Notes

SCORING RUBRIC FOR I-SEARCH PAPER

A - SUPERIOR

An “A” paper is excellent. It is well-written, clearly organized, insightful, and correctly formatted. An “A” paper exhibits all of the following characteristics:

Provides a genuine learning experience for the writer and the reader
Displays evidence of critical thinking and offers insight into the topic
Focuses on a topic well adapted to investigation and discovery
Is written in five sections
Introduction
What I already know
What I want to find out
The Search
Reflection
Uses research effectively to supplement writer’s ideas
Writer’s “voice” is a mix of personal narrative and research results
Uses precise language and varied sentence structure
Uses transitions between ideas, paragraphs and sections
Includes references to two research sources
Includes references to one interview source
All sources are accurately documented in MLA format within the text
Includes a correctly formatted Works Cited page with at least three sources
Uses effective conventions of written English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc.)
Entire paper follows MLA format



B - COMMENDABLE

“B” paper is a strong paper. It is well-written, clearly, organized, insightful, with a few minor formatting errors. “B” paper exhibits most or all of the following characteristics:

Provides a solid learning experience for the writer and the reader
Displays some evidence of critical thinking and offers insight into the topic
Focuses on a topic well adapted to investigation and discovery
Is written in five sections
Introduction
What I already know
What I want to find out
The Search
Reflection
Uses research effectively to supplement writer’s ideas
Writer’s “voice” is primarily a mix of personal narrative and research results
Uses mostly precise language and varied sentence structure
Uses transitions between ideas, paragraphs and sections most of the time
Includes references to two research sources
Includes references to one interview source
All sources are cited in MLA format within the text
Includes a Works Cited page with at least three sources
Mostly uses effective conventions of written English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc.)
Most of the paper follows MLA format


C - ADEQUATE

“C” paper address the topic adequately. A C paper is somewhat insightful, researched and organized, and may have some errors in the conventions of written English. “C” paper exhibits most or all of the following characteristics:

Provides a learning experience for the writer and the reader
Displays evidence of critical thinking and offers some insight into the topic
Focuses on a topic adapted to investigation and discovery
Is written in five sections
Introduction
What I already know
What I want to find out
The Search
Reflection
Uses research to supplement writer’s ideas
Writer’s “voice” mixes some personal narrative with research results
Uses some precise language and varied sentence structure
Uses some transitions between ideas, paragraphs and sections
Includes references to two research sources
Includes references to one interview source
Most sources are cited in MLA format within the text
Includes a Works Cited page
Has some errors in conventions of written English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc.)
Most of the paper follows MLA format


D - BARELY ADEQUATE

“D” paper addresses topic. A D paper is minimally researched and organized and has errors in the conventions of written English. “D” paper exhibits most or all of the following characteristics:

Provides little evidence that the search was a learning experience for the writer and the reader
Does not display evidence of critical thinking and or insight into the topic
Writer does not seem involved in his/her topic
Missing one or more of the following sections:
Introduction
What I already know
What I want to find out
The Search
Reflection
Uses some research to supplement writer’s ideas
Does not convey sense of writer’s “voice”
Uses little precise language or varied sentence structure
Lacking in transitions between ideas, paragraphs and sections
Includes references to less than two research sources
Includes limited or no reference to interview source
Less than three sources are correctly cited within the text
Works Cited page severely flawed in format
Has many errors in conventions of written English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc.)
Does not consistently follow MLA format



F - INADEQUATE

F paper is extremely weak in content, thought, organization, and the conventions of written English. “F” paper exhibits most or all of the following characteristics:

Provides no evidence that the search was a learning experience for the writer and the reader
Does not display evidence of critical thinking and insight into the topic
Writer does not seem involved in his/her topic
Missing several of the following sections:
Introduction
What I already know
What I want to find out
The Search
Reflection
Uses little research to supplement writer’s ideas
Does not convey sense of writer’s “voice”
Uses little precise language or varied sentence structure
Lacking in transitions between ideas, paragraphs and sections
Excludes references to required research sources
Excludes reference to interview source
Sources are not cited within the text
Works Cited page missing
Has many errors in conventions of written English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc.)
Does not follow MLA format