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Evaluating Written Argumentation

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The Rubric for Evaluating Written Argumentation (REWA) is designed to provide detailed feedback on written material intended to argue persuasively on behalf of a given claim, opinion, or recommendation. REWA addresses eight different aspects of sound and effective writing: Purpose and Focus, Depth of Thought, Thesis, Reasoning, Organization, Voice, Grammar and Vocabulary, and Mechanics of Presentation. REWA presents the criteria for effective written communication. ‘Highly Developed’ writing (leftmost column) describes the desired performance in each area and ‘Developed’ writing describes a minimal standard for effective communications. Lesser ratings detail degrees of error or shortcoming.

Title: Rubric for Evaluating Written Argumentation © 2011 Gittens, C.A. & Measured Reasons LLC, Santa Clara, CA. Reprinted with Permission. Website: www.measuredreasons.com This rubric evaluates the quality of written argumentation based on eight categories: Purpose and Focus, Depth of Thought, Thesis, Reasoning, Organization, Voice, Grammar and Vocabulary, and Mechanics and Presentation. Each category has four levels of evaluation: Highly Developed, Developed, Underdeveloped, and Substandard. The following provides a full breakdown. 1. Purpose and Focus Highly Developed: The writer has made insightful and mature decisions about focus, organization, and content to communicate clearly and effectively. The purpose and focus of the writing are clear to the reader. The organization and content are well-chosen, sophisticated, and/or persuasive. Developed: The writer has made good decisions about focus, organization, and content to communicate clearly and effectively. The purpose and focus of the writing are clear to the reader, and the organization and content achieve the purpose as well. Underdeveloped: The writer’s decisions about focus, organization, or content sometimes interfere with clear, effective communication. The purpose of the writing is not fully achieved. Substandard: The writer’s decisions about focus, organization, or content interfere with communication. The purpose of the writing is not achieved. 2. Depth of Thought Highly Developed: The information presented reveals the writer’s assimilation and understanding of the material. The writer is convincingly aware of implications beyond the immediate subject. Developed: The information presented reveals the writer appreciates and understands the material. The writer seems aware of implications beyond the immediate subject. Underdeveloped: The information presented reveals that the writer has only partially assimilated or understood the material. The writer shows some awareness of implications beyond the immediate subject. Substandard: The information presented reveals the writer’s lack of assimilation and/or understanding of the material. The writer’s assertions lack awareness of implications beyond the immediate subject. 3. Thesis Highly Developed: Has a highly developed, defendable assertion that provides focus and direction to the essay. Uses sources to support, extend, and inform, but not substitute for the writer’s own development of ideas. Developed: Has a clear, recognizable assertion that provides focus and direction to the essay. Uses sources to support and inform the writer’s own development of ideas. Underdeveloped: Uses relevant sources but lacks variety of sources and/or the skillful combination of sources necessary to support a central assertion. Substandard: Lacks a clear, recognizable assertion and/or lacks adequate sources. 4. Reasoning Highly Developed: Substantial and well-reasoned development of ideas. All key assumptions are made explicit. Credible evidence is germane and accurately analyzed and fairly interpreted. Displays strong critical thinking skills and habits of mind. (See Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric.) Developed: Offers solid reasoning. Most key assumptions are recognized or made explicit. Most inferences are accurate, and most examples are on point. Underdeveloped: Offers some supporting evidence. The case includes some examples that are too general, interpreted incorrectly, or not clearly relevant to the thesis. Substandard: Offers simplistic, underdeveloped, fallacious, or irrelevant arguments. Includes exaggerations, faulty reasoning, factual errors, biased statements, and distorted facts. (See Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric.) 5. Organization Highly Developed: Sequencing of ideas within paragraphs and transitions between paragraphs flow smoothly and coherently throughout the paper. The writer shows clear effort to assist the reader in following the logic of the ideas expressed. Developed: Sequencing of ideas within paragraphs and transitions between paragraphs make the writer’s points coherent and easy to follow. Underdeveloped: Sentence structure and/or word choice sometimes interfere with clarity and coherence. Needs to improve the sequencing of ideas within paragraphs and transitions between paragraphs to make the writing easier to follow. Substandard: Ineffective sentence structure, word choice, transitions, and/or sequencing of ideas make reading and understanding difficult. 6. Voice Highly Developed: The writer’s tone or control of language consistently reflects a confident or authoritative central "voice" or "personality." The writer shows clear discernment of and effective engagement with the intended audience. Developed: The writer’s tone or control of language generally reflects a confident or authoritative central "voice" or "personality." The writer shows appropriate and consistent awareness of the intended audience. Underdeveloped: A central "voice" or "personality" is evident, though inconsistent in minor ways. The writer shows little or inconsistent awareness of a particular audience. Substandard: The writer’s tone or general control of language is so lacking in consistency that little central "voice" or "personality" is evident. The writer lacks awareness of a particular audience. 7. Grammar and Vocabulary Highly Developed: Sentence structure is complex and powerful. The writer has used vivid, purposefully crafted, and varied sentence styles and lengths. The writer displays a broad range of vocabulary, with effective, accurate, and contextually appropriate word usage. Developed: Sentences are effective and varied in style and length. Grammar or usage errors are minimal and do not distract the reader from understanding the intended meaning. The writer displays a satisfactory range of vocabulary and accurate word usage. Underdeveloped: Sentences show errors in structure. The writer uses limited variety in sentence use and length. Errors do not interfere significantly with readability. Substandard: Sentence structure is simple, with practically no variety in sentence style and length. Frequent errors in sentence structure interfere with readability. The writer exhibits an extremely limited vocabulary. Diction and syntax errors make communication weak or unintelligible. 8. Mechanics and Presentation Highly Developed: Written response is virtually free of punctuation, spelling, or capitalization errors. The writer utilizes an appropriate and attractive format, presentation, and style (citations) for the assignment. Developed: Written response contains only occasional punctuation, spelling, or capitalization errors. The writer utilizes an appropriate format, presentation, and style (citations) for the assignment. Underdeveloped: Written response contains many punctuation, spelling, or capitalization errors. The format, presentation, or style has some errors but remains appropriate for the assignment. Substandard: Written response contains many punctuation, spelling, or capitalization errors that hinder comprehension. The writer utilizes inappropriate format, presentation, or style (citations), or the formatting is absent.