Exceptional

Admirable

Acceptable

Amateur

Content

An abundance of material clearly related to thesis; points are clearly made and all evidence supports thesis; varied use of materials

Sufficient information that relates to thesis; many good points made but there is an uneven balance and little variation

There is a great deal of information that is not clearly connected to the thesis

Thesis not clear; information included that does not support thesis in any way

Coherence and Organization

Thesis is clearly stated and developed; specific examples are appropriate and clearly develop thesis; conclusion is clear; shows control; flows together well; good transitions; succinct but not choppy; well organized

Most information presented in logical sequence; generally very well organized but better transitions from idea to idea and medium to medium needed

Concept and ideas are loosely connected; lacks clear transitions; flow and organization are choppy

Presentation is choppy and disjointed; does not flow; development of thesis is vague; no apparent logical order of presentation

Creativity

Very original presentation of material; uses the unexpected to full advantage; captures audience’s attention

Some originality apparent; good variety and blending of materials/media

Little or no variation; material presented with little originality or interpretation

Repetitive with little or no variety; insufficient use of multimedia

Material

Balanced use of multimedia materials; properly used to develop thesis; use of media is varied and appropriate

Use of multimedia not as varied and not as well connected to thesis

Choppy use of multimedia materials; lacks smooth transition from one medium to another; multimedia not clearly connected to thesis

Little or no multimedia used or ineffective use of multimedia; imbalance in use of materials—too much of one, not enough of another

Speaking Skills

Poised, clear articulation; proper volume; steady rate; good posture and eye contact; enthusiasm; confidence

Clear articulation but not as polished

Some mumbling; little eye contact; uneven rate; little or no expression

Inaudible or too loud; no eye contact; rate too slow/fast; speaker seemed uninterested and used monotone

Audience Response

Involved the audience in the presentation; points made in creative way; held the audience’s attention throughout

Presented facts with some interesting “twists”; held the audience’s attention most of the time

Some related facts but went off topic and lost the audience; mostly presented facts with little or no imagination

Incoherent; audience lost interest and could not determine the point of the presentation

Length of Presentation

Within two minutes of allotted time +/-

Within four minutes of allotted time +/-

Within six minutes of allotted time +/-

Too long or too short; ten or more minutes above or below the allotted time