Argumentative Essay Guidelines
Argumentative Essays
Essays submitted during course of semester (due dates on the course schedule). Please submit an e-copy on your blog site by 5 pm on the due date.
What is the essay? These essays are 4-6 page papers, in which you will state a thesis or make an assertion, and justify your thesis, based on evidence or data from at least two readings or other sources. You (as an expert in the field) are writing the article for an audience who is somewhat knowledgeable, though not expert, about the subject matter.
What is the purpose of these essays? The purpose of writing these essays is to give you practice in developing your analytical and evaluative skills. By completing these essays, you will:
- Develop your ability to state a thesis or assertion and support it with data or evidence;
- Develop your ability to describe the background and significance necessary to understand your thesis;
- Develop your ability to identify underlying assumptions, either in your own or in another’s arguments;
What are you required to do for the essay? For each essay, you will select two (or more) articles (or other sources–either original sources, or develop an opinion/thesis regarding an article from the public media) from which you will formulate a thesis. You will state your own well-founded thesis/perspective, the background necessary to understand your perspective, and you will support your thesis with evidence or data, identifying your own assumptions, and the potential shortfalls of your own perspective. (Yes, learn to be critical of your own perspective.) If you choose to develop a thesis developed based on your reading of an article in the public media, you must use research evidence/data to support your thesis.
How will you be evaluated on these essays?
| Criteria | Unsatisfactory | Underdeveloped | Satisfactory | Proficient | Exceptional |
| Points | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Thesis, voice, perspective | Writer weakly describes own perspective or thesis, with no or little supporting evidence or justification | Writer has a perspective or thesis, but it is not well-articulated or supporting evidence/data is limited; | Writer has a perspective/thesis and voice which are logically developed; provides supporting evidence from multiple sources; | Writer has a strong perspective and voice; supports perspective with evidence from multiple sources; writer begins to bring own insight to the issue | Writer has a distinct voice and perspective, with strong supporting evidence; writer clearly brings novel insight |
| Content – background and introduction | Essay is limited in communicating background; thesis is not clearly introduced | Essay communicates background necessary to understand thesis; reader is left with questions | Essay describes background; the introduction clarifies the thesis; the reader understands the importance of the topic | Essay engages the reader with importance of topic and provides background to understand it | Essay is confident; background is well-thought out; reader is engaged in thinking about the thesis and its relevance |
| Content – assumptions and alternative view points | Essay is limited in alternative interpretations; identification of assumptions are missing or weak | Essay supports thesis in a logical way, assumptions and alternative interpretations are identified, but not well developed | Thesis is logically developed, assumptions and alternative interpretations are introduced and developed | Essay evaluates thesis with assumptions and alternative view points in a purposeful way | Essay identifies common or differentiating themes from other perspectives; these are described in a compelling way |
| Organization | Writing is disorganized and underdeveloped, with weak or no transitions or closure; thesis is not developed | Writing is confused and loosely organized; transitions are weak; closure is weak; thesis is developed in essay in a limited fashion | Uses correct writing format; appropriate transitions; coherent closure; thesis is woven through the essay | Writing includes strong beginning, middle and end, with transitions and good closure; thesis is skillfully woven throughout essay | Writing includes strong beginning, middle and end, with clear transitions, effective thesis, and a strong and effective closure |
| Attention to audience | Writing suggests no or little sense of audience | Writing shows vague sense of audience, and what audience will understand | Writer writes with an understanding of the specific audience; reader understands what he/she is reading | Writer actively engages the audience in the thesis | Writing is skillfully adapted to the audience and the audience’s perspective |
| Language, Vocabulary, Word choice | Languages is vague; careless or inaccurate word choice which obscures meaning | Language is trite or flat or shows limited use of varied word choice | Language is effective; a variety of word choices make the writing interesting | Purposeful use of language and word choice, that is occasionally engaging | Word choice is consistently effective and engaging |
| Sentence fluency and paragraph structure | Some run-ons or fragments; little variety in sentence structure; paragraphs not well-structured | Occasional run-ons or fragments; limited variety of sentence structure, or uses sentence structures inappropriately; paragraphs adequately identify main points | Writer uses simple, compound, and complex sentences appropriately; paragraphs clearly define main points and structure of essay | Frequently varied sentence structure is appropriate to the moment; paragraphs skillfully constructed, with topic sentences and transitions | Consistent variety of sentence structure throughout that helps capture reader attention; paragraphs skillfully constructed |
| Conventions, grammar, syntax | Inconsistent agreement between parts of speech; errors in mechanics; issues with spelling | Occasional errors in agreement between parts of speech; occasional mechanics and/or spelling errors | Maintains agreement between parts of speech; few errors in mechanics, punctuation, capitalization, spelling | Consistent agreement between parts of speech; correct punctuation, capitalization, spelling | Uses consistent agreement between parts of speech; no errors in spelling or mechanics |
Rubric expanded from that developed from that provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a Thinkfinity website developed by the International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English.
Note: Late essays (with exceptional, unavoidable and documented excuses) will be downgraded one level in each criterion.