A Portfolio scoring a 5

Includes papers that:

• present an interesting and original thesis (or clearly identify an interesting and original focus);
• contain effective and thoughtful introductory and concluding paragraphs;
• are written in a tone and style that are entirely appropriate to the audience of a paper,
• are written in a style and with a structure that are entirely appropriate to the paper's purpose;
• present an interesting and original response to a topic or assignment;
• articulate ideas in a smooth and cohesive manner with effective transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs;
• maintain focus and coherency, and do not contain repetition and digression;
• contain effectively structured and developed paragraphs, each with a clear purpose;
• correctly incorporate and cite sources (if sources are used);
• maintain basic sentence-level correctness.

 

Includes papers that:

• present an effective thesis (or identify an interesting focus);
• contain effective introductory and concluding paragraphs that may nonetheless lack creativity;
• are written in a tone and style that are reasonably appropriate for the paper's audience;
• are written in a style and with a structure that are reasonably appropriate for the paper's purpose;
• present a somewhat interesting and original response to a topic or assignment;
• articulate ideas in a fairly smooth and cohesive manner with generally good transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs;
• maintain focus and coherency with fairly good consistency and avoid significant repetition and digression;
• contain well structured and developed paragraphs, which mostly demonstrate a clear purpose;
• correctly incorporate and cite sources (if sources are used);
• maintain basic sentence-level correctness with no more than a few errors.

 

Includes papers that:

• present a thesis (or identify a focus) although these may be weak at times;
• contain introductory and concluding paragraphs that generally identify the topic of the paper, but do not introduce or conclude the content/argument of the paper;
• are written in a tone and style that do not always seem appropriate for the paper's audience;
• are written in a style and with a structure that do not always seem appropriate for the paper's purpose;
• respond to the topic or assignment (although the papers may omit information, arguments, or evidence that would make them full responses);
• articulate ideas in a manner that tends overall to be smooth and cohesive, including transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs (one area may be weaker than the others);
• maintain overall focus and coherency, although there may be some repetition, omission, or digression;
• contain paragraphs whose structure and development are acceptable, but whose overall purpose may not be entirely clear;
• cite sources (if sources are used) although those sources may not be effectively incorporated;
• contain some sentence-level errors, but not enough to detract from the reader's comprehension.

 

Includes papers that:

• identify a purpose, thesis, or focus, although in each case these may be weak;
• contain introductory and concluding paragraphs that generally identify the topic of the paper, but do not introduce or conclude the content/argument of the paper;
• are written in a tone and style that are sometimes inappropriate for the paper's audience;
• are written in a style and with a structure that is sometimes inappropriate for the paper's purpose;
• respond to the topic or assignment, but omit information, arguments, or evidence that would make them full responses;
• articulate ideas in a manner that is often "choppy" and incohesive, lacking transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs;
• while maintaining some focus, include significant repetition, omission, or digression;
• contain some paragraphs whose structure and development are not satisfactoy, or whose overall purpose is unclear;
• cite sources (if sources are used) although those sources may not be effectively incorporated;
• contain some sentence-level errors that detract from the reader's comprehension.

 

Includes papers that:

• do not always identify a purpose, thesis, or focus;
• do not effectively introduce or conclude the content/argument of the paper;
• are written in a tone and style that are sometimes or often inappropriate for the paper's audience;
• are written in a style and with a structure that is not appropriate for the paper's purpose;
• do not entirely respond to the topic or assignment, and omit information, arguments, or evidence that would make them effective responses;
• articulate ideas in a manner that is often "choppy" and incohesive, lacking transitions between sentences, ideas, and paragraphs;
• include significant repetition, omission, or digression;
• contain some paragraphs whose structure and development are not satisfactoy, or whose overall purpose is unclear;
• cite sources (if sources are used) but do not effectively use or incorporate those sources;
• contain sentence-level errors that detract from the reader's comprehension.

 

Includes papers whose lack of quality (or lack of existence in the portfolio) suggests that the student quite probably needs to take English 1 again.