Sep 12 2007
Sample Rubrics: Research-Based Proposal (Jessie Moore)
Research-Based Proposal (Group Task) [Excerpt]
Your collaboratively written proposal should be addressed to an audience that could act on your proposal. As a result, you will need to tailor your content (claims and evidence), your organization, and your form to this audience. Furthermore, your proposal should:
- Identify the problem that you are addressing and convince your audience that the problem is a significant one that deserves attention;
- Explore all of the alternatives for solving the problem and acknowledge previous efforts to address the problem that you are investigating (integrating your group’s research); and
- Select the most feasible solution and offer evidence to support that choice (using both your library and field research).
Your proposal should have a carefully constructed argument and should employ other rhetorical strategies, such as rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) and visual design.
Format and Length
Your rhetorical strategies, including your format (the type of document and its design), will depend on the purpose of your proposal, your audience or intended readers, and how you want to disseminate your proposal to members of your audience. You might use colors, manipulate white space and margins, include data charts and graphs, and/or use photos. The possibilities are endless; however, please remember that the design must meet the needs of a real situation to which you want to respond, and the language in your proposal is as important as, if not more important than, the design.
Length also will vary greatly depending on what your project is. Keep in mind that your project needs to be long enough to convince your audience of your proposal—which means it needs to provide sufficient evidence to support your claim, as well as links explaining the connections between your evidence and your claim. You also need to acknowledge and respond to differing views.
Research-Based Proposal
| Introduction | Minimal introduction to the topic. Does not provide context for the issue or introduce the proposed solution.
0-3 |
Introduces the problem or topic, but might not discuss the issues or larger implications surrounding the topic.
4-7 |
Introduces your problem or topic and the issues surrounding it. Clearly conveys the proposed solution or idea.
8-10 |
| Significance of Problem | Fails to explain the significance of the problem or does not provide evidence supporting the claim that a problem exists.
0-3 |
Attempts to explain the significance of the problem, but fails to include supporting evidence or lacks links connecting the evidence to the claim.
4-7 |
Explains the significance of the problem, provides evidence supporting your claim that action is needed, and links the evidence to the claim.
8-10 |
| Exploring Alternatives | Does not address differing views and/or does not discuss alternative solutions to the problem. No research is incorporated into this discussion.
0-3 |
Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem, but includes minimal, if any, research about these alternatives.
4-7 |
Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem. Incorporates research that facilitates discussion about possible alternatives.
8-10 |
| Solution | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks any evidence demonstrating the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution.
0-3 |
Identifies a preferred solution but lacks sufficient evidence to demonstrate the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution.
4-7 |
Identifies a preferred solution and includes evidence demonstrating the feasibility and suitability of the proposed solution.
8-10 |
| Audience | The majority of the rhetorical choices are inappropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, suggesting that the group completed minimal research about their audience.
0-3 |
Some rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, but others suggest a lack of audience awareness.
4-7 |
The format, genre, length, and other rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal.
8-10 |
| Style and Organization | The style and/or organization creates some confusion for the reader. The proposal would have benefited from further revision and editing.
0-3 |
While the proposal could benefit from further editing, the organization is strong and does not cause any confusion for the reader.
4-7 |
The proposal is well organized, the writers’ arguments are supported, and the writing is relatively free of errors.
8-10 |
Research-Based Proposal
| Does Not Meet Expectation | Meets Expectations | Exceeds Expectations | |
| Introduction | Minimal introduction to the topic. Does not provide context for the issue or introduce the proposed solution. | Introduces the problem or topic, but might not discuss the issues or larger implications surrounding the topic. | Introduces your problem or topic and the issues surrounding it. Clearly conveys the proposed solution or idea. |
| Significance of Problem | Fails to explain the significance of the problem or does not provide evidence supporting the claim that a problem exists. | Attempts to explain the significance of the problem, but fails to include supporting evidence or lacks links connecting the evidence to the claim. | Explains the significance of the problem, provides evidence supporting your claim that action is needed, and links the evidence to the claim. |
| Exploring Alternatives | Does not address differing views and/or does not discuss alternative solutions to the problem. No research is incorporated into this discussion. | Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem, but includes minimal, if any, research about these alternatives. | Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem. Incorporates research that facilitates discussion about possible alternatives. |
| Solution | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks any evidence demonstrating the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution. | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks sufficient evidence to demonstrate the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution. | Identifies a preferred solution and includes evidence demonstrating the feasibility and suitability of the proposed solution. |
| Audience | The majority of the rhetorical choices are inappropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, suggesting that the group completed minimal research about their audience. | Some rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, but others suggest a lack of audience awareness. | The format, genre, length, and other rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal. |
| Style and Organization | The style and/or organization creates some confusion for the reader. The proposal would have benefited from further revision and editing. | While the proposal could benefit from further editing, the organization is strong and does not cause any confusion for the reader. | The proposal is well organized, the writers’ arguments are supported, and the writing is relatively free of errors. |
Research-Based Proposal
| Early | Middle | Late | |
| Introduction | Minimal introduction to the topic. Does not provide context for the issue or introduce the proposed solution. | Introduces the problem or topic, but might not discuss the issues or larger implications surrounding the topic. | Introduces your problem or topic and the issues surrounding it. Clearly conveys the proposed solution or idea. |
| Significance of Problem | Fails to explain the significance of the problem or does not provide evidence supporting the claim that a problem exists. | Attempts to explain the significance of the problem, but fails to include supporting evidence or lacks links connecting the evidence to the claim. | Explains the significance of the problem, provides evidence supporting your claim that action is needed, and links the evidence to the claim. |
| Exploring Alternatives | Does not address differing views and/or does not discuss alternative solutions to the problem. No research is incorporated into this discussion. | Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem, but includes minimal, if any, research about these alternatives. | Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem. Incorporates research that facilitates discussion about possible alternatives. |
| Solution | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks any evidence demonstrating the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution. | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks sufficient evidence to demonstrate the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution. | Identifies a preferred solution and includes evidence demonstrating the feasibility and suitability of the proposed solution. |
| Audience | The majority of the rhetorical choices are inappropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, suggesting that the group completed minimal research about their audience. | Some rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, but others suggest a lack of audience awareness. | The format, genre, length, and other rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal. |
| Style and Organization | The style and/or organization creates some confusion for the reader. The proposal would have benefited from further revision and editing. | While the proposal could benefit from further editing, the organization is strong and does not cause any confusion for the reader. | The proposal is well organized, the writers’ arguments are supported, and the writing is relatively free of errors. |
Research-Based Proposal
| Does Not Meet Expectations | Meets Minimal Expectations | Exceeds Expectations | |
| Introduction Introduces your problem or topic and the issues surrounding it. Clearly conveys the proposed solution or idea. |
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| Significance of Problem Explains the significance of the problem, provides evidence supporting your claim that action is needed, and links the evidence to the claim. |
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| Exploring Alternatives Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem. Incorporates research that facilitates discussion about possible alternatives. |
|||
| Solution Identifies a preferred solution and includes evidence demonstrating the feasibility and suitability of the proposed solution. |
|||
| Audience The format, genre, length, and other rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal. |
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| Style and Organization The proposal is well organized, the writers’ arguments are supported, and the writing is relatively free of errors. |
| Does Not Meet Expectations | Average | Exceptional | ||
| Introduction | Minimal introduction to the topic. Does not provide context for the issue or introduce the proposed solution. | Introduces the problem or topic, but might not discuss the issues or larger implications surrounding the topic. | Introduces your problem or topic and the issues surrounding it. Clearly conveys the proposed solution or idea. |
___/10 |
| Significance of Problem | Fails to explain the significance of the problem or does not provide evidence supporting the claim that a problem exists. | Attempts to explain the significance of the problem, but fails to include supporting evidence or lacks links connecting the evidence to the claim. | Explains the significance of the problem, provides evidence supporting your claim that action is needed, and links the evidence to the claim. |
___/10 |
| Exploring Alternatives | Does not address differing views and/or does not discuss alternative solutions to the problem. No research is incorporated into this discussion. | Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem, but includes minimal, if any, research about these alternatives. | Investigates differing views and alternative solutions to the problem. Incorporates research that facilitates discussion about possible alternatives. |
___/10 |
| Solution | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks any evidence demonstrating the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution. | Identifies a preferred solution but lacks sufficient evidence to demonstrate the feasibility and/or suitability of the proposed solution. | Identifies a preferred solution and includes evidence demonstrating the feasibility and suitability of the proposed solution. |
___/10 |
| Audience | The majority of the rhetorical choices are inappropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, suggesting that the group completed minimal research about their audience. | Some rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal, but others suggest a lack of audience awareness. | The format, genre, length, and other rhetorical choices are appropriate for the audience who could act on the proposal. |
___/10 |
| Style and Organization | The style and/or organization creates some confusion for the reader. The proposal would have benefited from further revision and editing. | While the proposal could benefit from further editing, the organization is strong and does not cause any confusion for the reader. | The proposal is well organized, the writers’ arguments are supported, and the writing is relatively free of errors. |
___/10 |