Criteria

Proficient

Competent

Novice

Amateur

Unacceptable

Transmittal Memo

10 Points

Your transmittal memo did all of the following: was formatted as a memo; transmitted a greeting to the reader; established the subject in the first sentence; followed the opening with a brief summary; closed the message with a thank-you and a forward look.

8 Points

Your transmittal memo did no more than four of the following: was formatted as a memo; transmitted a greeting to the reader; established the subject in the first sentence; followed the opening with a brief summary; closed the message with a thank-you and a forward look.

6 Points

Your transmittal memo did no more than three of the following: was formatted as a memo; transmitted a greeting to the reader; established the subject in the first sentence; followed the opening with a brief summary; closed the message with a thank-you and a forward look.

4 Points

Your transmittal memo did no more than two of the following: was formatted as a memo; transmitted a greeting to the reader; established the subject in the first sentence; followed the opening with a brief summary; closed the message with a thank-you and a forward look.

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

Title Page

5 Points

You included a title page with all of the following: title of paper, date, person for whom report was prepared, and your name.

0 Points

3 Points

You included an incomplete title page.

0 Points

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

Contents and Figures Page

5 Points

Your contents and figures page did all of the following: used appropriate title(s) for page(s) (e.g., Contents or Figures); used indentation to indicate the heading degrees used in the report; listed figures separately; centered the entire contents outline horizontally.

0 Points

3 Points

You included an incomplete or incorrect contents and figures page.

0 Points

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

Executive Summary

10 Points

Your Executive Summary included all of the following: title of Executive Summary; summary of the major sections of the report; generalized statements that avoided detail available in the report; brief description of what was done, how it was done, and what conclusions were reached.

8 Points

Your Executive Summary included no more than three of the following: title of Executive Summary; summary of the major sections of the report; generalized statements that avoided detail available in the report; brief description of what was done, how it was done, and what conclusions were reached.

6 Points

Your Executive Summary included no more than two of the following: title of Executive Summary; summary of the major sections of the report; generalized statements that avoided detail available in the report; brief description of what was done, how it was done, and what conclusions were reached.

4 Points

Your Executive Summary included no more than one of the following: title of Executive Summary; summary of the major sections of the report; generalized statements that avoided detail available in the report; brief description of what was done, how it was done, and what conclusions were reached.

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

Introduction

20 Points

Your introduction did all of the following: provided a clear statement of the problem/purpose; described the scope or limits of the study; gave the method of research, with justification; included a definition of terms section, if necessary.

15 Points

Your introduction did no more than three of the following: provided a clear statement of the problem/purpose; described the scope or limits of the study; gave the method of research, with justification; included a definition of terms section, if necessary.

10 Points

Your introduction did no more than two of the following: provided a clear statement of the problem/purpose; described the scope or limits of the study; gave the method of research, with justification; included a definition of terms section, if necessary.

5 Points

Your introduction did no more than one of the following: provided a clear statement of the problem/purpose; described the scope or limits of the study; gave the method of research, with justification; included a definition of terms section, if necessary.

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

Report of Findings

40 Points

You did all of the following: reduced large, unwieldy numbers to understandable ones through common language; used objective reporting style rather than persuasive language; identified assumptions and opinions; avoided unwarranted judgments and inference; tabulated or enumerated when it would simplify the reading or add emphasis; used primary and/or secondary data appropriately.

30 Points

You did not more than five of the following: reduced large, unwieldy numbers to understandable ones through common language; used objective reporting style rather than persuasive language; identified assumptions and opinions; avoided unwarranted judgments and inference; tabulated or enumerated when it would simplify the reading or add emphasis; used primary and/or secondary data appropriately.

20 Points

You did not more than four of the following: reduced large, unwieldy numbers to understandable ones through common language; used objective reporting style rather than persuasive language; identified assumptions and opinions; avoided unwarranted judgments and inference; tabulated or enumerated when it would simplify the reading or add emphasis; used primary and/or secondary data appropriately.

10 Points

You did not more than three of the following: reduced large, unwieldy numbers to understandable ones through common language; used objective reporting style rather than persuasive language; identified assumptions and opinions; avoided unwarranted judgments and inference; tabulated or enumerated when it would simplify the reading or add emphasis; used primary and/or secondary data appropriately.

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

30 Points

You did all of the following: stated briefly the major information in the findings section; stated conclusions carefully and clearly and assured that they were a logical outgrowth of findings; assured that recommendations grew naturally from conclusions.

20 Points

You did no more than two of the following: stated briefly the major information in the findings section; stated conclusions carefully and clearly and assured that they were a logical outgrowth of findings; assured that recommendations grew naturally from conclusions.

10 Points

You did no more than one of the following: stated briefly the major information in the findings section; stated conclusions carefully and clearly and assured that they were a logical outgrowth of findings; assured that recommendations grew naturally from conclusions.

0 Points

0 Points

You did not include this section of the report.

References – Number and Quality

10 Points

You listed at least 10 references AND at least 5 of these were juried/peer-reviewed publications.

7 Points

You listed fewer than 10 total references BUT at least 5 of these were juried/peer-reviewed publications.

5 Points

You listed at least 10 references AND between 2 and 4 of these were juried/peer-reviewed publications.

2 Points

You listed fewer than 10 references AND between 2 and 4 of these were juried/peer-reviewed publications.

0 Points

Citations and References – Format

10 Points

You included both in-text citations and references for all works used AND you used proper APA style.

8 Points

You included in-text citations and references for all works used AND you attempted to use proper APA style, with some errors.

5 Points

You included in-text citations and references for SOME works used AND you attempted to use proper APA style.

2 Points

You included in-text citations and references for SOME works used AND you did not use APA style.

0 Points

You included NEITHER citations NOR references.

Appendix

10 Points

You included at least one appendix, and each appendix was: labeled beginning with Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.; given with an appropriate title.

0 Points

5 Points

You included at least one appendix, but appendices were not labeled or titled correctly.

0 Points

0 Points

You did not include an appendix.

Format and Layout

10 Points

Your format included all of the following: descriptive headings; consistency in the placement of headings of the same level; parallel construction in headings at the same level; proper margins for all pages; proper font size; pages numbered appropriately.

8 Points

Your format included no more than five of the following: descriptive headings; consistency in the placement of headings of the same level; parallel construction in headings at the same level; proper margins for all pages; proper font size; pages numbered appropriately.

6 Points

Your format included no more than four of the following: descriptive headings; consistency in the placement of headings of the same level; parallel construction in headings at the same level; proper margins for all pages; proper font size; pages numbered appropriately.

4 Points

Your format included no more than three of the following: descriptive headings; consistency in the placement of headings of the same level; parallel construction in headings at the same level; proper margins for all pages; proper font size; pages numbered appropriately.

0 Points

Your format included no more than two of the following: descriptive headings; consistency in the placement of headings of the same level; parallel construction in headings at the same level; proper margins for all pages; proper font size; pages numbered appropriately.

Graphic and Tabular Support

10 Points

You did all of the following: numbered figures consecutively; gave each graphic a descriptive title; introduced each graphic within the text that preceded it, placed each graphic as close to the textual reference as possible; analyzed each graphic and did not merely repeat information.

8 Points

You did no more than four of the following: numbered figures consecutively; gave each graphic a descriptive title; introduced each graphic within the text that preceded it, placed each graphic as close to the textual reference as possible; analyzed each graphic and did not merely repeat information.

6 Points

You did no more than three of the following: numbered figures consecutively; gave each graphic a descriptive title; introduced each graphic within the text that preceded it, placed each graphic as close to the textual reference as possible; analyzed each graphic and did not merely repeat information.

4 Points

You did no more than two of the following: numbered figures consecutively; gave each graphic a descriptive title; introduced each graphic within the text that preceded it, placed each graphic as close to the textual reference as possible; analyzed each graphic and did not merely repeat information.

0 Points

You did not include any graphic or tabular support.

Writing Style

15 Points

Your writing style did all of the following: used third person; avoided passive voice; used consistent verb tense; avoided ambiguous pronoun references (this); avoided expletive beginnings (There is, It is); used transition sentences for coherence.

12 Points

Your writing style did no more than five of the following: used third person; avoided passive voice; used consistent verb tense; avoided ambiguous pronoun references (this); avoided expletive beginnings (There is, It is); used transition sentences for coherence.

9 Points

Your writing style did no more than four of the following: used third person; avoided passive voice; used consistent verb tense; avoided ambiguous pronoun references (this); avoided expletive beginnings (There is, It is); used transition sentences for coherence.

6 Points

Your writing style did no more than three of the following: used third person; avoided passive voice; used consistent verb tense; avoided ambiguous pronoun references (this); avoided expletive beginnings (There is, It is); used transition sentences for coherence.

0 Points

Your writing style did no more than two of the following: used third person; avoided passive voice; used consistent verb tense; avoided ambiguous pronoun references (this); avoided expletive beginnings (There is, It is); used transition sentences for coherence.

Writing Mechanics

15 Points

You used standard English effectively, requiring little or no proofreading.

10 Points

You used standard English, but made several errors in grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation.

5 Points

You made several errors in more than one area (grammar, spelling, and punctuation) OR made frequent errors in one area (grammar, spelling, or punctuation).

0 Points

0 Points

You made frequent and serious errors in standard English writing that interfered with understanding or flow of the paper.