Classroom Research:  Writing Skills

Rubric for Thesis

LEVEL 5:  A level 5 thesis will be clear and concise in style, represent complexity of thought, and fully encapsulate the discussion executed in the body of the paper.  At this level, the thesis will contain no grammatical or syntactical errors and will be stated in language that is clear and to the point so that no second reading is necessary.  It will delimit a manageable scope for discussion and will move beyond restating the prompt given by the instructor.  A level 5 thesis will express an interesting and thoughtful insight or an argument with which a reasonable person might disagree; it will also either state directly or imply the reasoning behind that argument or insight (the hows and whys).  Finally, the argument put forth in the thesis will fully represent the intellectual work done in the body of the paper.

LEVEL 4:  Like a level 5 thesis, a level 4 thesis will delimit a manageable scope for the paper and represent complexity of thought, but may contain syntactical, stylistic, or grammatical errors that impede immediate comprehension.  Alternately, a level 4 thesis may be clearly stated but only begin to probe the reasoning behind the argument or insight beyond the level of observation:  the reader will be left with the idea that the writer could have probed for a deeper and more satisfying explanation.  Finally, a thesis at this level may fail to fully represent the intellectual work done in the body of the paper. 

LEVEL 3:  A level 3 thesis may be clearly stated and sum up the body of the paper, but will elicit a “so what” response by the reader.  In other words, a level 3 thesis will represent simple, unsophisticated thought by stating the obvious, offering an unremarkable observation, or merely restating the prompt given by the instructor.  Alternately, a level 3 thesis may show an attempt toward sophisticated, complex thought, but fail to describe the intellectual work carried on in the body of the paper such that some confusion results from unexpected discussion.

LEVEL 2: Like a level 3 thesis, a level 2 thesis will represent unsophisticated thought, but it will also be poorly expressed, such that the writer’s meaning is not immediately evident and a second read is necessary.  A 2 should also be assigned to a thesis that is understandable, but only faintly indicates the discussion pursued in the body of the paper, rendering the paper very confusing to read.

LEVEL 1:  A score of 1 will describe a paper with no thesis at all, a thesis that has nothing to do with the rest of the paper, or a thesis that is so garbled and confusing that it is difficult or impossible to comprehend.