Eitan Shapiro Class of 1998

FDR Rubric

The following rubric was written by Eitan Shapiro, a member of the class of 1998. Eitan is the author of the project comparing the styles of Jerry Doyle and Fred O. Seibel. His work is found elsewhere on this webpage.

Exemplary Project (A)

*Progress Report

• Student has met all progress report deadlines and submitted progress reports that contain evidence of continuous work and effective use of time. The reports are submitted on time.

*Mechanics

• Final project shall contain no grammatical errors or misspellings. All highlighted words for links to cartoons must be relevant.

*Bibliography

• Bibliography is included (including books, newspapers, periodicals and cartoons), without error and contain sources beyond minimum requirements.

*Project Evaluation

• Evaluation of project is included and displays pertinent opinions and comments, and evidence of thought and consideration. Included are constructive suggestions for improvement.

*Use of Materials

• Controversy is explored, key players come alive through detailed writing. Reader has the sense of being there. Editorial opinions are quoted and linked to appropriate materials. Cartoons are relevant within the paper, and coordinate well with text for an effective result.

*Overall Impression

• Final project is well-written, thorough, containing specific details and relevant information. In other words, no meringue pie. Paper is coherent throughout and links ideas from each paragraph. Topic of paper is clearly stated and understood, and thesis (or "point") is made in introduction and returned to in conclusion.

*The Bottom Line

• History has come alive. Headlines are quotes, editorials are evaluated and cartoons mirror the characters, the controversies and complexity of the moment.

Excellent Project (B):

*Progress Report

• Student has met all progress report deadlines and submitted progress reports that contain evidence of sufficient work and effective use of time. The reports are submitted on time.

*Mechanics

• Final paper contains a small number of grammatical errors or misspellings. All highlighted words for access to cartoons must be relevant. There may be some extraneous detail.

*Bibliography

• Bibliography must be included, with no more than 2 errors. Sources above minimum requirements are included.

*Project Evaluation

• Evaluation of project is included and displays pertinent opinions and comments, and evidence of some thought. Included are suggestions for improvement.

*Use of Materials

• Controversy is considered and discussed. Key players have some sort of pulse motivated by strong writing. Reader has a sense of being there, but not necessarily in the middle of the action. Editorial opinions are quoted. Cartoons are relevant within the paper, and they coordinate well with the text.

*Overall Impression

• Final project is well-written, thorough, containing specific details and relevant information. Paper is coherent throughout and links ideas from each paragraph. Topic of paper is clearly stated, and thesis (or "point") is made in introduction and returned to in conclusion.

*The Bottom Line

• History is in good health. Headlines are quotes, editorials are discussed and cartoons reflect the characters and controversies of the moment.

Competent Project (C)

*Progress Report

• Student has met all progress report deadlines, but reports are less complete and specific than the stated requirements. The reports are submitted on time.

*Mechanics

• Final project is well-written and thorough, but may lack specific details and examples. Too many extraneous details blur the focus of the paper. Grammatical and spelling errors are noticeable.

*Bibliography

• Bibliography is included, but sources are either the minimum required or slightly more.

*Project Evaluation

• Evaluation of project contains evidence of thought. Included are very general and basic suggestions for improvement.

*Use of Materials

• Controversy is mentioned, but writing is not strong enough for key players to pass a stress test. Reader has the sense of being nearby in a parked automobile. Editorial newspaper opinions are mentioned. Cartoons are relevant and coordinate well with the text.

*Overall Impression

• Paper is coherent throughout. Structure is somewhat confusing. Thesis (or point) is clear and discussed in detail.

*The Bottom Line

• History needs a stress test, diet and an implant. Headlines are quotes, editorials are mentioned and cartoons reflect only the characters without a clue as to why the characters are in the cartoons.

Needs Improvement Project (D)

*Progress Report

• Student has met majority of progress report deadlines. Reports look like they were done at the last minute.

*Mechanics

• Many grammatical and spelling errors.

*Bibliography

• Bibliography is included, and contains the minimum requirement for sources. Errors in the bibliography are evident.

*Project Evaluation

• Final evaluation contains little evidence of thought. One or two insignificant suggestions are made.

*Use of Materials

• Writing is not strong enough to create interest for the reader, but key players lack a strong pulse and might not be identified in a lineup. Editorial newspaper opinions are mentioned passively. Cartoons are relevant for the majority of the paper, but some simply donít connect.

*Overall Impression

• Final project lacks specific details and examples. Ideas and some relevant information makes an appearance. Solid structure is lacking, and there is no clear connection from one idea to another. Thesis (or point) is not clear, perhaps only mentioned in the middle of a paragraph.

*The Bottom Line

• History needs resuscitation. A feeble pulse is present. Headlines are manufactured, editorials are missing and cartoons reflect a case of mistaken identity.

Becoming Project (F)

*Progress Report

• Student was lax on progress reports, missed deadlines, handing in reports with minimum effort. These reports were completed seconds before teacher stepped through the door to begin class.

*Mechanics

• Unacceptable amount of grammatical and spelling errors.

*Bibliography

• Bibliography is either missing, or contains unacceptable amount of sources. Mistakes in format are numerous.

*Project Evaluation

• If final evaluation has been handed in, may exhibit characteristics such as just a few sentences or perhaps just one, i.e. "this project was neat." No suggestions for improvement.

*Use of Materials

• Cartoons, if even linked, do not make sense, or do not add to the overall topic. Key players are among the deceased. Writing does not emphasize any specific detail, there is no consideration of polar opinions or controversy. Editorial opinions are not considered. Seems as if students chief research skills are derived from the CD-ROM section of CompUSA or several websites.

*Overall Impression

• Final project has no clear ideas or facts within it, it is serendipitous thoughts strung together. Relevant information may arise in some areas, but is generally lacking. There is no clear direction or subject in the paper.

*The Bottom Line

• Call Quincy out of retirement for a postmortem. No evidence of headlines, or editorials appear. Cartoons are limited to loony tunes. Any stirrings of the body are due to gaseous and helminthic activity. (Apologies to Fred A. Shannon)

Student Checklist

• The reader has the sense that he/she was there.
• Controversy, Color and Characters come alive.
• The editorial opinion of a newspaper(s) is quoted and evaluated.
• Key concepts are logically linked to appropriate cartoons.
• Headlines are included as part of the text.
• Magazines and other periodicals have been consulted and quoted.
• The completed bibliography is in correct format.
• Box numbers of the Basil OíConnor collection are correct.
• Links are no longer than four words.
• Work is on a disk in Word format.
• A list of cartoons that need to be scanned is included.