Core 110: Effective Writing

King's College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 CORE 110: EFFECTIVE WRITING

NAME: ______DATE: ______

CHECK A PLACE ON EACH LINE TO INDICATE YOUR EVALUATION OF THAT PARTICULAR FEATURE OF YOUR PAPER

THESIS/CENRAL IDEA Striking and Significant Interesting and Significant Clear Weak or Confused

PLAN/ORGANIZATION Strategic Careful Clear Poor/Unclear

EVIDENCE/DETAILS Numerous, original, fresh, Specific and sharp Adequate Too Little/few

SENTENCES Demonstrates variety and Demonstrates variety Make sense and conform Confused, awkward rhetorical effectiveness to conventional patterns ungrammatical

STYLE Authentic; ideas have been Appropriate to subject and Clear Awkward, forced, stilled interiorized audience

CHECK ONE LINE FOR EACH ITEM.

YES NO UNSURE

______The introduction is well-developed and interesting ______The conclusion is well-developed and interesting ______Paragraphs are unified and coherent ______Paragraphs are adequately developed ______Transitions between paragraphs are clear ______Most sentences use the active rather than the passive voice ______Sentences exhibit good variety ______The writer evidences a command of good grammar and appropriate usage ______Pronouns are consistent and have clear referents ______Subjects and verbs agree ______Verb tenses are consistent ______Diction is suitable to subject and audience ______Words are spelled correctly ______The paper has been carefully proofread King's College Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 ______The paper is neat and legible CORE 110: EFFECTIVE WRITING

GRADING PYRAMID

A The essay gives imaginative treatment to a significant and striking central idea. The plan of the essay evidences a strategy for persuasion. Generalizations are carefully supported. Details show originality, freshness and concreteness. Sentences show variety of pattern and are rhetorically effective. Style is authentic and demonstrates that ideas have been interiorized.

B+/B The essay's central idea is interesting and significant. The organization of the essay demonstrates careful planning. Details are specific and sharp; there is a concern for showing rather than just telling. Sentences show variety of purpose and pattern. Diction is chosen with awareness of audience and purpose.

C+/C The essay has a clear central idea. The plan of the essay is clear with an identifiable introduction and conclusion. Generalizations are supported by details. Paragraphs are unified and coherent. Transitions are clear. Sentences make sense and conform to conventional patterns. Subjects and verbs agree. Pronouns agree with antecedents. Verb tenses are consistent. Punctuation is conventional. Words are spelled correctly.

D/F Central idea is weak or confused. Organization is poor. Paragraphs lack unity and coherence. Generalizations are unsupported by evidence. Sentence structure is confined. Errors in usage, grammar, spelling or punctuation are frequent or serious.