ENGL203 Critical Analysis Scoring Rubric

Introduction paragraph 20 points

- Overview sentence that identifies the article, publication source and date, overall
topic/subject, and the author
- Central argument
- Summary of the article’s main points
- Thesis statement
- Language mechanics
Analysis paragraphs 80 points (40 points for each)
- Topic sentence that identifies the element being analyzed and an evaluation of that
element as it relates to the target audience, or to the purpose, or to the central
argument
- Examples that support the topic sentence
- Smooth transitions from one example to the next with the student author’s voice
present
- Meaningful integration of the examples (appropriate analysis/explanation of the
examples provided)
- Language mechanics (includes accurate grammar (noun/verb agreement, count
agreement, tense agreement, etc.), correct format of paragraph citations for quotes
(para. #), formal language (no idioms, no slang), good sentence structure,
precision in word choice, expanded vocabulary (use of words that are on the class
vocab list)

**Note: if the language mechanics are very poor and significantly detract from the
fluency and communicativeness of the essay, then the essay will not pass. Instructors
cannot “fill in the blanks” or guess what was meant by the student.