SCORINGRUBRICSFORPROFESSIONALWRITING*

Strategy/Purpose:Doesthedocumentmeetitsintendedobjective?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Objectiveofthedocumentiseasilyidentified;contentsupportsobjective
Objectiveisnotimmediatelyclear;someadditionalcontentneededtosupportobjective
Objectiveisdifficulttodetermine;additionalcontentneededtosupportobjective
Objectivecannotbedetermined

Strategy/Audience:Doesthedocumentaddresstheintendedaudience?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Content,structure,andlanguageofdocumentgearedtointendedaudience
Documentismissingsomecontentrequiredbyaudience;somelanguageusedinappropriately(e.g.,unfamiliar
jargon,toomuchjargon)
Documentismissingasubstantialportionofcontentrequiredbyaudience;usessomeinappropriateorineffective
language
Noorganizationapparent;contentofdocumentreflectsinterestsofwriterbutnotofaudience;inappropriate
useoflanguage

Structure:Doestheorganizationreflectthepurposeofthedocumentandtheneedsoftheaudience?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Subsectionsthematicallycoherentandaccomplishtheirintendedfunctions;documentorganizedaccordingto
readersneeds;relationshipbetweenideasclear
Coherenceorfunctionofsubsectionsweaker;organizationisevidentbutmaybeunderminedbyweaktransitions
oroccasionaldigressions
Subsectionsarenotlogicalordonotaccomplishtheirintendedfunction;organizationisconfusingorunclear
Nodiscernibleorganization;thoughtsinrandomorderwithoutconnectionsbetweenthem

Support/Evidence:Istheevidenceusedtosupporttheargumentconcrete,relevant,credible,accurate,andsufficient?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Argumentisclearlysupportedbyaccurateevidenceconsideredcrediblebytheaudience;sufficientdetailto
supportthemainpointsofthedocument
Manydetailssupportargument,butsomearenotfullyelaboratedorsufficientlyspecific;someevidencenot
relevant
Someevidenceisprovided,butdataisnotfullyexplained,relevanttotheargument,orcredible;important
piecesofevidencehavenotbeenincluded;somedatainaccurate
Littleornodatatosupportthemainideasoftheargument;muchofthedataisinaccurate

PreparedforManagementCommunicationforUndergraduates(15.279),SloanSchoolofManagement,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,1999.

Coherence:Dosentencesinparagraphsrelatetooneanotherinalogicalway?Arerelationshipsbetweenparagraphseasilydiscernible?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Paragraphsareinternallyconsistent(i.e.,oneidea/themerunsthroughparagraph);transitionsbetweenparagraphs
allowreadertoeasilyfollowthreadofargument
Afewparagraphlackinternallyconsistency;afewweakoruncleartransitions
Manyparagraphslackinternallyconsistency;manytransitionsareweakorusedinappropriately
Mainideainmostparagraphscannotbeidentified;paragraphshavelittleornodiscerniblerelationshiptoone
another

Clarity/Conciseness:Aresentencesstructurallycorrect,succinct,andeasytounderstand?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Sentencesflowsmoothly,arestructurallycorrect,andconveytheintendedmeaning;nowordiness
Fivepercentorlessofsentencesareawkward,incorrectlyconstructed,orwordy
Sixtotenpercentofsentencesareawkward,incorrectlyconstructed,orwordy
Morethan10percentofsentencesareawkward,incorrectlyconstructed,orwordy

Formatting:Areformattingelementsusedappropriatelytostrengthenthedocument?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Formattingelementsorganizeandhighlightideasasneeded;formattingelementsareusedconsistentlythroughout
thedocument
Formattingelementsdonotalwayssupportmainpoints;elementsareusedconsistentlythroughout
Formattingelementsoftendonotsupportmainpoints;elementsarenotalwaysusedconsistently
Formattingelementsareconfusingorinconsistent;lackofanyformatting

UseofTablesandGraphs:Aretablesandgraphsusedeffectively?
Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Tablesandgraphsareincludedtosupportkeypartsoftheargument,aredesignedforeasycomprehension,and
areplacedappropriately
Tableandgraphsarenotalwaystiedtothekeypointsoftheargument;designmakesitsomewhatdifficult
forreadertointerpretdata
Tablesandgraphsaredisconnectedfromkeypointsoftheargument;designmakesitdifficultforreader
tointerpretdata;tableorgraphisnotplacedintheoptimumpositioninrelationtotext
Tableandgraphsaredisconnectedfromkeypointsoftheargument;designmakesitimpossibleforthereaderto
interpretdata;crucialtablesorgraphsaremissing;tableandgraphsnotgermanetotheargumentareincluded

Mechanics:

Aretheregrammar,punctuation,orspellingerrors?

Welldone
Acceptable
SomeWeaknesses
Problematic

Nogrammar,punctuation,orspellingerrors
Nomorethanthreegrammar,punctuation,orspellingerrors
Fourtosixgrammar,punctuation,orspellingerrors
Sevenormoregrammar,punctuation,orspellingerrors