Refer to the General Grading Rubric for a breakdown of grades. Specific guidelines for this assignment include:
• Clearly articulates a thesis that expresses a firm position on the topic.
• Acknowledges opposing arguments and refutes them using solid, research-based evidence.
• Demonstrates a strong stance on a debatable topic while using an objective academic tone.
• Makes legitimate claims that are backed with solid, research-based evidence rather than personal testimony, personal interview, or mere conjecture.
• Effectively incorporates source material (including direct quotations) and provides thoughtful analysis of the selected evidence. Source material is documented and properly directly quoted, summarized, or paraphrased. A variety of source integration (direct quote, paraphrase, and summary) is included! All source should include source introduction (According to… or So and so states…).
• Includes a properly formatted Works Cited page and uses internal documentation appropriately. In-text citations and matching works cited entries are precise and accurate.
• Exhibits improvement between drafts, is carefully proofed, and displays the author’s effort to implement suggestions from previous coursework. Assignments that do not meet minimum assignment requirements will not receive a passing grade. *As always, the paper should be the appropriate length, formatted according to MLA standards, and submitted on time. Final drafts should be uploaded to the submission link in Blackboard AND to turnitin.com.
