Grading Guide for First Drafts of Mini-Essays

Score	Description
10	The draft essay receiving a score of 10 will demonstrate a serious effort. The draft will be well-researched, will have few grammatical or spelling errors, and will contain all required elements (e.g. citations).
9	The draft essay receiving a score of 9 will demonstrate a reasonable effort, but will be missing one of the elements of an excellent draft. The draft might appear to be researched on only a surface level, have too many grammatical or spelling errors, or might be missing one of the required elements (e.g. citations).
8 or fewer	The draft essay receiving a score of 8 or fewer will but will be missing severla of the elements of an excellent draft.

Grading Guide for Peer Reviews

Students performing a thourough and conscientious peer review will receive all 10 points. Fewer than 10 points will be awarded only in the unusual case of an incomplete or otherwise sloppy review.

Grading Guide for Final Drafts of Mini-Essays

Score	Description
20	This score will be given to a superior mini-essay. Although it may have occasional faults, it will be well-organized, detailed and generally well-written. Mini-Essays receiving 20 points will have been focused in a reasonable and interesting way. The superior mini-essay will contain a high density of correct chemical information and will cover the subject of their essay in some depth.
18	This score will be given to a well-handled mini-essay that is weak in some aspects of the superior response: e.g., it may slight one aspect of the topic, it may be missing one of the required items (such as citations, etc.), or it may contain some minor errors related to the science. Mini-Essays may also receive this score if they contain some grammatical inconsistencies or are not as clearly organized as the superior response.
16	This score will be given to a good mini-essay that is weak in several aspects of the superior response. It may contain two or more of the following: it may slight one aspect of the topic, it may be missing one of the required items (citations, etc.), and it may contain some minor errors related to the science. Mini-Essays may also receive this score if they contain very good information but have enough grammatical inconsistencies to be distracting.
14	This score will be given to mini-essays which are only general and superficial. They may deal with the topic in only a cursory manner and show little depth. This score will also be given to mini-essays which overuse quotes from others or are overly repetitious. Mini-Essays may also receive this score if they are somewhat weak in content while containing enough grammatical inconsistencies to be distracting.
12 or lower	Scores of 12 or lower will be given to papers that exhibit serious weaknesses. These mini-essays may show serious weaknesses in structure, syntax, diction and/or development. An mini-essay may also receive 12 or fewer points if it contains little correct chemical information, indicating very little effort.

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