Writing Resources

Grading Rubric: Final Research Paper

Anthropology

Distribution of paper grade determined by the five key components of a paper:

1. Thesis and Motive (20%). Thesis: the paper's main arguments presented clearly in the introduction and evolving throughout the paper. Motive: why the paper's key question(s) and thesis are interesting and important — the motivation for the paper.
2. Evidence (25%). The core data of your paper. The evidence/data used should support your thesis and analysis, be the best available and include precise and well-cited examples and quotations.
3. Analysis (25%). Takes the evidence beyond mere description or reporting; explores the evidence in insightful ways to support the paper's claims; pushes the initial argument forward to develop new or more complex claims; makes the paper interesting and exciting to read.
4. Structure (15%). The organization and logic of the presentation of the paper, including introduction, body sections, conclusion and appropriate transitions.
5. Style (15%). The writing, including:
   • formatting (grammar, punctuation, title, citations, works cited page, careful proofreading, appropriate length
   • clarity (clear, easily understandable prose; a clear thesis or point for each paragraph that is directly relevant to the paper’s thesis and helps move the paper's overall project and argument forward; ideally, most paragraphs will begin and/or end with a clear topic statement conveying the paragraph's main point), and
   • creativity (varying, engrossing and sophisticated prose).

Use of course texts: Recall that your paper must make use of at least three course texts. These can be used to help develop the Thesis/Motive, Evidence and/or Analysis elements of the paper.

Sarah Lamb & Casey Miller
Developed at Brandeis University through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation