Criteria

Expectations

Audience

(15 points)

– Target audience identified; audience is related to a specific community or current/future career

– Writing adapted to the audience effectively

– Audience-based reasons and evidence used

– Style and form appropriate for the audience used

Introduction: Presentation of Causes/Effects and Thesis

(15 points)

– Gets reader’s attention

– Introduces the issue for which the writer will establish the cause-effect argument (related to the author’s specific community or current/future career)

– Explains the importance of the causes or effects

– States a clear claim/thesis with specific causes or effects to be developed

Development of Writer’s Position

(35 points)

– Develops the causes or effects logically and thoroughly

– Explains in detail how the relationship stated in the claim in fact exists

– Provides convincing and sufficient evidence to support the claim

– Doesn’t jump to quick conclusions or generalizations; doesn’t discuss the relationship only at a national or international level

Development of Rebuttal

(25 points)

– Carefully considers possible objections and/or alternative explanations

– Shows (with evidence) weaknesses in opposing views and refutes them effectively

Conclusion

(15 points)

– Brings essay to a closure

– Concludes by summarizing the cause-effect relationship discussed in the paper

– Leaves strong last impression

Integrating Sources

(15 points)

– Sources attributed properly and incorporated into the text effectively

– Scholarly and academic/credible sources selected; writer’s reasoning for source choice is apparent

– Sources summarized, paraphrased, or direct-quoted when appropriate (used a minimum of 5 citations)

Citation and Documentation

(10 points)

– In-text citations and References page adhere to APA guidelines

– Project formatted according to APA guidelines

Conventions

(10 points)

– Topic sentences, concluding sentences, and proper transitions used

– Grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors corrected

– Writing flows well

Multimodal Component

(10 points)

– Relevant, purposeful visuals and/or other media selected

– Supports writer’s points clearly and logically

– Integrated into the paper strategically, with consideration to the target audience, rhetorical purpose, and genre

Multimodal Analysis

(15 points)

– Explains and justifies design choices of the multimodal component in relation to the specific audience identified

– Discusses use of the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) through all parts of the multimodal component

– Reflects on the utility of composing in different media and how he/she might apply these skills in other areas of his/her life

Revision Analysis

(10 points)

– Synthesizes the feedback received through multiple channels

– Discusses how feedback was applied and reasons for making the revisions