TKAM essay
“grade it yourself” Rubric
1. MLA Format (BLUE): Check to see if your ENTIRE paper is MLA formatted. Highlight or underline the following criteria in BLUE (according to instructions) where you see them on your paper. Give yourself points for following CORRECT formatting in the following areas:
_________2 points: 1 inch margins on all sides (Use the inch strips to verify the margin. Draw a dashed line along each 1 inch margin.)
_________2 points: double spacing throughout. If you have extra spacing between your heading and the title or between the title and body of the paper, draw a big X in the space and give yourself a zero. If you have extra spacing between paragraphs, draw a big X.
_________2 points: heading on left side of paper, double spaced (Highlight or underline each line.):
Your name
Mr. Phillips
English I – H - period
18 November 2008
_________2 points: name/page numbers top right side of paper (Highlight or underline each.):
Your name # (ex: Oliver 1)
_________2 points: title, centered on top line. The title should not be bold or underlined. (Highlight or underline.)
Total Points for MLA format (Circle in BLUE):______/10
2. Introduction (GREEN): Read through your introduction and complete the following tasks by highlighting or underlining in GREEN. Give yourself points according to the following criteria:
_________5 points: Highlight or underline your THESIS STATEMENT. It MUST state the topic about which you are writing AND be the last sentence of your introductory paragraph.
_________5 points: Bracket [ ] the title and author of the novel.
_________5 points: Put in parenthesis your bridge (the statements which connect the attention getter to the thesis). You MUST have a connection here!
Total Points for Introduction (Circle in GREEN):______/15
3. Thesis Statement (YELLOW): Read through your thesis statement and complete the following tasks by highlighting or underlining in YELLOW. Give yourself points according to the following criteria:
_________5 points: Highlight or underline your THESIS STATEMENT (yes, AGAIN! It is that important!). It MUST state the TOPIC about which you are writing AND be the last sentence of your introductory paragraph.
Total Points for Thesis Statement (Circle in YELLOW):______/5
4. Topic Sentences (ORANGE): Read through your body paragraphs and complete the following tasks by highlighting or underlining in ORANGE. Give yourself points according to the following criteria:
_________5 points: Highlight or underline the topic sentence in your FIRST body paragraph. It MUST relate (be a subset of) the thesis sentence.
_________5 points: Highlight or underline the topic sentence in your SECOND body paragraph. It MUST relate (be a subset of) the thesis sentence.
Total Points for Topic Sentences (Circle in ORANGE):______/10
5. Textual Evidence (PENCIL): Read through your body paragraphs and complete the following tasks by underlining in PENCIL. Give yourself points according to the following criteria:
_________4 points: Underline the first quotation (piece of textual evidence) in your FIRST body paragraph. It MUST be a direct quotation from the novel IN QUOTATION MARKS. If it is a dropped quote (standing by itself as a sentence), write the word DROPPED in the margin and do not give yourself points.
_________1 points: Circle the internal documentation at the end of each quotation. It MUST contain the page number.
_________4 points: Underline the second quotation (piece of textual evidence) in your FIRST body paragraph. It MUST be a direct quotation from the novel IN QUOTATION MARKS. If it is a dropped quote (standing by itself as a sentence), write the word DROPPED in the margin and do not give yourself points.
_________1 points: Circle the internal documentation at the end of each quotation. It MUST contain It MUST contain the page number.
_________4 points: Underline the first quotation (piece of textual evidence) in your SECOND body paragraph. It MUST be a direct quotation from the novel IN QUOTATION MARKS. If it is a dropped quote (standing by itself as a sentence), write the word DROPPED in the margin and do not give yourself points.
_________1 points: Circle the internal documentation at the end of each quotation. It MUST contain the page number.
_________4 points: Underline the second quotation (piece of textual evidence) in your SECOND body paragraph. It MUST be a direct quotation from the novel IN QUOTATION MARKS. If it is a dropped quote (standing by itself as a sentence), write the word DROPPED in the margin and do not give yourself points.
_________1 points: Circle the internal documentation at the end of each quotation. It MUST contain the page number.
Total Points for Textual Evidence (Circle in PENCIL):______/20
6. Commentary (RED): Read through your body paragraphs and complete the following tasks by bracketing in RED. Give yourself points according to the following criteria:
_________5 points: Bracket AT LEAST 2 sentences of commentary/explanation in your FIRST body paragraph. These must follow your FIRST quotation (textual evidence) and explain your thoughts on the quote and how the quote relates to the topic sentence of that paragraph. Possible half credit if you only have one sentence. (2 points out of 5)
_________5 points: Bracket AT LEAST 2 sentences of commentary/explanation in your FIRST body paragraph. These must follow your SECOND quotation (textual evidence) and explain your thoughts on the quote and how the quote relates to the topic sentence of that paragraph. Possible half credit if you only have one sentence. (2 points out of 5)
_________5 points: Bracket AT LEAST 2 sentences of commentary/explanation in your SECOND body paragraph. These must follow your FIRST quotation (textual evidence) and explain your thoughts on the quote and how the quote relates to the topic sentence of that paragraph. Possible half credit if you only have one sentence. (2 points out of 5)
_________5 points: Bracket AT LEAST 2 sentences of commentary/explanation in your SECOND body paragraph. These must follow your SECOND quotation (textual evidence) and explain your thoughts on the quote and how the quote relates to the topic sentence of that paragraph. Possible half credit if you only have one sentence. (3 points out of 5)
Total Points for Commentary (Circle in RED):______/20
7. Conclusion (PURPLE): Read through your conclusion and make sure it is present and closes your essay.
_________10 points: Check to see if you have a conclusion. Highlight the part of your conclusion that refers back to your introduction.
Total Points for Conclusion (Circle in PURPLE):______/5
8. Sophisticated sentence structure (pink). Highlight each usage of a semicolon or colon. Verify that they are used correctly. If you have at least one, give yourself full credit. If you have one used incorrectly, do not give yourself points.
Neither of them had done one thing wrong to the community; both were merely trying to help.
Total Points for sentence structure (Circle in PINK) _____ /10
TOTAL POINTS EARNED add your points for all of the above items________________
REDUCTIONS:
1. Common errors (BLACK): Mark the following criteria in BLACK.
_________5 points for each contraction
_________10 points for each use of the word “I” or “me” or any other 1st person pronoun
_________10 points for each usage of the word “you” or “your”
______ 5 points each for punctuation order of quotations. The correct order is “blah” (34). If your period is anywhere other than AFTER the close parenthesis, you lose points.
