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Writing Guidelines and Grading Rubric
Writing is a key aspect of most of the courses in the humanities and social sciences and
is a relevant skill for life after college as well. So, you are well served by being held to a
high standard. As you likely learned here at UCSB, there are a few things that are
necessary to consider when writing. For ease, I will summarize them by separating
them into five different categories: Argument, Evidence, Organization, Knowledge, and
Errors. On the second page, I have provided a brief rubric that I will use while grading.
Argument
In your writing, it is expected that you will pursue some sort of argument. That is, I
expect that you will produce – based on the readings that you have done and your ideas
– a legitimate argument about the topic assigned above. For example, let’s say you
were writing a different paper and you wanted to discuss whether or not inequality exists
in the United States. Does inequality exist? How do you know? In basically answering
these questions, you have produced an argument. So, you might say that inequality
does not exist in the United States, at least not to the extent that is sometimes argued
(answering the first question). But, thus far, you have not produced an argument. Your
argument is produced when you answer the second question. Perhaps you would
argue that it does exist. In this case, you might argue that you know it exists because of
the unequal distribution of resources, social mobility statistics, etc. This is a basic idea,
and your argument should be produced before you ever begin writing. The goal of your
written piece is to support your argument.
Evidence
To support your argument, you have to employ some sort of evidence. I am not
convinced of your argument just because it is your opinion – and you should not be
either. To support your argument, you need to figure out how you can support the
second answer to the above questions. How do you know why or why not? So, taking
the same example, we have a good deal of evidence at this point to argue that
inequality exists. However, when you use evidence to support the “why,” you have to
be clear to explain why the evidence you are using supports the argument you are
making. You cannot just cite and summarize a bunch of readings that are tangentially
or topically related to your argument. You need to explain why and how this work
serves as evidence supporting your argument.
Organization
The best way of ensuring that your evidence clearly supports your argument is to
ensure that your argument proceeds logically. I am sure that every teacher that has
ever talked with you about writing has suggested that you outline your ideas. This is
why. A good argument with adequate evidence that is poorly organized is a bad paper.
There are many ways to craft an argument, but you need to ensure that the way that
you are doing it makes sense with the argument that you are making. First, you need to
figure out how to explain your argument in some basic manner. Then, look through the
evidence that you are going to present to make your case and decide on a logical way
to work through the evidence. For instance, you might have different evidence that
supports different parts of your argument. Make sure that those are separate from one
another in the organization of the piece. Additionally, make sure your paper does not
read like a tour of the readings. This is where each reading is dealt with in a separate
paragraph. Papers organized this way lack synthesis and the readings are
disconnected, which then makes the overall argument fall flat. This may seem basic,
but much of the writing that I read from college students fails most dramatically here.
Knowledge
This is a fairly basic point, but it is very important. It is imperative for you to have an
understanding of what you are writing about. If you are unclear about the ideas you are
discussing in your paper, or even those that you are using as evidentiary support from
other authors, you might be supporting your argument (which is great), but you are
doing so with an incorrect—or more often incomplete—understanding of the ideas you
are discussing. Figure out what you want to say based on what you have read and
what else has been said. To do this, you must have knowledge of the ideas and
arguments that are out there.
Errors
This is another basic point, and you are certainly not being graded predominantly on
whether or not you use a comma appropriately or how many words are misspelled.
However, errors in grammar and syntax are typically signs that the above four
dimensions of writing have been either ignored or hastily considered. Additionally,
incomplete and grammatically incorrect sentences, malapropisms, and inappropriate
grammar use are also more serious than they may at first appear. When you
communicate while speaking, you have the ability to ensure that your audience
comprehends what you are saying, and you have the opportunity to re-word things
when necessary, etc. But, audiences for our written work do not receive the same
benefits. As such, our written communication is held to a higher standard. The
potential for miscommunication or lack of communication is great, especially when
awkwardly worded sentences distract from a complete understanding of what you are
trying to say.
Grading Rubric
attached