Characteristics to note in the rubric:

 Language is descriptive, not evaluative.

 Labels for degrees of success are descriptive (“Expert” “Proficient”, etc.); by avoiding
the use of letters representing grades or numbers representing points, there is no implied
contract that qualities of the paper will “add up” to a specified score or grade or that all
dimensions are of equal grading value.
 This rubric is developed for a specific writing assignment; it would need to be revised to
describe the expectations for each specific assignment.

Download Research Paper Rubric

Expert Proficient Apprentice Novice

The paper
demonstrates that the The paper
author fully demonstrates that
understands and has the author, for the The paper
The paper does not
applied concepts most part, demonstrates that
demonstrate that
learned in the course. understands and the author, to a
the author has
Integration of Concepts are has applied certain extent,
fully understood
Knowledge integrated into the concepts learned in understands and
and applied
writer’s own insights. the course. Some of has applied
concepts learned
The writer provides the conclusions, concepts learned in
in the course.
concluding remarks however, are not the course.
that show analysis supported in the
and synthesis of body of the paper.
ideas.
The topic is focused
narrowly enough for The topic is
the scope of this focused but lacks
assignment. A thesis direction. The
The topic is too
statement provides paper is about a The topic is not
Topic focus broad for the scope
direction for the specific topic but clearly defined.
of this assignment.
paper, either by the writer has not
statement of a established a
position or position.
hypothesis.
The writer has
omitted pertinent Cursory discussion
In-depth discussion content or content in all the sections
In-depth discussion &
Depth of & elaboration in runs-on of the paper or
elaboration in all
discussion most sections of the excessively. brief discussion in
sections of the paper.
paper. Quotations from only a few
others outweigh sections.
the writer’s own
 Expert Proficient Apprentice Novice
ideas excessively.
For the most part, Sometimes ties Does not tie
Ties together ties together together together
information from all information from information from information. Paper
sources. Paper flows all sources. Paper all sources. Paper does not flow and
from one issue to the flows with only does not flow - appears to be
next without the need some disjointedness is created from
for headings. disjointedness. apparent. Author's disparate issues.
Cohesiveness
Author's writing Author's writing writing does not Headings are
demonstrates an demonstrates an demonstrate an necessary to link
understanding of the understanding of understanding of concepts. Writing
relationship among the relationship the relationship does not
material obtained among material among material demonstrate
from all sources. obtained from all obtained from all understanding any
sources. sources. relationships
Unacceptable
Minimal spelling Noticeable spelling
Spelling and No spelling &/or number of spelling
&/or grammar & grammar
grammar grammar mistakes. and/or grammar
mistakes. mistakes.
mistakes.
More than 5 current
sources, of which at
least 3 are peer-
Fewer than 5
review journal
Fewer than 5 current sources, or
articles or scholarly 5 current sources,
current sources, or fewer than 2 of 5
books. Sources of which at least 2
fewer than 2 of 5 are peer-reviewed
include both general are peer-review
are peer-reviewed journal articles or
background sources journal articles or
Sources journal articles or scholarly books.
and specialized scholarly
scholarly books. Not all web sites
sources. Special- books. All web
All web sites utilized are
interest sources and sites utilized are
utilized are credible, and/or
popular literature are authoritative.
credible. sources are not
acknowledged as
current.
such if they are cited.
All web sites utilized
are authoritative.
Cites most data Cites some data
Cites all data
obtained from other obtained from
obtained from other
sources. APA other sources. Does not cite
Citations sources. APA citation
citation style is Citation style is sources.
style is used in both
used in both text either inconsistent
text and bibliography.
and bibliography. or incorrect.

Adapted from: Whalen, S. “Rubric from Contemporary Health Issues Research Paper”
A 10-step guide to make your research paper
abstract more effective
Clarinda Cerejo | Oct 16, 2013 | 57,103 views
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An abstract is like a movie trailer. It offers a preview, highlights key points, and helps the
audience decide whether to view the entire work. Abstracts are the pivot of a paper because
many journal editorial boards screen manuscripts only on the basis of the abstract. If your
abstract doesn’t grab their attention and make a good first impression, there’s a good chance your
paper will be rejected at the outset. Moreover, even after your paper is published, your abstract
will be the first, and possibly only, thing readers will access through electronic searches. They
will only consider reading the rest of the manuscript if they find your abstract interesting.

For studies in the humanities and social sciences, the abstract is typically descriptive. That is, it
describes the topic of research and its findings but usually doesn’t give specific information
about methods and results. These abstracts may also be seen in review articles or conference
proceedings. In scientific writing, on the other hand, abstracts are usually structured to describe
the background, methods, results, and conclusions, with or without subheadings.

Now how do you go about fitting the essential points from your entire paper— why the research
was conducted, what the aims were, how these were met, and what the main findings were—into
a paragraph of just 200-300 words? It’s not an easy task, but here’s a 10-step guide that should
make it easier:

1. Begin writing the abstract after you have finished writing your paper.
2. Pick out the major objectives/hypotheses and conclusions from your Introduction and
Conclusion sections.
3. Select key sentences and phrases from your Methods section.
4. Identify the major results from your Results section.
5. Now, arrange the sentences and phrases selected in steps 2, 3, and 4 into a single
paragraph in the following sequence: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
6. Make sure that this paragraph does not contain
 o new information that is not present in the paper
o undefined abbreviations or group names
o a discussion of previous literature or reference citations
o unnecessary details about the methods used
7. Remove all extra information (see step 6) and then link your sentences to ensure that the
information flows well, preferably in the following order: purpose; basic study design,
methodology and techniques used; major findings; summary of your interpretations,
conclusions, and implications.
8. Confirm that there is consistency between the information presented in the abstract and in
the paper.
9. Ask a colleague to review your abstract and check if the purpose, aim, methods, and
conclusions of the study are clearly stated.
10. Check to see if the final abstract meets the guidelines of the target journal (word limit,
type of abstract, recommended subheadings, etc.).

Now revisit your abstract with these steps in mind, and I’m sure you’ll be able to revise it and
make it more attractive. Another thing you can do is go back to some of the most interesting
papers you have read during your literature review. Don’t be surprised if you find that they also
happen to have some of the best abstracts you’ve seen!

For a more detailed tutorial on writing a title and abstract, read the following articles: