Papers are evaluated on a 10 point scale. When you first read a paper you should read it through, carefully, but without making extensive notes. You're reading to decide if the paper is either excellent, good, or poor, not to give it a score on a 1-9 scale.
In your first reading decide if the paper is excellent, good, or poor. Then re-read to award a final grade.
You should be be reading for argument, content organization, and mechanics. A paper that's grammatically terrible detracts from the overall qualities of the paper in substantial ways. A wonderfully written paper that is completely off-topic should not be well-received.
The idea is that after one careful reading you're ready to decide if the paper is excellent, good, or poor. Not every paper is excellent and there are degrees of excellence. An excellent paper is outstanding in several ways: well-written, non-obvious statements and conclusions, well-reasoned, well-researched. A good paper is short of excellent, but it is very good work. Good papers might reasonably be turned into excellent papers. Poor papers, however, might need to be scrapped before morphing into excellence.
After you've decided what tier the paper falls in: excellent, good, or poor, you're ready to decide where in the range it falls. See the outline below for some ideas.
In deciding what tier (excellent, good, poor) the paper falls, the first two paragraphs are essential. If you're not completely clear what the thesis of the paper is and what the author is trying to show or claim, it's not possible to have an excellent paper. If the thesis is too vague, or no foundation for a paper is built, it's likely that good may be difficult to achieve, though the low-end of good isn't far from the high-end of poor (and similarly for other boundaries).
In general, base your initial reading/evaluation on these criteria:
You should write a paragraph that gives an overall description of the criteria and reasoning you applied in giving a paper a specific numeric score. The paper may be marked with specific comments as appropriate. Your end comments should seek to support the evaluation given on the checklist. You should address your concerns in a general to specific order, i.e.:
Argument (0 to 3 pts.)
____The paper has a well-developed thesis with an insightful set of criteria. The introduction establishes the issues at stake and the conclusion indicates what will change as a result of this argument.
____The paper has a workable (though perhaps formulaic) thesis that leads the reader into the paper and serves as a guide to its contents.
____The paper has some components of a thesis (subject, position, hint at organization) but may be underdeveloped or missing a clearly articulated motive for writing.
____The paper lacks an argumentative thesis or the thesis does not accurately convey what the paper develops.
Content (0 to 3pts.)
____The paper demonstrates excellent development of each idea and focuses on relevant details. Clearly explained examples support the claims and the topic is thoroughly researched.
____The paper contains adequate evidence to support its claims, but will benefit from more research and background information, more thorough interpretation of quotations, or from more specific development of relevant points.
____The paper has some development but lacks sufficient evidence or contains irrelevant details that do not yet develop a clear sense of purpose.
____The paper needs more details on every level (main ideas, related ideas, specific ideas).
Organization (0 to 2 pts.)
____The paper contains strong topic sentences and builds upon the argument suggested in the thesis. Clear transitions connect ideas both on the paragraph level and the sentence level.
____The overall structure of the paper is clear, but some topic sentences are weak. Transitions that would clarify the relationships amongst main ideas are occasionally either missing or misleading.
____Paragraphs are not organized around a central idea and the overall structure of the paper is difficult to follow.
Mechanics (0, 0.5, or 1 pt.)
____The paper demonstrates mastery over the basics in sentence completeness, structure, variety, word choice, and punctuation. It maintains a clear and efficient style.
____The paper displays evidence of good control over mechanics, although some areas may still need sentence level revision. Occasional wordiness, passive voice, punctuation errors, pronoun references or unclear modifiers may be problems.
____The paper shows that mechanics are an area of concern. There may be recurring sentence fragments, comma splices, word usage errors, or redundant clauses. Excessive wordiness or punctuation errors may also be a concern. There are many problems that detract from reading.
The paper is well-written, goes beyond the superficial in analysis and understanding, shows evidence of reading and understanding beyond what has been discussed in class, addresses the topic incisively.