Criteria	0-29
Focus and Development	No central idea or thesis. Off topic. Too brief. Makes claims, but doesn’t support them.
Organization and Coherence	Rambling or random order of ideas. Disconnected and disjointed. Lack of transitions and conjunctions. Inappropriate transitions and/or conjunctions.
Proof reading	Major and repeated errors in usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Errors create unintended meanings or difficulty for a reader. Poor or nonexistent MLA documentation (if applicable).

Criteria	30-34
Focus and Development	No central idea or thesis, or one too general to give shape to the paper. Makes claims, and offers weak support.
Organization and Coherence	Overall organizational problems. Poor transitions and conjunctions. Choppy Presentation.
Proof reading	A number of errors in usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Errors may create unintended meanings or impede understanding. Poor MLA documentation and incorrect use of source material(if applicable).

Criteria	35-39
Focus and Development	Has a central idea or thesis though the thesis may be faulty. Has a beginning, middle, and end, but introduction and conclusion may be one sentence apiece. Makes claims, and offers very general support.
Organization and Coherence	Obvious organization. Transitions and linking paragraphs may be weak. Some underdeveloped paragraphs.
Proof reading	Contains some errors in usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Wordiness. Awkwardness. Poor MLA documentation and occasional incorrect use of source material (if applicable).

Criteria	40-44
Focus and Development	Clear thesis that is well supported. Makes logical claims, and offers some specific support. Some claims and support may be underdeveloped.
Organization and Coherence	Some lapses in organization or argument. Generally, clear transitions.
Proof reading	Very few errors in usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Some ineffective sentences Occasional errors in MLA documentation or use of source material (if applicable).

Criteria	45-50
Focus and Development	Clear thesis that is worthy of development and well supported. Makes interesting, logical claims, and offers detailed, specific support. All paragraphs support the thesis All paragraphs developed through analysis, detail, and example. Clear beginning, middle, and end. Introduction and conclusions are well developed.
Organization and Coherence	Minor lapses in organization or development. Clear transitions.
Proof reading	Few to no errors in usage, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Few to no ineffective sentences Minor errors or no errors in MLA documentation or use of source material (if applicable).

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