An "A" portfolio demonstrates that the student has devoted considerable time and reflection to thinking critically about the past, present, and future of his or her online identity in a sophisticated style that commands attention and respect.

The writer's ideas are original, often insightful, going beyond ideas discussed in lecture and class but demonstrating a mastery of the assigned material, and a carefully crafted and thorough analysis of the evidence is presented.

The writer incorporates appropriate, clear, and smooth transitions, well-constructed paragraphs, and an arrangement of organizational elements that seems particularly apt. The writer uses sophisticated sentences effectively, usually chooses words aptly, observes the conventions of written English, and makes few -- if any -- minor or technical errors.

The very best students may already be implementing strategies that will be useful in gaining admission to graduate or professional school or launching a career or achieving distinction as a leader, policy maker, activist, or artist, but this is not required to merit an "A" grade in this assignment.

A "B" portfolio demonstrates that the student can think critically about the past, present, and future of his or her online identity in a style that is appropriate for the situation and develops ideas completely.

The writer shows a good understanding of the texts, lectures, and methods of the class and makes arguments about online identity that go beyond the obvious. Claims are appropriately supported with evidence, and description is properly balanced with analysis.

The writer presents distinct units of thought in paragraphs controlled by specific, detailed, and arguable topic sentences and clear transitions between developed, cohering, and logically arranged paragraphs .

In a "B" portfolio, there may be a few mechanical difficulties or stylistic problems (which/that use, split infinitives, dangling modifiers, etc.), and the writer may make occasional problematic word choices or syntax errors. There may also be a few spelling or punctuation errors or a cliché.

A "C" portfolio demonstrates that the student is just beginning to think critically about the past, present, or future of his or her online identity, but the writing may only focus on the most basic approach to the assignment with less substantive analysis or less specific description to support claims than a "B" portfolio would provide.

Often "C" portfolios only partially develop arguments, fail to go beyond shallow analysis, leave ideas and generalizations undeveloped or unsupported, and make limited use of textual or visual evidence.

There may be some awkward transitions, some brief, weakly unified or undeveloped paragraphs, and the arrangement may not appear entirely natural or contain extraneous information.

These portfoilios may have more frequent wordiness, unclear or awkward sentences, imprecise use of words or over-reliance on passive voice, and some distracting grammatical errors (wrong verb tense, pronoun agreement, apostrophe errors, singular/plural errors, article use, preposition use, comma splice, etc.).

A "D" portfolio doesn't demonstrate a serious attempt to think critically about the writer's online identity and may skip reflection about the past or the future.

The writer may digress from one topic to another without developing ideas or terms or make insufficient or awkward use of textual or visual evidence. The style of a "D" portfolio is often simplistic with a tendency to narrate or merely summarize.

These portfolios are often characterized by major grammatical or proofreading errors that indicate problems with Standard Written English (subject-verb agreement, sentence fragments, word form errors, etc.). The language may also be frequently weakened by colloquialisms, clichés, and hyperbolic statements or repeated inexact word choices.

An "F" portfolio shows that the writer is not keeping up with lectures, readings, discussions, or assignments. The student may have severe difficulties communicating through academic writing.

There may be little or no development; the writer may list disjointed facts or misinformation; in style, there may be no transitions and incoherent paragraphs that suggest poor planning or no serious revision. Numerous grammatical errors and stylistic problems seriously detract from the argument

This writing that does not meet Standard Written English requirement. Plagiarism is also grounds for an "F" grade.