THE UNIVERSAL RUBRIC being a general guide to the goodness of all things, or lack thereof
The general rule in all scoring is to reward the students for what they do well. At the same time, badly written papers with many distracting errors should be scored in the lower half, probably no higher than a 3.
Conversion table: 9=A+; 8=A; 7=A-; 6=B+; 5=B; 4=B-; 3=C+; 2=C; 1=C-
8-9 SUBTLE. Papers respond to the assignment clearly, directly and fully. These papers approach the text analytically and illustrate their points with numerous textual references and/or quotations. They show subtlety in their use of the text, and their own style indicates stylistic flexibility and mastery. They need not, however, be free from errors.
6-7 COMPETENT. Papers respond to the assignment clearly and directly but with less development than 8-9 papers. They indicate a good understanding of the text and support their points with appropriate textual references and/or quotations. While their approach is analytic, the analysis is less precise than in 8-9 papers, and use of the text is competent but not subtle. The writing in these papers is forceful and clear, but need not be free from errors.
5 ADEQUATE. Papers typically address the assigned question intelligently but do not answer it fully and specifically. They are characterized by a good but general grasp of the text and by the ability to sue the text to frame an apt but imprecise response to the assignment. They may use textual references and quotations sparingly or without clearly enough supporting their points. The style of 5 essays is characterized by adequate clarity and organizational divisions, but may be mechanical or banal.
3-4 SOME GOOD POINTS. Papers fail in some important way to fulfill the assignment. They may omit some part of the question, fail to provide minimal textual support for their points, or base their analysis on a misreading of some part of the text. Nevertheless, these essays normally present one or more incisive points among others of less value. The writing may be similarly uneven in development, with lapses in organization or clarity.
1-2 SERIOUS SHORTCOMINGS. Papers commonly combine two or more serious failures: they may not address the actual question; they may indicate serious misreading of the text; they may not use textual support or may use it in a way that suggests failure to understand the text; they may be unclear, badly written or unacceptably brief. The style of these papers is usually marked by egregious errors or by abruptness that suggests the student did not finish; but some may be smoothly written, though devoid of content.
(Adapted from Alan Buster, Harvard-Westlake Prep)
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