1) Thesis:
Does your proposal take up a clear position and is that position sensible and viable? Does it address the current state of affairs at the University of Utah and/or in the Honors College? Does it show a creative or thoughtful strategy for solving familiar problems, or does it effectively point out problems many people don't recognize? In a word, is your argument useful?
2) Claims:
Were your claims clear and distinct from one another? Were they logical and did they actually support your thesis? Did they show a clear understanding of the theoretical text you used to support your ideas?
3) Evidence:
Did you draw resourcefully and creatively from a variety of materials - read, observed, overheard, speculated or hypothesized - to support your claims? Or did you just repeat the same assertion again and again? Does the evidence you enlist actually corroborate your claims, or is the relationship between your claims and evidence ambiguous or wholly arbitrary?
4) Organization:
Did you use the expository form sensibly and flexibly as a means to help you generate and arrange your ideas for clarity of communication? Or, did you allow the expository form to become a straight jacket which hindered your thought and cramped your style, or did you jettison formality altogether and produce a loose and baggy argument?
5) Expression:
Did you write in simple and clear sentences which conveyed your point accurately and persuasively, or did your language instead put up a barrier between yourself and your reader? Was your voice mature, relaxed and natural, or was it excessively formal and pompous or excessively flippant and vulgar? Was your use of vocabulary and phrasing precise or sloppy?
