one of the reasons for the civil war that range from the period of 1790 to 1860 2

A

Author directly address es main question or issue, and adds new insight to the subject not provided in lectures, readings, or class discussions. The author has retained nearly all of the knowledge presented in class. He/She is able to synthesize this knowledge in new ways and r elate to material not covered in the course.

B

Author competently addresses main question or issue, but does not add much new insight into the subject. That said, it is clear that the author has learned a great deal in class and is able to communicate this knowledge to others.

C

Author attempts to address main question or issue, but fails. The author has retained some information from the course, but does not fully understand its meaning or context and cannot clearly convey it to others.

D or Less

Essay does NOT address main question or issue, and it is obvious that author has not retained any information from the course.

Full Marks

The thesis statement is clear and precise, but most of all, sparks interest in the reader (makes you want to read the rest of the paper).

Half Credit

The thesis statement is vague and fails to grab the reader’s attention (generic). For example, it just restates the question.

No Marks

There is neither a thesis statement, or it is unclear what is the purpose of the paper.

A

Essay contains a clear argument — i.e., lets the reader know exactly what the author is trying to com municate.

B

An argument is present, but reader must reconstruct it from the text.

C

Author attempts, but fails, to make an argument (e.g., starts with a rhetorical question/statement or anecdote that is never put into context).

D or Less

No attempt is made to articula te an argument

A

Provides compelling and accurate evidence that convinces reader to accept main argument. The importance/relevance of all pieces of evidence is clearly stated . There are no gaps in reasoning — i.e., the reader does not need to ass ume anything or do additional research to accept main argument.

B

Provides necessary evidence to convince reader of most aspects of the main argument but not all. The importance/ relevance of some evidence presented may not be totally clear . Reader must m ake a few mental leaps or do some additional research to fully accept all aspects of main argument.

C

Not enough evidence is provided to support author’s argument, or evidence is incomplete, incorrect, or oversimplified. Information from lectures and read ings is not effectively used.

D or Less

Either no evidence is provided, or there are numerous factual mistakes, omissions or oversimplifications. There is little or no mention of information from lectures and readings.

A

Evidence is used from a wide range of sources, including lectures and course readings. When required, author also consults scholarly books, websites, journal articles, etc. not ex plicitly discussed in class.

B

Evidence is used from many sources, but author relies heavily on a more limited set of sources. Some effort is made to go beyond material presented in class when required, but not much. If outside sources are used, they are p rimarily non – scholarly (i.e., intended for a general audience) and/or web – based.

C

Uses only a few of the sources provided in class, or does not go beyond what has been provided by professor when required to do additional research.

D or Less

Does not use sources, only minimally uses sources provided by instructor, or relies exclusively on non – scholarly outside sources.

A

Essay contains an intro, main body, and conclusion. Introduction lays out main argument and gives an outline of what the reader can expect in the essay. The conclusion brings everything together, acknowledges potential shortcomings of the paper, and gives the reader a sense of what further work might be done to advance the subject matter described in the paper.

B

Essay contains an intro, main body, and conclusion. The introduction lays out the main argument but gives the reader little idea of what to expect in the essay. The conclusion nicely summarizes the main argument and evidence, but does not move beyond wh at has already been presented in the paper.

C

Essay contains an intro, main body, and conclusion. The introduction gives the reader an idea of what to expect in the paper, but does not effectively lay out the main argument. It may begin with a set of rheto rical questions, or an anecdote that is never fully explained. The conclusion does little more than restate the problematic introduction. Intro and/or conclusion may be too wordy or short.

D or Less

Essay has no clear organizational pattern.

Full Marks

All sentences are grammatically correct and clearly written. An occasional word is misused or unnecessarily fancy. Technical terms, words from other languages, and words from other historical periods are usually, but not always, explained. All information is accurate and up – to – date. Paper has been spell – checked AND proofread, and contains no more than a few minor errors, which do not adversely affec t the reader’s ability to understand the essay.

Half Credit

A few sentences are grammatically incorrect or not clearly written. Several words are misused. Technical terms, words from other languages, and words from other historical periods are rarely explained. Not all information is accurate and up – to – date. Paper has been spell – checked AND proofread, but still contains several errors. Reader’s ability to understand essay may be compromised by these errors.

No Marks

Paper is full of grammatical errors and bad writing. Several words are misused. Paper has not been spell-checked or proofread, and contains numerous errors. Reader has a difficult time understanding essay because of errors.

A

The paper is well written and avoids vague words (the reader knows what the writer meant). Each sentence can stand on its own, so the reader is not left with any confusion.

B

The paper has some areas that need clarification, either in sentence structure or word choices.

No Marks

The paper has too many problems with clarity, leaving the reader with a lot of questions of what the writer intended.

Full Marks

Five or more full pages (1,450 word or more)

Partial Credit

Four pages (About 1300 word)

No Marks

Under 4 pages