Ideas are clear, insightful, thought-provoking, and focused so that they consistently support the topic, thesis and audience for the paper.

Ideas are clear and focused to support the topic and a clearly-stated central idea, but are not consistently insightful or thought-provoking.

Ideas are clear but conventional or general, and support the topic, thesis, and audience for the paper.

Ideas are unclear or clichéd and demonstrate a lack of focus in support of the topic or a central idea, which may be vague or missing.

Development is fresh, with abundant details and examples that arouse audience interest and provide relevant, concrete, specific and insightful evidence in support of sound logic.

Development is adequate, but may lack depth, with details and examples that arouse audience interest and provide relevant, concrete, specific evidence in support of sound logic.

Development is sufficient but general, providing adequate but perhaps not interesting details, examples, and evidence that include no logical fallacies or unsupported claims.

Development is insufficient, providing scarce or inappropriate details, evidence, and examples that may include logical fallacies or unsupported claims.

Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s purpose/ plan and consistently demonstrates effective and appropriate rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs.

Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s purpose/ plan and usually demonstrates effective and appropriate rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs

Organization is coherent and unified overall in support of the essay’s purpose/ plan, but is ineffective at times and may demonstrate abrupt or weak transitions between ideas or paragraphs.

Organization is confused and fragmented in support of the essay’s purpose/ plan and demonstrates a lack of structure or coherence that negatively affects readability.

Readable and rhetorically effective in tone, incorporating varied sentence structure, precise word choice and correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Mastery of style)

Style is readable and rhetorically effective in tone, incorporating varied sentence structure, effective word choice, and correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Effective style)

Style is readable, but unremarkable in tone, sometimes including a lack of sentence variety effective word choice, or some distracting, but not serious, errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Readable but inconsistent style)

Style is incoherent or inappropriate in tone, including a lack of sentence variety, ineffective or inappropriate word choice, and serious errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Ineffective style)

Format is correct, meets all assignment directions, and works expertly to support the essay’s purpose/plan.

Format is correct, meets all assignment directions, and works generally to support the essay’s purpose/plan.

Format is mostly correct, meets critical aspects of assignment directions, and works mostly to support the essay’s purpose/ plan.

Format is faulty, does not meet sufficient aspects of the assignment direction, and does not support the essay’s purpose/ plan.