COMP 380-003, Spring 2008

RUBRIC CRITERIA

An "A" essay is 3-4 pages of well-organized, thoughtful description and analysis of your Virtual Life experience. It addresses three or four of the issues listed in the assignment and demonstrates an engagement with the community of Virtual Life and its inhabitants. It shows that the writer has spent time exploring and thinking about Virtual Life in the ways described in the assignment. It not only describes the writer's experience in detail and specificity, but reflects upon the ethical, social, and personal implications of that experience. It is organized into coherent ideas and paragraphs and is virtually free of mechanical and grammatical errors. It displays above-average stylistic and intellectual sophistication.

A "B" essay is 3-4 pages of well-organized, thoughtful description and analysis of your Virtual Life experience. It addresses three or four of the issues listed in the assignment and demonstrates an engagement with the community of Virtual Life and its inhabitants. It shows that the writer has spent time exploring and thinking about Virtual Life in the ways described in the assignment. It describes the writer's experience in detail and reflects upon the ethical, social, and personal implications of that experience, but may do so with less creativity and insight than the A essay. It is organized into coherent ideas and paragraphs and exhibits only a few mechanical and grammatical errors. It is solid, but displays less stylistic and/or intellectual sophistication than the "A" essay.

A "C" essay is 3-4 pages of thoughtful description and analysis of your Virtual Life experience; it may be shorter. It may address fewer than three of the issues listed in the assignment in a fairly surface manner. It shows that the writer has spent time exploring and thinking about Virtual Life in the ways described in the assignment, but it may appear that the writer has rushed through his or her time in Virtual Life. It is organized into paragraphs, but may be incoherent, underdeveloped, or exhibit a number of grammatical or mechanical errors. It fulfills the requirements of the assignment, but does little more; it is not particularly intellectually or stylistically sophisticated.

A "D" essay may be less than 3 pages; it may address fewer than three of the issues listed, or address the issues with little detail and specificity; it may appear rushed through or incomplete; it may engage with the ethical and social issues only on a surface level; it may exhibit significant mechanical and organizational errors; it may not fulfill the requirements of the assignment.