Paper Grading Scheme
◊ Introduction: Is the question you are exploring and your thesis statement clear in your
introduction and is a clear overview and organization of your paper indicated, including citation
of the research to be discussed? (12)
a. Thesis statement clearly states argument made in paper – 4 marks
i. Some kind of attempt at summarizing argument – 2 marks
ii. Thesis not clear – 0 marks
b. Makes statements about the research findings that support the thesis and includes all
four research citations (some may be combined) (two marks for each reference to
the four articles, may be combined) – 8 marks
◊ Understanding and analysis of research: This should be reflected in the way the research is
summarized and in the way you are able to apply your understanding of the research to answer
the questions you are exploring. Important, relevant details (but not extraneous ones) should
be included in your summaries of the literature. Readers should be given a good sense of what
occurred in the studies and what was found. (20)
a. For each of the 4 research articles (original reading and three articles; 5 marks)
i. Method clear (who were participants, what measures used) – 2.5
ii. Results clear (what was found – differences between groups etc.) – 2.5
Deduct marks for irrelevant info.
◊ Integration of information from different sources: Are you able to coordinate the
information from the different sources? Are you only focusing on the findings of a single study,
or are you able to use all the resources to fully answer the questions you are exploring? Are you
able to account for and interpret different findings or different points of views? Is it a fluid
integration of information? (10)
a. Material flows well from one study to another with sentences connecting the ideas.
All material is relevant to argument and clearly and logically presented (10)
b. Material is somewhat linked together. Sometimes connections are not clear. (7)
c. Material is somewhat choppy. Not very clear connections. (5)
d. Material is all presented in separate paragraphs with no words or sentences
connecting ideas. Different studies are logically connected to argument (3)
e. Material is all presented in separate paragraphs with no words or sentences
connecting ideas. Different studies are not logically connected to argument and seem
fairly unrelated (0)
◊ Conclusion: Does the conclusion include a brief summary of the topic being explored and how
it has been addressed or how your thesis has been supported? Are you able to draw a more
general conclusion from the research and apply it? (5)
a. Conclusion statement clearly states argument made in paper – 3 marks
i. Some kind of attempt at summarizing argument – 1.5 marks
ii. Conclusion not clear – 0 marks
b. Makes statements about the research findings that support the conclusion and
includes all four research citations (some may be combined) – ½ mark each = 2
marks
i. Some citations are used to support conclusion – 1 mark
ii. No citations – 0 marks
◊ Writing style: Can the essay be read and understood well? Are there many grammatical and
technical errors? Does it flow and have a logical organization? (5)
a. None or very few errors (0 to 4) (5)
b. Few errors (5‐15 (2 per page)) (4)
c. Many errors (16‐30 (3 or 4 per page)) (2)
d. Very difficult to read. So many errors that things don’t make sense (0)
◊ APA format of referencing: Are the references, both in the text and in the reference list in
proper APA style? (8)
a. Citations in text – Correct APA style primary and secondary citations and appropriate
places – 4 marks
i. A few APA errors, some errors of placement but citations included – 3 marks
ii. Many errors, many citations missing – 2 mark
iii. No attempt to use APA format citations but used another format – 0 marks
iv. No citations – deduct 50% of grade for plagiarism and report student.
b. Reference page – proper title, alphabetical, all included (3 or more), no style errors –
4 marks
i. All included – few minor style errors – 3 marks
ii. All included – few style errors – 2 marks
iii. Missing articles – No attempt at APA – 0 marks
Total Essay Grade: /60
(Worth 25% of final grade)