Grading Rubric:

Criteria
Must have a claim that makes an assertion about how one of the pre-reading
research topics (Great Depression, migrant workers, discrimination/role of
women, or mental disability) is significant in the novel thus far.
Claim must be arguable and appear at beginning of paragraph.
Must have a MIN of 2 pieces of textual evidence (quote or paraphrase)
followed by properly formatted MLA parenthetical citation.
Textual evidence must be the best to support the claim -- not just any old
quote or paraphrase will do.
Must have warrants thoroughly explaining why textual evidence is significant
and how it proves the claim.
Must be formatted in MLA:
12 pt. Times New Roman font
double-spaced
header in upper right with last name and page number
heading in upper left with name, teachers names, course title, and date
formatted with day first, then month, then year
Must employ proper conventions:
spelling
capitalization
punctuation
no contractions (instead of cant, write cannot)
literary present
third person only (no I, we, me, you, etc.)

Meets all
criteria

Meets
most
criteria

Meets
some
criteria

Meets few
criteria