What is the student author’s thesis statement/major claim? Does the student author have a strong thesis statement? If yes, why do you think so? Explain.
How does the student author use sources to develop their argument? How does the student author synthesize sources? Give one or two examples and explain.
How does the student author paraphrase sources to advance their argument? Give two or three examples and explain.
How does the student author make connections among sources? Give one or two examples and explain.
Does the student author have clear topic sentences in their body paragraphs? If yes, why do you think so? Give two or three examples from the ess’ay and explain.
What does the student author do well in this ess’ay? Why do you think so? How could they further improve their ess’ay?