Points

Characteristics

0

The thesis statement is dishonest or completely ignores the assignment.

1 - 10

The statement simply describes the research topic with no argument; the list of the evidence is incomplete.

11 - 13

The thesis is imprecise, and the relevance of the evidence to the thesis is not clear.

14 - 15

The statement presents a clear thesis, but the thesis is not set within the context of an academic problem.

16 - 17

The thesis is set within the context of an academic problem, but the statement is not fully developed:

the problem is broad and abstract;
the thesis does not address the problem specifically;
the evidence is incomplete or its relevance not specified;
or the bibliography is incomplete.

18 - 20

A specific research problem is fully developed, the thesis directly responds to the problem, sufficient and relevant evidence is listed to support the thesis, and a complete bibliography is included.