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Essay writing guidelines
Pass (Excellent) Pass (Good) Pass (satisfactory) Fail
Overall
Impression
Author directly addresses main
question or issue and adds new
insight to the subject which was
NOT provided in class or the
readings. The author has
retained nearly all of the
knowledge presented in class.
One is able to synthesize this
knowledge in new ways and
relate to material not covered in
the course.
Author competently
addresses main
question/issue but does
not add much new
insight into the subject.
The author clearly
learned a lot and is able
to communicate the
knowledge to others.
Author attempts to
address main
question/issue but fails.
The author has retained
some information from
the
course/readings/own
research but does not
fully understand its
meaning/context and
cannot clearly convey it
to others.
Essay does NOT
address main
question/issue, and
it is obvious that
author has not
retained any
significant
information from
the course/his
research
Argument Essay contains a clear
argument— the reader can easily
follow the authors’ train of
thought and line of
argumentation.
An argument is
present, but reader
must reconstruct it
from the text.
Author attempts to
make an argument (e.g.,
starts with a
question/anecdote that
is never put into
context) but fails.
No attempt is made
to articulate an
argument.
Evidence
and
Counter-
Evidence
Provides compelling and
accurate evidence that convinces
reader to accept main argument.
The importance/relevance of all
pieces of evidence is clearly
stated. There are no gaps in
reasoning—i.e., the reader does
not need to assume anything or
do additional research to accept
main argument.
The author considers the
evidence, or alternate
interpretations of evidence, that
could be used to refute or
weaken his/her argument, and
thoughtfully responds to it.
Provides necessary
evidence to convince
readers of most aspects
of the main arguments.
The importance/
relevance of some
evidence presented
may not be totally clear
to the reader without
additional research.
Author acknowledges
that counter-evidence/
alternative
interpretations exists
and lists them but does
not effectively explain
why the argument still
stands.
Not enough evidence is
provided to support
author’s argument/
evidence is incomplete,
incorrect, or
oversimplified.
Information from
lectures.
Readings/additional
sources is not
effectively used.
Author acknowledges
some of the most
obvious counterevidence
and alternative
explanations but a
comprehensive
discussing is missing.
There is little or no
attempt made to
respond to them.
Either no evidence
is provided, or
there are numerous
factual mistakes,
omissions or
oversimplifications.
There is little or no
mention of
information from
lectures and
readings.
No
acknowledgement
of counter-evidence
or alternative
interpretations.
Sources and
citing
Evidence is used from a wide
range of sources (e.g. lectures,
readings). Author also consults
scholarly books, websites,
journal articles, etc. not
discussed in class.
All evidence is properly cited in
Evidence is used from
many sources, but
author relies heavily on
a more limited set of
sources. If outside
sources are used they
are primarily/nonscholarly
(intended for
Does not use extensive
sources (other than
those provided in
class/syllabus).
Some pieces are
unreferenced or
inaccurately referenced,
Only minimally
uses new sources/
relies exclusively
on non-scholarly
outside sources.
No attempt is made
to cite evidence.
	
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footnotes or endnotes. a general audience)
and/or web-based.
All evidence is cited in
footnotes or endnotes,
but there are some
minor problems with
completeness/format of
some citations.
and there are problems
with completeness and
format of citations.
Organization Essay contains an intro, main
body and a conclusion.
Introduction lays out main
argument and gives an outline of
what the reader can expect in the
essay. The conclusion brings
everything together,
acknowledges potential
shortcomings of the paper, and
gives the reader a sense of what
further work might be done to
advance the subject matter
described in the paper.
Essay contains an intro,
main body, and a
conclusion. The
introduction lays out
the main argument but
gives the reader little
idea of what to expect
in the essay. The
conclusion summarizes
the main argument and
evidence but does not
move beyond what has
already been presented
in the paper.
Essay contains an intro,
main body, and a
conclusion. The
introduction gives the
reader an idea of what
to expect in the paper
but does not effectively
lay out the main
argument. It may begin
with a set of rhetorical
questions, or an
anecdote that is never
fully explained. The
conclusion does little
more than restate the
introduction. Intro
and/or conclusion may
be too wordy or short.
Essay has no clear
organizational
pattern.
Clarity and
Style
All sentences are grammatically
correct and clearly written.
Technical terms and foreign
words are always explained. All
information is accurate and upto-date.
Paper has been spellchecked
AND proofread and
contains no errors.
All Sentences are
grammatically correct
and clearly written.
The occasional word is
misused. Technical
terms and foreign
words are usually, but
not always, explained.
All information is
accurate and up-todate.
Paper has been
spell-checked AND
proofread, and contains
no more than a few
minor errors, which do
not adversely affect the
reader’s ability to
understand the essay.
A few sentences are
grammatically incorrect
or not clearly written.
Several words are
misused. Technical
terms and foreign
words are rarely
explained. Not all
information is accurate
and up-to-date. Paper
has been spell-checked
AND proofread, but
still contains several
errors. Reader’s ability
to understand essay
may be compromised
by these errors.
Paper is full of
grammatical errors
and bad writing.
Several words are
misused. Technical
terms and foreign
words are rarely
explained. Some
info is not accurate/
up-to-date. Paper
has not been spell-
checked/proofread,
and contains
numerous errors.
Reader has a
difficult time
understanding
essay because of
errors.