Your total paper grade will be a combination of your final draft paper grade [70 percent] , timely submission of all pre-drafting exercises [20 percent]and your first draft grade [10 percent].
I use the following rubrics for determining the grade for the revised and final draft:
20%- Engagement with Text (including quotes, discussion of quotes, connecting part to the whole of text, proper citation)
20%- Application of theory to literary text
20%-Argumentation (having a thesis, compelling structure, and examples that support argument)
20%-Language (clarity, grammar, spelling, tone).
20%-Revision (did you substantially rework some part of your paper based on the feedback given).
HOWEVER
Many students prefer having more detail about what goes into an A or C paper. Below is a generally good guide. I use the above rubrics for the actual grading (meaning I give a grade for each category and average the five category grades to get the total grade). However, the below is helpful guideline for those who want more details. It begins with articulating what the attributes of many failing paper and ends with some of the attributes of an excellent paper.
Failing [F]: Any combination of the following can contribute to a failing paper grade:
*Misquoting and/or no citations or inaccurate citations
*No arguable thesis statement
*Grammatical and spelling errors to the point of making the prose illegible.
*Too generalized
*Discussing a topic related to something other than what the assignment asked for.
*Any type of unauthorized borrowing of someone else’s ideas.
Passable Paper [D-C]
*Will have all the parts of the paper detailed in the assignment.
*Will identify specific aspects of one philosophy text and one literary text from the syllabus.
*Put the two texts in some sort of comparison.
* Have legible writing (meaning that I can understand what you are saying).
* Include accurate citations where appropriate.
Good Paper [C-B]
*Will have all the parts of the paper detailed in the assignment.
*Will identify specific aspects of one philosophy text and one literary text from the syllabus.
*Put the two texts in some sort of comparison.
* Have legible writing (meaning that I can understand what you are saying).
* Include accurate citations where appropriate.
AND
* A strong thesis.
* Clear introduction of points.
* Effective textual evidence.
Excellent Paper [B-A]
*Will have all the parts of the paper detailed in the assignment.
*Will identify specific aspects of one philosophy text and one literary text from the syllabus.
*Put the two texts in some sort of comparison.
* Have legible writing (meaning that I can understand what you are saying).
* Include accurate citations where appropriate.
AND
* A strong thesis.
* Clear introduction of points.
* Effective textual evidence.
AND
* Clear, cogent, and grammatically strong prose
*Strong explication of textual evidence
*”A So What”**
——————
**The best papers will not only put the philosophy text and the literary text in conversation, but they will also have a “so what.” A “so what” is a statement or discussion about why the argument you’re making matters. Your “so what” won’t likely be that your argument cures cancers, or feeds hungry children, or even solves the greatest philosophical questions of all time. Your “so what” will more than likely need to be more local. For instance what seems like the literary text fundamental ethos? Does the claim you’re making about how it supports or challenges the philosophy text also challenge that fundamental ethos? Or does it make us realize how deep that ethos goes? These are examples of “so what”s that an A paper will make.