What is a Rubric?
Merriam-Webster in part defines a rubric as “a guide listing specific criteria for grading or scoring academic papers, projects, or tests”. As indicated by this definition, many instructors use rubrics for general assignment feedback. Before they even start the assignment, the rubric tells a student what they need to do and how their work will be evaluated.
Once the instructor begins assessing the student’s work, it provides a uniform assessment of all student work over the breadth of a single assignment and expedites the delivery of feedback to students. Not only do rubrics ensure consistency across an entire course from one student to the next, from one section to the next, and from one term to another, they also combat potential inherent biases by guiding the assessment. When used rigorously, a rubric is the foundational standard by which a student’s work is assessed and a grade is earned. In turn, rigorous use of rubrics removes the likelihood of both biases (“my instructor didn’t like me”) and chance (“I ended up in a really smart class”).
Figure 5.1 Sample of a Rubric Used for Scoring Assignments
What does this Mean?
In its application, the instructor decides ahead of time how they will evaluate an assignment by creating rubric criteria, giving those criteria weights and levels, and determining how the assignment will fit in terms of importance to the course. High point values allow finer distinction in whole numbers when scoring. Unless the instructor weights assignments, these points relative to other assignment points can make a 1-point deduction a major or trivial matter. For example:
It is essential to understand the rubric before beginning an assignment. The rubric will show the specific areas which the student will be graded on for a specific assignment, and these categories break down what a student needs to do to receive any given score.
When an instructor designs a course, they start with the course learning outcomes or LOs. Instructors teach to their strengths. That is, if your instructor obtained a Phd from a school known for its rigor in research, wrote their dissertation on a narrowly defined topic, and now publishes extensively on that same topic, expect their course to borrow heavily from this discipline and use assignments that explore this body of knowledge. However, if your instructor is a practitioner who worked extensively in industry without a terminal degree, expect your course to rely heavily on their real world experiences and to offer up similarly related assignments.
Taken together, the assignment prompt and its accompanying rubric, provide a blueprint for what the instructor expects and how they will grade or score your work. Taking the time to understand how your assignment will be assessed will provide a clear plan for how to best complete the assignment.
After receiving a grade and in order to improve for the next assignment, you need to understand why you received a particular grade. Grading styles can vary tremendously among instructors, but the responsibility of understanding their grade and learning from their mistakes always falls on the student. Review their feedback in context of both the original assignment prompt and the rubric. Oftentimes, a low score on an assignment is a result of not following the instructions or providing specific elements of the assignment that were requested in the prompt or evaluated in the rubric.
As stated above, feedback and grading styles vary from instructor to instructor. Below is one example of a style of feedback—a list of common errors in writing and explanations for how to fix the error. Instructors may choose to abbreviate on the paper itself and use the list below, or similar, for more detailed explanations. These markups are, in no way, standardized in format. However, the issues they reflect are common in terms of what most instructors look for when giving feedback.
Some instructors may simply place a checkmark in the margin or color-code parts of a student’s report with a highlighter to communicate what was done well and what needs to be improved. For example, green highlights can be used to identify “wins” in the writing—things that are on target or particularly well done; orange highlights can represent “misses” or “errors—things that are incorrect or problematic. Research on student feedback indicates when an instructor gives abundant feedback and corrects every error on the report, she is actually doing a disservice for the student. This research indicates that identifying where an error exists forces the student to self-assess and correct. This practice creates stronger and more sustained learning.
· Logic Error (LE) – an error in reasoning that renders the argument invalid. Often an unsubstantiated assertion that is delivered with a conviction that makes it sound as though it is fact. It may draw a false conclusion or misuse evidence or language.
o Use linear, cause-effect thinking without skipping steps;
o Base arguments on inductive (an accumulation of examples) or deductive (a breaking down of facts) reasoning;
o Avoid manipulating the evidence of your observations or citations to match your analysis. Instead, when the evidence points in a different direction, change your conclusion.
· Missing Citation (MC) – potentially plagiarism, it means stating a fact without providing a source for the fact. While it is okay to state facts from the case or a lecture without citing the source, apart from either of these, a citation is required.
· Missing Evidence (ME) – when there is an opportunity to cite supporting evidence but such evidence is omitted. See also LE and MC.
o Using adjectives (e.g., big, large and very) typically require some data to make them relevant;
o Look for opportunities to cite supporting evidence from the case;
o Use external sources (if available) to support arguments.
· Passive (P) – technically, this is when the subject, not the object, receives the action of the verb in a sentence. Often, the agent performing the action is not identified. Passive voice often leads to very wordy or evasive writing.
o Write in terms of a subject, performing an action on an object;
o Avoid placing the action (verb) after the agent (noun) performing the action.
· Redundant (R) – a form of wordy writing that uses the same word, phrase or concept repeatedly within a sentence, a paragraph or a case brief.
o Use variety in your writing; but
o Avoid using synonyms you don’t understand (see word choice).
· Sentence Fluency (SF) – the quality of consistently applying skill correctly in the manner of one well-practiced at it. Found when speaking a written passage out loud is difficult.
o Write how native speakers write;
o Write how native speakers talk;
o Avoid overly informal or casual writing that sounds too conversational or casual;
o Be aware of grammar errors such as subject-verb agreement and plural and singular pronouns.
· Verb Tense (VT) – verbs show action in English writing and convey past, present and future tenses as in written – writing – will write. Use the proper tense to describe an action on the object in a sentence.
o Xiao has written;
o Xiao is writing;
o Xiao will write.
· Word Choice (WC) – beyond verb tense, word choice is using a word out of place or in the wrong context.
o Choose understandable, specific and precise words;
o Avoid overused and obsolete words.
· Word Form (WF) – choosing the wrong form of the word, for example, using an adjective instead of a noun.
o Become familiar with different parts of speech, and how they are used;
o Check your work to make sure you’re using verbs as action words, nouns as subjects and objects, and adjectives as descriptive words;
o Adjectives and adverbs are easily confused. An adverb will answer the question “how is something done?”
· Wordy (W) – verbose, using more words than is necessary. Often it happens when using many general or vague words instead of the correct, professional term – such as, “to improve the differences between how many units sold for each machine used” means the same as “improved machine productivity”.
o Whenever possible, delete nonessential words from your writing;
o Avoid using long words when there are good short ones available.