"Each student will write a research report on the marketing topic (NOT a specific company or industry) of their choice. All topics must receive approval from the instructor. The paper must be a mini
Research Report Rubric
| Unsatisfactory | Needs Work | Good | Excellent | |
| Report Title | No title or title not relevant to the topic of the paper (0 points) | Major issues with title clarity, completeness or accuracy (1 point) | Minor issues with title clarity, completeness or accuracy (1.5 points) | Report title is clear, complete and accurate (2 points) |
| Title Page | Title page is missing (0 points) | Major appearance or error issues on title page (1 point) | Minor appearance or error issues on title page (1.5 points) | Title page has a professional appearance and is error free (2 points) |
| Table of Contents | Table of Contents is missing (0 points) | Major errors in table of contents (1 point) | Minor errors in table of contents (1.5 points) | A correct table of contents in the appropriate format is present (2 points) |
| Formatting | The paper is not double spaced. The font used is incorrect. Margins and spacing is inconsistent. (0 points) | Major issues in formatting (1-2 points) | Minor issues in formatting (3-4 points) | The paper is double spaced. Times New Roman 12 point font is used. Appropriate margins and spacing are used throughout the paper. (5 points) |
| Headings | No headings are used in the paper (0 points) | Major issues with headings (1-2 points) | Minor issues with headings (3-4 points) | Headings are descriptive, parallel and used appropriately (5 points) |
| Length | The paper length is inappropriate—less than 1200 words (0 points) | The paper is very short—more than 1200 words but less than 1700 words (1-2 points) | The paper is a little short--more than 1700 words but less than 2000 words (3 points) | The paper is a minimum of 2000 words (4 points) |
| Content | The paper reflects little to no understanding on the topic of choice (0-11 points) | Major issues with understanding or presenting information on the topic of choice (12-17 points) | Minor issues with understanding or presenting information on the topic of choice (18-23 points) | The paper reflects understanding on the topic of choice (24-25 points) |
| Quality of Information | The information in the paper is not based on careful research, is not appropriately presented, is not technically sound and does not fulfill the report’s purpose. (0-11 points) | Major issues with the quality of research, presentation or fulfilling the report’s purpose. (12-17 points) | Minor issues with the quality of research, presentation or fulfilling the report’s purpose. (18-23 points) | The information in the paper is based on careful research, appropriately presented, technically sound and fulfills the report’s purpose. (24-25 points) |
| Clarity | The paper is not clear, easy to read or understand. Significant information in the paper does not directly relate to the topic. (0-7 points) | Major issues with coherency or readability. Some information in paper that does not relate to the topic. (8-10 points) | Minor issues with coherency or readability. (11-13 points) | The paper is clear, coherent, easy to read and understand. All information in the paper directly relates to the topic. (14-15 points) |
| Flow | The paper does not flow well. Transitions largely absent. (0-7 points) | Major issues with paper flow or transition use. (8-10 points) | Minor issues with paper flow or transition use. (11-13 points) | The paper flows naturally and uses transitions appropriately. (14-15 points) |
| Number of References | The paper uses less than four references. (0-1 point) | The paper uses four or five references. (2-3 points) | The paper only uses six references. (4 points) | The paper uses a minimum of seven references. (5 points) |
| Unsatisfactory | Needs Work | Good | Excellent | |
| Quality of References | Most references are of low quality (e.g. blogs, Wikipedia, etc.) (0-9 points) | Three or four references are not high quality. (10-13 points) | One or two references are not high quality. (14-17 points) | All references are peer-reviewed or from high quality practitioner journals. (18-20 points) |
| In-text references | References are not cited correctly and APA format is not used. (0-4 points) | Major issues with in-text citations. (5-6 points) | Minor issues with in-text citations. (7-8 points) | In-text references are cited correctly in APA style. (9-10 points) |
| Reference section | No reference section or APA style not used in reference section (0-1 points) | Major issues with reference section (e.g. several references missing, APA style used sporadically) (2-3 points) | Minor issues with reference section (e.g. a reference is missing, etc.) (4 points) | All references are cited correctly in the reference section. APA style is used. (5 points) |
| Style: Words | Words used make it difficult to understand paper. (0-3 points) | Frequent use of long, complicated words (4-5 points) | Occasional use of long, complicated words (6-7 points) | Short, simple concrete words are used. (7.5 points) |
| Style: Sentences | Sentences used make it difficult to understand paper. (0-3 points) | Frequent use of long or passive sentences. (4-5 points) | Occasional use of long or passive sentences. (6-7 points) | Short, active, varied sentences are used. (7.5 points) |
| Style: Engaging | Writing style makes it difficult to understand the paper. (0-3 points) | Writing style frequently causes issues for the reader (4-5 points) | Writing style occasionally causes issues for the reader (6-7 points) | Writing style used engages the reader (7.5 points) |
| Style: Formality | Paper written in informal style (may include heavy use of personal pronouns, acronyms or abbreviations. (0-3 points) | Major issues with formality (e.g. frequent use of personal pronouns). (4-5 points) | Minor issues with formality (e.g. occasional use of personal pronouns). (6-7 points) | An appropriate degree of formality is used. (7.5 points) |
| Spelling | Ten or more spelling errors in paper. (0-5 points) | Less than ten but more than five spelling errors in paper. (6-7 points) | Five or less spelling errors in paper. (8-9 points) | No spelling errors in paper. (10 points) |
| Punctuation | Ten or more punctuation errors in paper. (0-5 points) | Less than ten but more than five punctuation errors in paper. (6-7 points) | Five or less punctuation errors in paper. (8-9 points) | No punctuation errors in paper. (10 points) |
| Grammar | Ten or more grammar errors in paper. (0-5 points) | Less than ten but more than five grammar errors in paper. (6-7 points) | Five or less grammar errors in paper. (8-9 points) | No grammar errors in paper. (10 points) |
