Distinguished - Provides an exceptionally clear and focused introduction paragraph and thesis statement about global societal issue that will be addressed in the body of the essay. The conclusion paragraph clearly sums up the topic in five or more sentences.

Proficient - Provides a clear and focused introduction paragraph and thesis statement about the global societal issue that will be addressed in the body of the essay. The conclusion paragraph sums up the topic. Minor details are missing.

Basic - Provides a somewhat clear introduction paragraph with a thesis statement about the global societal issue that will be addressed in the body of the essay. The conclusion paragraph minimally sums up the major points of the topic. Relevant details are missing.

Below Expectations - Attempts to provide a clear introduction paragraph with a thesis statement and a conclusion paragraph. Significant details are missing.

Non-Performance - The introduction, thesis statement, and conclusion are either nonexistent or lack the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Comprehensively and clearly describes background information of the global societal issue including how the issue developed, reasons why this is a societal issue, and perspectives from multiple disciplines or populations on the issue.

Proficient - Clearly describes background information of the global societal issue including how the issue developed, reasons why this is a societal issue, and perspectives from multiple disciplines or populations on the issue. The description is slightly underdeveloped.

Basic - Minimally describes background information of the global societal issue including how the issue developed, reasons why this is a societal issue, and perspectives from multiple disciplines or populations on the issue. The description is underdeveloped and/or unclear.

Below Expectations - Attempts to describe background information of the global societal issue; however, the description does not address how the issue developed, reasons why this is a societal issue, and/or perspectives from multiple disciplines or populations on the issue; significantly underdeveloped; and entirely unclear.

Non-Performance - The description of the background of the global societal issue is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Constructs a comprehensive argument of the global societal issue that includes supportive evidence that the proposed solution will benefit multiple disciplines or populations.

Proficient - Constructs an adequate argument of the global societal issue that includes supportive evidence that the proposed solution will benefit multiple disciplines or populations. The argument is slightly underdeveloped.

Basic - Constructs a limited argument of the global societal issue that includes some supportive evidence that the proposed solution will benefit multiple disciplines or populations. The argument is underdeveloped.

Below Expectations - Attempts to construct an argument of the global societal issue with limited supportive evidence that the proposed solution will benefit other disciplines or populations; however, the argument is significantly underdeveloped.

Non-Performance - The argument is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Accurately and thoroughly interprets statistical evidence/data of at least three peer-reviewed scholarly sources on the selected global societal issue. The interpretation includes a discussion of the validity, reliability, strengths, and weaknesses of the sources.

Proficient - Interprets statistical evidence/data of at least three peer-reviewed scholarly sources on the selected global societal issue. The interpretation of the statistical data is slightly underdeveloped or inaccurate.

Basic - Minimally interprets statistical evidence/data of at least three sources on the selected global societal issue. The interpretation is underdeveloped and/or inaccurate.

Below Expectations - Attempts to interpret statistical evidence/data of at least three sources on the selected global societal issue; however, some sources may not be scholarly, and the interpretation is significantly underdeveloped and inaccurate.

Non-Performance - The interpretation of statistical evidence/data of at least three peer-reviewed scholarly sources on the selected global societal issue is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Comprehensively evaluates at least two ethical issues in relation to at least one positive and one negative ethical outcome in relation to the proposed solution of the global societal issue chosen.

Proficient - Evaluates at least two ethical issues in relation to at least one positive and one negative ethical outcome in relation to the proposed solution of the global societal issue chosen. The evaluation is slightly underdeveloped.

Basic - Minimally evaluates the ethical issues and outcomes in relation to the global societal issue chosen. The evaluation is underdeveloped.

Below Expectations - Attempts to evaluate the ethical issues and outcomes in relation to the global societal issue chosen; however, the evaluation is significantly underdeveloped.

Non-Performance - The evaluation of ethical issues and outcomes in relation to the global societal issue chosen is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors and is very easy to understand.

Proficient - Displays comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains only a few minor errors and is mostly easy to understand.

Basic - Displays basic comprehension of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains a few errors which may slightly distract the reader.

Below Expectations - Fails to display basic comprehension of syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains major errors which distract the reader.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - Accurately uses APA formatting consistently throughout the paper, title page, and reference page.

Proficient - Exhibits APA formatting throughout the paper. However, layout contains a few minor errors. 

Basic - Exhibits limited knowledge of APA formatting throughout the paper. However, layout does not meet all APA requirements. 

Below Expectations - Fails to exhibit basic knowledge of APA formatting. There are frequent errors, making the layout difficult to distinguish as APA.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - The length of the paper is equivalent to the required number of words.

Proficient - The length of the paper is nearly equivalent to the required number of words.

Basic - The length of the paper is equivalent to at least three quarters of the required number of words.

Below Expectations - The length of the paper is equivalent to at least one half of the required number of words.   

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - Uses more than the required number of scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Proficient - Uses the required number of scholarly sources to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Basic - Uses less than the required number of sources to support ideas. Some sources may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are used within the body of the assignment. Citations may not be formatted correctly.

Below Expectations - Uses an inadequate number of sources that provide little or no support for ideas. Sources used may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are not used within the body of the assignment. Citations are not formatted correctly.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.