Political Science Rubrics

The rubrics below are standard rubrics used in grading and assessing assignments. However, faculty members are always free to add components or develop an alternative rubric to fit an assignment, or choose for some assignments not to use an explicit rubric. Ask your instructor for specific details if you are not sure what is expected, or what is meant by each rubric component.

Political Science Class Presentation Assessment Rubric

Organization: Organization must be clear, easy to follow, and contain appropriate and seamless transitions from one point to another. There should be a clear introduction which grabs the listener’s interest, and a conclusion that effectively captures the main points of the presentation.

Style: The presentation should not be read, but rather delivered in a manner that is pleasant to listen to, neither too fast or slow, and avoids filler words/sounds (um, ‘you know,’ ‘like,’ etc.). The speaker should be engaging and comfortable in front of the group.

Content: Content should be appropriate for a presentation, choosing important examples and points of analysis, but not getting lost in trivia. The listener gains insight as to the major points, and will understand the central core of the argument, and how it is supported..

Use of Communication Aids: The speaker should use aids (handouts, power point, other) which are appropriate, easy to read/follow, and integrate well into the presentation. Technical details should be worked out in advance to avoid time consuming problems.

Use of Language: Students should use proper grammar, full sentences, and wording appropriate to a college presentation (no slang, not too casual). Words should be chosen for their precise meaning. The language should not show bias, and sexist and racist language must be avoided.

Personal appearance: Students are well dressed, clean, with an appearance appropriate for a professional talk. Suits or “dressing up” is not necessary; but dress should not be shabby or distracting.

Responsiveness to audience: Students should connect with the audience, answer questions as they arise, recognize when there is a need to clarify or restate a point, and keep the audience along with appropriate internal summaries. The speaker should make brief eye contact with most members of the audience, and show equal attention to audience in different locations.

Political Science Research Paper Rubric

Thesis/Hypothesis/Research Question: The thesis of the paper (often posited as a research question or a hypothesis) should be clear, concise, and indicate the specific purpose of the paper.

Structure: The paper should be understandable and well organized. Transitions between parts of the paper should be smooth and effective, with properly written paragraphs (topic sentences, transitions between paragraphs).

Use of evidence: Evidence should be drawn from quality research sources (as specified by the assignment), and should be used effectively to support the thesis/test the hypothesis. Evidence contrary to the thesis or hypothesis should be gathered and Irrelevant or unnecessary information should not be included. Evidence should be properly cited, organized properly, and integrated within paragraphs to buttress all points. Evidence

Analysis and Reflection: Analysis of the data should follow a clear and well defined method of analysis. Evidence is clearly related to paragraph topic sentences, analysis is fresh and interesting, posing new and creative ways to think about the material. Students should demonstrate thoughtful reflection on ethical issues raised.

Logic and argumentation: Ideas in the paper should flow logically; the argument should be identifiable, reasonable and sound, and well supported by the evidence and analysis. The author should consider counter arguments and alternate interpretations of the evidence, and deal with them effectively. The author should show an understanding of the limits of her or his own argument. The author should connect the argument clearly to the thesis/hypothesis/research question.

Mechanics: Sentence structure, grammar, and diction should be excellent, with the correct use of punctuation and citation style, and minimal to no spelling errors. Offensive and sexist language should not be used.

Political Science Short Paper Rubric

Thesis: The thesis should be clear and integrate the required parts of the essay. The best thesis statements are creative, sophisticated, and easily identifiable.

Structure: The structure should be understandable and well organized. Transitions between parts of the paper should be smooth and effective, and paragraphs should be properly written (topic sentences, transitions between paragraphs, etc.).

Use of evidence: Evidence should be drawn from the class readings and notes (and/or whatever sources are required for the particular assignmet), indicating deep understanding (the best evidence to make a point should be chosen). Evidence should be integrated within paragraphs to buttress all points.

Analysis and Reflection: Evidence should clearly be related to paragraph topic sentences. The analysis should be fresh and interesting, and pose new and creative ways to think about the material. Students should demonstrate thoughtful reflection on ethical issues raised.

Logic and argumentation: Ideas in the paper should flow logically; the argument should be identifiable, reasonable and sound. The author should consider counter arguments and deal with them effectively, showing an understanding of the limits of her or his own argument. The author should clearly connect the argument to the thesis.

Political Science Web Design Rubric

Content: Content should be clearly written, highly informative, accurate, valuable for the intended audience, and using the writers own words integrate various information. Where possible, there should be hyperlinks to other sources of information, or to wherever the student got information being cited.

Originality: Content and form should be original, reflecting the author’s personal approach to the subject, not simply a collage of other people’s ideas or weblinks. There should be evidence of new thought.

Organization and Navigation: The organization of the entire website (both an individual’s set of pages and the entire site) should be clearly organized and very easy to navigate. There should be return links to the main page. Each page should have an easily identifiable title and purpose. The layout should be clear and concise. All links (both internal and external) should work.

Presentation: The website should be pleasing to the eye, and entice one to explore the site. The layout and background should be consistent throughout the site, though some modifications are allowed if they do not take away from the aesthetic value of the layout. There should not be any mistakes in grammar and spelling. Text should be easy to read, and use bullets, italics, indentation, and bold type in ways that enhance readability. Colors, backgrounds, and decorations should not distract from content.

Enhancements (photos, graphics, sound, animation and video): All photographs, graphics, sound, and/or video must integrate into the theme and content of the page. All such enhancements must function. Students are expected to use a variety of appropriate enhancements, but it is not necessary to have all types.

Integration: Although each student will have individual authorship of their set of pages, the entire website should be so well integrated that, if one did not see the credits, it would not be clear that there were multiple authors. Groups may appoint one person to be the style coordinator. That person should be identified as such, and can be assigned a topic for her or his set of web pages which does not require as much research or work as others in the group.

Documentation: All sources used should be documented clearly, and it should be absolutely clear from the citing which work is the student’s own, and which is quoted from another website.