Table 14 An analytic rating rubric

7

Thorough and logical developments of thesis; substantive and detailed; no irrelevant information; interesting; a substantial number of words for amount of time given

7

Excellent overall organization; clear thesis statement; substantive introduction and conclusion; excellent use of transition word; excellent connections between paragraphs; unity within every paragraph

7

Very sophisticated vocabulary; excellent choice of words with no errors; excellent range of vocabulary; idiomatic and near native-like vocabulary; academic register; no spelling errors

7

No major errors in word order or complex structures; no errors that interfere with comprehension; frequent use of complex sentences; excellent sentence variety

6

6

6

6

5

Good and logical development of thesis; fairly substantive and detailed; almost no irrelevant information; somewhat interesting; an adequate number of words for the amount of time given

5

Good overall organization; clear thesis statement; good introduction and conclusion; good use of transition words; good connections between paragraphs; unity within most paragraphs

5

Somewhat sophisticated vocabulary; attempts, even if not completely successful, at sophisticated vocabulary; good choice of words with some errors that do not obscure meaning; adequate range of vocabulary but some repetition; approaching academic register; no more than a few spelling errors in less frequent vocabulary

5

Occasional errors in awkward order or complex structures; almost no errors that interfere with comprehension; attempts, even if not completely successful, at a variety of complex structures; frequent use of complex sentences; good sentence variety

4

4

4

4

3

Some development of thesis; not much substance or details; somewhat uninteresting; limited number of words for the amount of time given

3

Some general coherent organization; minimal thesis statement or main idea; minimal introduction and conclusion; occasional use of transitions words; some disjointed connections between paragraphs; some paragraphs may lack unity

3

Unsophisticated vocabulary; limited word choice with some errors obscuring meaning; repetitive choice of words; no resemblance to academic register; some spelling errors in less frequent and more frequent vocabulary

3

Errors in word order or complex structures; some errors that interfere with comprehension; minimal use of complex sentences; little sentence variety

2

2

2

2

1

No development of thesis; no substance or details; substantial amount of irrelevant information; very few words for the amount of time given

1

No coherent organization; no thesis statement or main idea; no introduction and conclusion; no use of transition words; disjointed connections between paragraphs; paragraphs lack unity

1

Very simple vocabulary; severe errors in word choice that often obscure meaning; no variety in word choice; no resemblance to academic register several spelling errors even in frequent vocabulary

1

Serious errors in word order or complex structures; frequent errors that interfere with comprehension; almost no attempt at complex sentences; no sentence variety