Outstanding: [A]

 Good:[B]

Satisfactory: [C] 

Attempted   [D]

Not Attempted: [F]

Position Development

Takes a strong, well-defined debatable position; uses at least 3 appropriate reasons with at least 2 supporting details for each reason

Clear, debatable position taken and defined; some reasons and some details present but not fully developed;

Position not clearly stated or is not really debatable; development is brief; unrelated, un-cited general statements, reasons, & details; minimal facts used; 

No clear position taken; undeveloped reasons &/or ideas; unreliable facts used; an unintended abundance of un-cited info/ideas; demonstrates little knowledge of subject; falls short of page requirement 

No position taken; undeveloped research; few facts used; shows weak knowledge/understanding of subject

Context Development

outstanding comparison of current and historical economic conditions; excellent discussion of goals & policies under consideration; exceptional assessment of strengths & weaknesses of policies discussed

good comparison of current and historical economic conditions; fine discussion of goals & policies under consideration; reasonable assessment of strengths & weaknesses of policies discussed

basic comparison of current and historical economic conditions; some discussion of goals & policies under consideration; acceptable assessment of strengths & weaknesses of policies discussed

little comparison of current and historical economic conditions; poor discussion of goals & policies under consideration; weak assessment of strengths & weaknesses of policies discussed

no comparison of current and historical economic conditions; no discussion of goals & policies under consideration; no assessment of strengths & weaknesses of policies discussed

Organization

Writer demonstrates logical sequencing of ideas through well-developed paragraphs; transitions are used to enhance organization; a gripping introduction and strong conclusion evident

Paragraph development present but not perfected. Reasonable introduction and conclusion.

Logical organization of ideas not fully developed; introduction and conclusion present but need more development.  

Little evidence of paragraph structure; no introduction or conclusion; illogical organization of ideas

No attempt to organize; non-existent sentence and paragraph structure

Use of Resources

Uses appropriate information from all resources researched to support position; uses primary and secondary sources (more than 10)

Uses appropriate information from all resources; uses primary & secondary sources
(at least 9)

Uses information from all resources researched to support position; uses secondary sources only (at least 8)

Uses information from all resources researched to discuss subject; uses secondary sources only
(at least 7)

Does not use information from all resources researched to discuss subject; uses less than 7 sources; lacks footnotes and/or works cited

Mechanics & Language

Error free paper; accurate spelling, punctuation, capitalization and usage; variety of sentence structure; rich vocabulary

Few errors present in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage; some attempt at sentence variety; occasional use of rich vocabulary

Incorrect sentence structure; spelling, punctuation, capitalization errors present; repetitious vocabulary; weak language usage

Several errors present in works cited, footnote structure, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization; weak vocabulary and incorrect language usage

Multiple errors present in works cited, footnote structure, spelling, punctuation, and/or capitalization; weak vocabulary and incorrect language usage abounds

Presentation

Neatly typed; MLA standards fully applied; substantial supporting visuals

Neatly typed; MLA standards largely applied; reasonable use of visuals

Not completely typed; MLA standards somewhat applied; some attention to appearance; some acceptable visuals

Not completely typed or assembled with much care; MLA standards largely ignored; little attention to appearance

Very difficult to read. MLA standards completely ignored