Adolescents should NOT make health care decisions

Principles of Communication

Position Paper Scoring Guide

Each student will receive a score from 1 to 10 (including ½ points). In the boxes below, you will find a brief description of the characteristics of an unsuccessful position paper (1 point) and a highly successful position paper (10 points). Most submissions have some stronger characteristics and some weaker ones. The submission does not necessarily have to be “perfect” to receive the full 10 points. By the same token, a score of 1 point does not necessarily mean that there was nothing good about the submission. Your final score reflects your instructor’s judgment about where your submission falls within this range.

• Introduction grabs the reader’s attention

• Preview of key arguments (including counter-argument) is clearly provided

• A thesis (or position) is clearly expressed and woven throughout the text

• Paper has a clear Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

• Development of position is easy to follow

• Rhetorical strategies, i.e., logos, pathos, ethos, clearly aid in persuading reader to accept position

• Appropriate supporting evidence is supplied

• Argument is compelling

• Writing style is excellent

• Collegial tone is applied

• Introduction does not grab the reader’s attention

• Preview of key arguments (including counter-argument) is not provided

• A thesis (or position) is not clearly stated or is unclear until the final paragraph

• Paper does not have a clear Introduction, Body, and Conclusion

• Development of position is difficult to follow

• Rhetorical strategies, i.e., logos, pathos, ethos, are not used to persuade reader to accept position

• Appropriate supporting evidence is not supplied

• Argument is not compelling

• Writing style is poor

• Collegial tone is not applied

Highly Successful - 10 Points

Unsuccessful - 1 Point