The first draft represents 70% of the grade. The second draft represents 30% of the grade.

Students should understand that the first draft they turn in  is not a rough draft. A rough draft is the first composition that a student writes. The rough draft is just the basic ideas with a rough introduction and conclusion.  It is very important to allow time to revise and revise your rough draft before turning it in. Students should not get help with this except to get suggestions from the instructor or an ESOL tutor on how to expand their ideas. No one is supposed to check your grammar. In this class, that is considered cheating.

Check your essay carefully. See Editing your Essay.

CRITERIA FOR GRADING ESSAYS

Essays will be graded in the following areas. Each category is worth 10 points. The possible score for each essay is 50 points.

CONTENT

relevance to the topic

development of thesis

creative, interesting and complex ideas

good critical thinking skills

avoidance of plagiarism

satisfactory length

ORGANIZATION

ideas are expressed clearly

well-organized introductory paragraph

clear thesis statement

effective concluding paragraph

relevant supporting details

logical sequence

ideas cohesive (well-connected)

VOCABULARY

effective word choice, including prepositions

command of idiom

correct word forms

appropriate usage (e.g. no slang)

wide range of vocabulary

GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

correct and varied use of active and passive verb tenses

subject-verb agreement

correct word order

proper use of articles and pronouns

correct use of singular/plural forms

correct and varied use of subordinate clauses and phrases

use of a variety of sentence types

effective use of transition words, subordinators, and conjunctions

MECHANICS

correct spelling

proper punctuation

correct capitalization

effective paragraphing