Fictional worked example · Reusable template

What do the sources support?

Review date: November 6, 2026

Should the school pilot a later library closing time?

Three fictional source cards

Card A · fictional library count

42 visits between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. in one week. Unique visitors and other weeks are not given.

Card B · fictional questionnaire

30 responses; 18 selected an evening option. Recruitment method is not given.

Card C · fictional staffing note

Longer hours need a revised staffing arrangement. No cost estimate is supplied.

A careful synthesis

The count documents use during the observed hour, while the questionnaire suggests interest among some respondents. Neither establishes school-wide demand. Together they give a reason to investigate a limited pilot with a staffing plan and a way to record use.

Calibration

Synthesis and reasoning/limits: demonstrated within this narrow exercise. No final paper grade can be inferred from one paragraph.

Criteria you can assess from the work

Question and scope

Demonstrated Frames a question the paper can address within the assigned scope and keeps its claims within that boundary.

Partly demonstrated Has a question, but some claims exceed the material examined.

Not yet demonstrated Presents a topic without a question or position the paper investigates.

Source selection and understanding

Demonstrated Uses sources relevant to the question and accurately explains what each can establish.

Partly demonstrated Uses relevant sources but overlooks an important limit or treats one source as supporting more than it does.

Not yet demonstrated Uses material whose relevance or meaning the paper does not explain.

Synthesis

Demonstrated Brings sources together around a question, showing a meaningful agreement, difference, or gap.

Partly demonstrated Refers to several sources on the same point but leaves their relationship unclear.

Not yet demonstrated Summarizes sources separately without connecting them to a shared question.

Reasoning and limits

Demonstrated Connects the evidence to a conclusion and addresses a limitation or plausible alternative explanation.

Partly demonstrated Offers a conclusion, but a key inference is unsupported or its limit is missing.

Not yet demonstrated States a conclusion without reasoning from the evidence presented.

Traceable use of sources

Demonstrated Makes borrowed claims identifiable and lets the reader locate the cited source using the assignment’s required format.

Partly demonstrated Provides source information but leaves a borrowed claim or reference difficult to trace.

Not yet demonstrated Provides insufficient attribution to identify the basis of borrowed material.