Department of History

The Fieldston School___________________________________________________________________________________

Andrew Meyers

DBQ/ Research Essay Grading Sheet

You are graded on seven categories:
√ • x	Introduction	zinger, background (who, what, when, where), definitions, relevance, thesis (why, how, “so what”), “road map” to rest of essay
√ • x	Organization/ Structure	thesis-driven, topic sentences, paragraphing, transitions, logical flow
√ • x	Factual Support	relevance, selection, range of sources, dates, people, historical events, context, evidence and counter-evidence
√ • x	Quotation Choice/Use	number, choice/use, intro, analysis, discussion, format, relevance, citation
√ • x	Analysis and Argument	consistent thesis argument, addresses counter-argument, thorough discussions, original interpretation, use of secondary sources/historiography
√ • x	Prose and Mechanics	prose, punctuation, word choice, colloquialisms, spelling, passive voice, capitals, vague antecedents, verb tense, agreement, sentence fragments, vague language
√ • x	Conclusion	restatement, expansion, answering the “so what” question (significance)

(√ = very good; • = satisfactory; x = unsatisfactory)

A = If you fulfill all seven categories effectively, thoroughly, elegantly, and are utterly convincingly

A- = If you fulfill all seven categories effectively and thoroughly

B+ = If you fulfill six

B = If you fulfill five

B- = If you fulfill four

C+ = If you fulfill three

C = If you fulfill two But

C- = If you fulfill one

D = If you attempt to fulfill one

Comment:

Grade:

Essay Form and Correction Key

Introduction

“Zinger”

Background

Thesis + Road Map: points A, B,+ C

Body Paragraph “A”

Topic Sentence “A”

Evidence (quotes, dates, events)+ Analysis

Transistion to “B”

Body Paragraph “B”

Topic Sentence “B”

Evidence (quotes, dates, events)+ Analysis

Transistion to “C”

Body Paragraph “C”

Topic Sentence “C”

Evidence (quotes, dates, events)+ Analysis

Transistion to conclusion

Conclusion

Restate Thesis (more fully)

Expansion (“so what?”)

Correction Symbols

WW wrong word (Choose a more appropriate word. Try a thesaurus.)

NSW no such word (Choose a more appropriate word. Try a thesaurus.)

AWK awkward word or phrase (Try a different word that fits the meaning of the sentence more closely.)

¶ insert paragraph ( A new idea deserves a new ¶ .)

insert

AA ambiguous antecedent (It is unclear to which noun the pronoun refers. Replace with proper noun.)

VT faulty verb tense agreemant (ie. shifting from past to present)

TS topic sentence (Each TS should relate to your thesis and summarize the paragraph.)

/ lower case (ie. a capital with a diagonal line through it should become a lowercase)

_ upper case (ie. “a” means it should be “A” )

remove

unclear phrase

UNC unclear idea

??? what the heck are you talking about?

pt punctuation

sp spelling

qt quotation form (Indent, single-space and provide a citation of the source in the text or in a footnote.)

cite citation (Provide a citation of the source for the quotation or idea.)

coll colloquialism (ie, “Yo, Lincoln really dissed Jeff Davis, y'know”)

frag sentence fragment (ie, “Entering the war for political reasons, not moral ones.”)

passive passive voice (ie, change “The Constitution was written” to “the framers wrote the Comnstitution.”)

sig significance (what is the significance of this point?)

reverse

∆ change

RO run-on sentence (Break up the sentence into a few smaller ones)