Assessing Miami University Capstone Projects

Wil Haygood presenting to a group of facilitators.

Writing and Critical Thinking Rubric - Capstone Project
Criterion	Question	A (4)	B (3)	C (2)	D (1)	N/A	Notes
Identified Audience	When reviewing can you identify the intended audience?	Intended audience is clearly identifiable.	There is some evidence of an intended audience, but not specific.	Readers of certain audiences can be somewhat identified.	Audience cannot be identified
Audience		Writes in a manner that is highly effective for this audience and successfully considers audience needs and expectations	Generally writes in a manner that is effective for this audience and generally responds to audience needs and expectations	Adequately considers audience but misses the mark in some regards	Does not consider audience and/or misses the mark frequently or completely
Intended Purpose	When reviewing, can you identify the purpose of the essay?	Intended purpose (or purposes) is clearly identifiable	There is some indication of a specific purpose (or purposes), but not clearly articulated.	Readers can identify certain elements of a purpose (or purposes).	Purpose (or purposes) is not identifiable.
Purpose		Is highly effective in achieving the purpose and does so with skill and expertise	Is generally effective in achieving purpose and does so competently	Seems to recognize purpose and work to respond to it but is not always successful	Misses the mark frequently or completely in terms of purpose
Genre		Uses the conventions of the genre in highly effective ways (or pushes genre boundaries in skilled & effective ways)	Uses the conventions of the genre competently	Recognizes the genre conventions but does not always use them successfully	Misses the mark frequently or completely in terms of genre expectations
Evidence		Provides and uses strong and appropriate evidence in a highly effective manner, given audience, genre, and purpose	Provides & uses evidence in an effective manner, given audience, genre, and purpose	Provides & uses evidence adequately, given audience, genre, and purpose	Does not provide or misuses evidence or does not use evidence in a helpful way given audience, purpose, and genre
Context & Assumptions		Thoroughly analyzes assumptions and carefully evaluates the relevance of contexts when presenting a position.	Identifies assumptions and several relevant contexts when presenting a position	Questions some assumptions. Identifies several relevant contexts when presenting a position. Could be more aware of assumptions	Shows an emerging awareness of present assumptions. Begins to identify some contexts when presenting a position.
Issues & Problems		Issue/problem to be considered critically is stated clearly and described comprehensively, delivering all relevant information necessary for full understanding.	Issue/problem to be considered critically is stated, described, and clarified so that understanding is not seriously impeded by omissions.	Issue/problem to be considered critically is stated but description leaves some terms undefined, ambiguities unexplored, boundaries undetermined, and/or backgrounds unknown.	Issue/problem to be considered critically is stated without clarification or description, or not stated.
Imagination, Creativity, & Problem Solving		Position is imaginative and creative. Takes complexities into account and demonstrates thoughtful & creative problem-solving.	Takes complexities into account and demonstrates sound problem- solving abilities	Acknowledges various sides of issues or problems and demonstrates basic understanding of them	Does not understand the issues at hand, or recognize multiple perspectives and does not offer helpful solutions or conclusions
Citation & Documentation		Sources are cited and can be traced; appropriate documentation style for the genre is used correctly.	Sources are cited and can be traced; appropriate documentation style is mostly used correctly	Sources are cited and documentation style is used, though not competently or appropriately at all times.	Sources are not cited, or cannot be traced, or documentation style is not present or appropriate or is not used with competence
Style, Tone, & Mechanics		Style, tone, and mechanics are skillfully employed as appropriate for this genre and audience	Style, tone, and mechanics are competently employed as appropriate for this genre and audience	Style, tone, and mechanics are attended to but there are some problems or missteps	Style, tone, and mechanics are problematic enough to interfere with understanding of the text