1
Phil 163, Summer 2022 (1)
Grading Rubric for Weekly assignment
• Basic requirements for weekly assignments
1. Hand your assignments in on time. Points will be deducted for late work as described on
the syllabus.
2. Format your assignments reasonably: use 12pt Times New Roman font. Double space
with normal margin width.
3. Please do not put your name on your assignment; this is to make sure that I grade your
assignment anonymously to ensure fair grading.
4. Weekly assignments should be written with your own words about your own thoughts. If
you have “borrowed” some points or sentences from other sources, then you should cite
it. Failing to properly cite the original sources would count as a case of plagiarism, which
will be handled according to the UMass Academic Honesty policy.
• Grading Rubric for weekly assignments
Each weekly assignment will be worth 10 points. I will be looking for two positive
features in a weekly assignment, accuracy and clarity.
1. Accuracy (5 points)
You will be asked to discuss certain arguments or views that are found in the
readings. It is expected that you correctly summarize the argument or the view you
will discuss.
– Excellent (5pt): Excellent understanding of the argument/view you are summarizing.
Uses appropriate textual evidence to back up your summarization of the
argument/view.
– Good (4pt): Mostly correct understanding of the argument with some details omitted
or misstated. Uses appropriate textual evidence to back up your summarization of the
argument/view.
– Fair (3 pt): Insufficient understanding of the argument and lacks important details.
Uses insufficient textual evidence to back up the views you are attributing to authors.
– Needs work (2pt): Significant misunderstandings. Important pieces of the argument
are omitted or misstated. Little to no textual evidence.
– Poor (1pt): Very substantial misunderstandings. Textual evidence is missing or
irrelevant.
2
2. Clarity (5 points)
When you are asked to discuss certain arguments or views, it is very important to
clearly state the argument and your ideas. One way to do this is to think whether one
of your friend who does not attend the class or read the material would be able to
understand the argument and your ideas just by reading your weekly assignment.
– Excellent (5pt): Reads well. Would clearly convey the argument to someone who had
not attend the class or read the material. Few spelling or grammatical errors.
– Good (4pt): Reads well but has some unclear details. Few spelling or grammatical
errors.
– Fair (3pt): Mostly readable but includes some confusing passages. Some spelling or
grammatical errors.
– Needs work (2pt): Very confusing to understand. Includes significant spelling or
grammatical errors and/or focuses on irrelevant tangents.
– Poor (1pt): Very difficult to understand. Many errors.
3. If the assignment is too long (over 2 pages) or short (about or less than half a page), 1
point will be deducted; if the assignment fails to include all of the required parts of
the assignment question, 1 point will be deducted.
4. Read and follow Academic Honesty Guide for students! Plagiarism will be
punished according to Umass policy.
• You can e-mail me if you have any questions/comments/concerns. But please do not send
me your draft for weekly assignment and ask for comments. If you want to talk about
your weekly assignment, you should make an appointment for a Zoom meeting.
