ANT 104-A: EXTRA CREDIT GRADING GUIDELINES

Your essay may not exceed 500 words (the word count does not include your references). It is your job to construct a well-researched essay that addresses the extra credit question and meets the highest possible expectations in the following categories:

  • CONTEXT (8 points possible - 16%)
    • 8 - Offers excellent context (e.g., historical, regional, theoretical) to help the reader understand when and where the topic originated and/or developed.
    • 6 - Offers some context, but not enough to give a clear picture of origin of the topic.
    • 4 - Barely contextualizes the topic. Many questions are left unanswered.
    • 2 - Unclear as to when/where the topic originated.
    • 0 - The summary makes no effort to broach the "Context" topic.

  • DETAILS (8 points possible - 16%)
    • 8 - Includes substantial detail and/or specific examples to help the reader understand the impact or application of the topic in the real world.
    • 6 - Offers limited details or examples or mentions examples but with insufficient depth.
    • 4 - Offers only one example or detail, failing to demonstrate deep knowledge of the topic.
    • 2 - Unclear how the topic impacted/applied to/interacted with the real world.
    • 0 - The summary makes no effort to broach the "Details" topic.

  • IMPORT (8 points possible - 16%)
    • 8 - Clearly identifies why the topic is important in the larger scheme of the time period, the region, the course, and primate evolution. Explains why this was an assigned topic in the first place.
    • 6 - Draws some connections of limited regional or theoretical importance, but does not adequately address the “big picture”.
    • 4 - Makes an effort to summarize the importance of the topic in the grand scheme, but misses the point.
    • 2 - Unclear why this topic was chosen as one of the major points of interest for this course.
    • 0 - The summary makes no effort to broach the "Import" topic.

  • REDUCTION (8 points possible - 16%)
    • 8 - Takes on difficult and complex topics and does an excellent job of explaining these topics in a simpler and more accessible manner.
    • 6 - Takes on difficult and complex topics but explains them in a difficult and complex manner.
    • 4 - Sticks to simpler topics and explains them clearly.
    • 2 - Even simpler topics are not explained clearly.
    • 0 - The entire essay is off-topic.

  • PUNCTUATION & SPELLING (6 points possible - 12%)
    • 6 - No spelling or punctuation errors. The essay has obviously been proofread and edited to eliminate all typographical mistakes.
    • 4 - Minimal (one to three) spelling, punctuation, or typographical errors.
    • 2 - Several (four to ten) spelling, punctuation, or typographical errors.
    • 0 - This might as well have been a TXT between BFF's. Spelling and punctuation are awful.

  • ORGANIZATION (6 points possible - 12%)
    • 6 - The author clearly organized her/his thoughts so that the information flows logically. The essay is to divided into paragraphs appropriately.
    • 4 - The essay could benefit by minor changes to the organization of thoughts or arrangement of paragraphs.
    • 2 - The essay needs considerable revising. The author's disorganization suggests that she/he doesn't really understand the material.
    • 0 - The essay is just one giant paragraph. Information is scrambled, and the essay is generally very difficult to follow.

  • REFERENCES (6 points possible - 12%)
    • 6 - Author does an excellent job of citing high-quality references when presenting facts and detailed information. Both in-line and end-of-text references are formatted appropriately.
    • 4 - Author does a good job of citing high-quality references when presenting facts and information, but references are formatted incorrectly.
    • 2 - The author's references are formatted improperly, and there are several cases in which the author should have provided a reference for a fact or information but didn't.
    • 0 - The references are not reliable, and even if they were, the author has cited them improperly.

  • PLAGIARISM
    • NO - The author has used her/his own words and formed her/his own ideas. There are no signs of plagiarism and no quotes at all (except for technical terms).
    • YES - The author has used someone else's words inappropriately.