301 Rhetorical Analysis Essay Rubric

Criteria Absent or Developing Proficient Advanced Comments:

Below Basic
1 Rhetorical Focus: Write  For the majority of this essay, the word choice was great,
formally and informally, in-
there was a couple of really good comparisons that felt
class and out-of-class, for a
variety of audiences and perfectly worded.
purposes.  A couple of rewording could have been done.
2 Ethical Research: Using  Your sources were nicely included, did not seem forced.
the appropriate major’s
customary citation style,
 Good that the sources were described before included, gave
ethically cite and context.
communicate information  I liked that you added some holes in your solution as well,
from a variety of discipline- made it seem more achievable and realistic.
appropriate sources.

3 Persuasive Arguments:  When referring to Figley’s Model, the explanation was very
Compare, evaluate, well written
synthesize, and communicate
carefully, objectively, and  Adding the charts made the whole topic of this essay much
persuasively the relative more understandable.
merits of alternative or  The definitions and examples included were very
opposing arguments, informative, but still easy to comprehend.
assumptions, and cultural
values. Integrate this  The counterargument was just stated without bias and that
evaluative work into a made your argument even more credible.
persuasive argument.

4 Organization and Focus:  There was a couple of sentences that needed to be reworded
Organize, focus, and and/or revised.
communicate one’s thoughts
clearly and effectively to  Had good transitions between the explanation of the models.
address a rhetorical situation.

5 Academic Language and  I liked that you used real-world examples that were not so
Design: Recognize, “farfetched” where the argument would seem like it was
evaluate, and employ the
features and contexts of stretched.
language and design that  Another great detail was how you added information and
express and influence evidence to support your argument from the past, present,
meaning and that and future (very smart move).
demonstrate sensitivity to
gender and cultural
differences.
Two Overall Strengths:

Two Overall Weaknesses: