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Excellent

The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the course material by thoroughly and correctly: (1) addressing the relevant content; (2) identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; (3) using correct terminology; (4) explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims; and (5) (where necessary or useful) substantiating points with several accurate and original examples.

Good

The essay illustrates solid understanding of the course material by correctly: (1) addressing most of the relevant content; (2) identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; (3) using correct terminology; (4) explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and (5) (where necessary or useful) substantiating some points with accurate examples.

Acceptable

The essay illustrates rudimentary understanding of the course material by: (1) mentioning, but not fully explaining, the relevant content; (2) identifying some of the key concepts/ideas (though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them); (3) using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and (4) incorporating some key claims/points, but failing to explain the reasoning behind them (or doing so inaccurately).

Unacceptable

The essay illustrates poor understanding of the course material by (1) failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; (2) failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; (3) ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and (4) incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology.

Excellent

The essay reflects expert reasoning by: (1) synthesizing material; (2) making connections between relevant ideas/claims/points; (3) presenting an insightful and thorough evaluation of the relevant issue or problem; (4) identifying and discussing important nuances in the relevant material; and (5) identifying and discussing key assumptions and/or implications.

Good

The essay reflects fairly strong reasoning by: (1) synthesizing material, (2) making appropriate connections between some of the key ideas/claims/points; (3) accurately evaluating the issue/problem; and (4) identifying ad discussing key assumptions and/or implications.

Acceptable

The essay reflects basic reasoning by: (1) synthesizing some of the material, though remains vague and undeveloped; (2) making a few connections between ideas/claims/points, but ignoring or inaccurately connecting others; (3) evaluating the issue/problem at a very basic/superficial level; and (4) ignoring assumptions and implications.

Unacceptable

The essay reflects substandard or poor reasoning by: (1) failing to synthesize the material or doing so inaccurately; (2) failing to make connections between ideas/claims/points or doing so inaccurately; and (3) failing to evaluate the issue or problem.

Excellent

The essay is clear, and concise as a result of: (1) appropriate and precise use of terminology; (2) absence of tangents and coherence of thoughts; and (3) logical organization of ideas and thoughts. (4) complete sentences, free of spelling errors and uses correct grammar, (5) follows correct formatting style, (6) falls between the minimum and maximum page requirement.

Good

The essay is mostly clear as a result of: (1) appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; (2) minimal number of tangents and lack of repetition; and (3) fairly good organization (4) complete sentences, few spelling errors and grammar mistakes, (5) follows correct formatting style with minimal mistakes, (6) falls between the minimum and maximum page requirement.

Acceptable

The essay is often unclear and difficult to follow due to: (1) some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; (2) ideas sometimes being fragmented, wondering and/or repetitive; and (3) poor organization. (4) incomplete sentences, has spelling errors and uses acceptable grammar, (5) barely follows correct formatting style, (6) does not fall between the minimum and maximum page requirement.

Unacceptable

The essay does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to: (1) inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; (2) reliance on disjointed and incomprehensible thoughts and clauses; and (3) lack of recognizable organization. (4) no sentence structure, many spelling errors and unacceptable grammar, (5) does not follow correct formatting style, (6) does not fall between the minimum and maximum page requirement.