First Year Portfolio Assessment

Scoring Guide--June 2010

Holistic Assessment:             Pass (note if marginal)          Resubmit

Argument Essays in Sections B, C and D

	1 Unacceptable	2 Approaches expectations	3 Meets expectations	4 Exceeds expectations
Central Argument	No clear central argument for essays.	Unclear and/or multiple ideas competing for the focus of essays.	Student has sense of a central argument; could use further clarity, focus or complexity.	Clear, precise, complex central argument or focus.
Purposeful Organization	No clear organizational structure; essays difficult to follow.	Organizational structure is weak and inadequately contextualized, often missing connections between and among ideas.	Organizational structure shows purpose, though it may not seem well informed; needs stronger connections between ideas.	Essay makes purposeful connections between ideas; progresses clearly from beginning to end.
Relevant & Specific Evidence	Does not include evidence to support ideas/opinions; relies on faulty reasoning or inappropriate sources to support points.	Uses some evidence to support ideas; much is acontextual and not connected to the argument; weak sources or reasons to support points.	Student includes appropriate evidence to support points; might rely heavily on block quotes or excessive quotation in place of student’s analysis.	Strong use of evidence (sound reasoning or use of sources); if sources are used, they are well integrated with student’s ideas.
Citation and Documentation	Outside sources not cited or not cited accurately within and at the end of the text.	Inconsistent citation of sources within the text; over-reliance on quotations; absences of writer’s ideas and voice.	Somewhat consistent and accurate citation of sources, though the writer could continue to work on integrating her own voice into essays.	Consistent and accurate citation of sources; writer is comfortable processing and making connections between sources and her own writing.
Editing, Mechanics, and Correctness	Poor mechanics that distract the reader; sentence-level problems that make comprehension of ideas difficult.	Essays contain consistent mechanical errors; some sentences difficult to follow because of wording.	Some errors in mechanics, but they seem random; most sentences are clear and well-formed.	Few errors in mechanics; demonstrated editing abilities; sentences are clear and well-formed.
Overall Critical Thinking in argument, perspective, details, layout, and multimedia uses	Essays do not demonstrate complex thinking; little awareness of audience, purpose and context is evident.	Inconsistent evidence of complex thinking; inconsistent attention to audience, purpose, and context.	Some evidence of complex thinking; demonstrated awareness of the audience, purpose, and context for essays.	Consistent demonstration of complex thinking and reasoning abilities; clearly writes for the appropriate audience, purpose, and context.

Reflective Letter, Section A

Structure	Letter has no clear structure or progression.	Letter has a sense of structure, but tends to wander, or fails to address some questions.	Letter is structured by questions without connections between.	Letter is structured around student-determined content/theme from start to finish.
Tone & Style (moderately informal, candid, written in first-person singular).	Student adopts tone and level of writing inappropriate to guidelines.	Tone is inconsistent or style shows lapses in audience awareness.	Tone and style are largely appropriate to informal academic writing, with occasions of inappropriate informality or over-formality.	Tone and style are consistently appropriate to informal academic writing
Selection and Rationale for Essay Choices; Critical Thinking	No evidence for selection of essays or choosing the writing prompt; little to no critical commentary	Some marginal reasoning for selecting assignments and including them in the portfolio; surface level critical commentary.	Clear reasons for including essays in the portfolio; evidence of ability to think critically about her own writing.	Smart reasons for including the essays in the portfolio; connections between writings show critical reflection on her own work.
Realistic Self-Assessment and Articulation of Future Writing Contexts	Student cannot articulate development in her own writing or a plan for future improvement.	Only surface- level improvements addressed; few or unrealistic plans for future development.	Student articulates some realistic improvements and a reasonable plan for future development.	Student notes improvements and develops a thoughtful plan for continued development.

Other comments about the portfolio	Recommended workshops
Section B Section C Section D	___ Thesis development ___ Incorporating evidence ___ Citation / documentation ___ Organization / argument ___ Copy-editing (note specific issues) ___________________________ __________________________
Reflection, Section A