1.  Content

     Does the essay

          answer (and stick to) the question in the prompt?
          make sense as whole and at all points along the way?
          make points that are logical and reasonably intelligent in the claims they
                make?
          develop points suitably through examples or logical explanation?
          attribute to the article, but not let source quoting take over the paper?

2. Organization

     Does the essay

          have a clear, discernable overall pattern of arrangement that
                 helps a reader  navigate easily through its contents?
          maintain organizational clarity at lower levels of text as well:  paragraph-
                to-paragraph, within paragraphs, between sentences?

3. Style

     Does the essay

          contain sentences that are clear, readable, and idiomatic?
          contain sentences that are largely free of gross syntactic errors:
               run-together sentences, sentence fragments, “garbled”
               structure?
           contain word-choice that is both idiomatic and appropriate?

    Is the tone appropriate for the academic reader?       

4.  Mechanics

        Does the essay

            maintain a suitable level of control over conventions of
                 punctuation, spelling, grammar, and usage?