Criteria	Unacceptable	Acceptable	Superior
Content	No thesis, or unclear thesis. References to sources are general, or do not exist. Body of essay draws from only one source, or from only the opinions of the author.	Thesis statement is clear. Refers to the resources, without direct quotes. Body of essay demonstrates attempt to use source material to support argument. General conclusion.	Strong, original thesis statement, supported by evidence from the sources. Body of essay demonstrates superior anyalytical skills, ability to draw conclusions, and original ideas. Strong conclusion summarizes essay and reiterates main point.
Mechanics	Multiple grammatical errors impact the readability of the essay. Sentence fragments, spelling errors, and poorly chosen vocabulary.	Multiple grammatical errors, but still a readable essay. Sentences are short and/or redundant. Predictable language, cliches.	No or very few isolated grammatical errors. Varied sentence structure, use of rich language.
Use of resources	No evidence that author accessed the resources. Essay does not reflect knowledge of information covered in resource materials. No quotes or references to outside sources.	Some of the available resources were accessed. Essay reflects consideration of more than one resource. Quotes at least one source.	All of the available resources were accessed. Essay reflects consideration of all sources, quotes from at least two sources.
Participation	Did not participate.	Participated in bulletin board by responding to messages posted by other students.	Participated in bulletin board by responding to messages, and by posting new topics/questions.