvious writing errors are when you hear them read out loud.

• carefully follow both the general and any individual guidelines given by the instructor

• fall close to the maximum number of word-processed, double-spaced pages allowed for this essay/report

• are written in standard English, at an upper division college level, with complete sentences and appropriately developed paragraphs

• are free of redundancies, and errors in spelling and grammar

• make appropriate use of proper terminology and concepts

• develop each of the main ideas in a clear and logical fashion so as to give an integrated picture of their relationships; include insightful interpretation that goes beyond the obvious

• develops smooth transitions from one concept to the next so as to provide flow and avoid choppy writing

• cover all of the major aspects of the assignment without going off track or padding

• are turned in on or before the deadline

• show less care in following guidelines

• have a few lapses in good writing

• use terms and concepts with less than full clarity about their meanings and relationships

• some transitions between topics are unclear or ineffective; essay feels choppy in one or more places

• show some tendency to go off track, pad the paper or have redundancies

• show minimal care in following guidelines

• have more than a few lapses in good writing

• use terms and concepts in an undefined manner with an ambiguous description of their relationships

• writing lacks flow, transitions between concepts not always effective

• go off track, pad the paper or have redundancy in at least one instance

• show no care in following guidelines

• have numerous lapses in good writing

• do not use terms and concepts in a clear manner and with no plausible description of their relationships

• writing lacks flow because transitions are not apparent or ineffective

• frequently wonder off track, pad the paper or have redundancies