MULTI-PARAGRAPH RESEARCH ESSAY RUBRIC
Distinctive Proficient
Purpose & Exceeds assignment requirements;
Task superior task completion; word-
processed
Audience Thorough understanding of audience
and purpose
Clear, concise thesis with an
Thesis insightful opinion about the main
idea of the essay
Strong organization follows outline
Organization and unifies all ideas; transitions
& guide readers
Coherence
Superior topic sentences and
Development explanations, details, examples, etc.
that clearly support or elaborate upon
each sub-topic
Tone/style appropriate to subject;
Voice, Tone engaging; convincing rather than
& authoritative; appropriate degree of
Style familiarity/ orientation
Excellent APA formatting and
Sources & integration of sources
APA Format
Few, if any, errors with sentence
SWE* fragments, run-ons, subject-verb
agreement, pronoun use, verb tense,
word choice, spelling, and
apostrophes
Final Grade and Comments:
* Hairston’s Critical and Serious Classification Markers
Developing
Moves above basic requirements of
assignment; commendable task
completion; word-processed
Consistent understanding of audience
and purpose
Concise thesis with a clear opinion
about the main idea of the essay
Clear organization and unity of
ideas; good explanation of the
supports and good use of transitions
Clear topic sentences and
explanations, details, examples, etc.
that support or elaborate upon each
sub-topic
Tone/style appropriate to subject;
relatively engaging; convincing
rather than authoritative; appropriate
degree of familiarity/orientation
Some problems with APA format
and/or integration sources
Some distracting but not serious
errors with sentence fragments, run-
ons, subject-verb agreement,
pronoun use, verb tense, word
choice, spelling, and apostrophes
Limited
Satisfies basic requirements of
assignment; acceptable task
completion; word-processed
Acceptable understanding of
audience and purpose
Fairly clear thesis with an
identifiable opinion on the main idea
of the essay
Inconsistent organization and use of
transitions; some problems with
unity of ideas and strength of topic
sentences
Some topic sentences do not answer
how, when, or why; some
explanations, details, examples, etc.
do not support sub-topics
Tone/style appropriate to subject;
less engaging; more rote; appropriate
degree of familiarity/orientation
Problems with APA format and/or
integration of sources
Frequent errors with sentence
fragments, run-ons, subject-verb
agreement, pronoun use, verb tense,
word choice, spelling, and
apostrophes distract from content
and continuity
Comments
Does not fulfill requirements;
partial task completion
Partial understanding of audience
and purpose
Statement of fact or an opinion
that is too broad, too narrow, too
obvious or missing
Poor or lack of organization;
unclear or missing transitions;
lacking unity of ideas; some topic
sentences do not answer why,
how, or when the thesis is valid
Topic sentences do not answer
how, when, or why; explanations,
details, examples, etc. do not
support sub-topics
Tone/style not appropriate to
subject;
not engaging (boring);
assumption of familiarity or
common knowledge;
lack of adequate orientation
Does not follow APA format and
APA citation of sources
Numerous errors with sentence
fragments, run-ons, subject-verb
agreement, pronoun use, verb
tense, word choice, spelling, and
apostrophes