Appendix E — Solicitation Email Rubric

Category	Description
Format	5 - Complies with all requirements of an e-mail: (To, From, and Subject fields; Salutation; Body; Closing; and Typed signature); No signed e-mails 4 - Complies with all but 1 requirements for an e-mail 3 - Complies with all but 2 requirements for an e-mail 2 - Excludes 3 or more of the requirements for an e-mail 1 - Document not in e-mail format
Subject Line & Salutations	5 - Subject header is concise and specific (e.g., Need an Internship? TTU’s PR Club Can Help!); E-mail’s body is addressed to a specific person using an informal address (e.g., Dear Sally) and punctuation (use a comma not a colon); Proper salutation included and ends with a comma; No mechanical errors 4 - Subject header is concise and specific; E-mail’s body is addressed to a specific person using an informal address and proper salutation is included, but with 1 mechanical error 3 - Subject header is slightly wordy or vague but still shows an awareness to its audience (e.g., TTU Society of Physics Students) or salutation addresses a group of recipients (e.g., Dear TTU Students) or with an overly formal tone and/or punctuation (e.g., Dear Mr. Smith:); Proper salutation included, or contains 2 mechanical errors 2 - Subject header is vague (e.g., Learning Useful Skills While Assisting Others), muddled, or unconnected to the subject of the e-mail (e.g., Hi), increasing the likelihood of the receiver hitting ‘delete’ before opening the e-mail or salutation addresses no particular audience (e.g., Hi there) or contains no closing or contains 3+ errors 1 - No subject header and/or salutation provided
Attention	5 - Opening hooks the reader with a vivid story or provocative statement (e.g., Lubbock schools rank in the bottom quartile for state spending) that logically connects to one of the organization’s benefits, compelling the reader to continue reading; Opening is concise and uses active language that shows an attention to audience (e.g., you-inclusive) and paints a vivid picture; No mechanical errors 4 - Opening hooks the reader with a vivid story or provocative statement that logically connects to one of the organization’s benefits and compels the reader to continue reading; Opening is concise and primarily uses active language to appeal to its audience or contains 1 mechanical error 3 - Opening includes a comprehendible story or statement but its connection to the organization’s purpose is implicit or contains wordy or uninspired language that tells readers more than shows or is not audience-centered (e.g., We need new club members! Join The Agriculture Club Today!) or contains 2 mechanical errors 2 - Opening attempts to grab the reader’s attention, but the idea has no connection to the organization’s benefits or contains muddled language or language that could potentially alienate readers (e.g., Need more PR experience for your résumé? Get off your duff and come see us!) or contains 3+ mechanical errors 1 - Opening makes no attempt to grab the reader’s attention
Interest	5 - Piques the reader’s interest by creating context, which can include establishing credibility (e.g., We’re Texas’ leading Agriculture club) or offering brief background info with an emphasis of how the organization’s purpose benefits the reader (e.g., Top PR firms recruit new employees at our annual conference); Discussion is concise and uses active language that shows an attention to audience (e.g., you-inclusive) and paints a vivid picture; No mechanical errors 4 - Piques the reader’s interest by creating context, which can include establishing credibility or offering brief background info with an emphasis of how the organization’s purpose benefits the reader; Discussion is concise and uses active language that shows an attention to audience and paints a vivid picture; Discussion is concise and primarily uses active language to appeal to its audience or contains 1 mechanical error 3 - Includes a comprehendible narrative that somewhat establishes context but never explicitly discusses how readers benefit from joining the organization or contains wordy or uninspired language that tells readers more than shows or is not audience-centered (e.g., There are many ways our club appeals to its members) or contains 2 mechanical errors 2 - Attempts to establish context, but the execution is muddled or provides readers with no clear idea of the organization’s purpose or the value in joining or the language is muddled or inappropriate or contains 3+ mechanical errors 1 - E-mail makes no attempt to peek the reader’s interest by establishing context
Desire	5 - Demonstrates why the reader needs to join the organization by anticipating potential objections to joining the organization (e.g., time and/or money) with a discussion of how the reader’s involvement will be valued; Discussion is concise and uses active language that shows an attention to audience (e.g., you-inclusive) and paints a vivid picture; No mechanical errors 4 - Demonstrates why the reader needs to join the organization by anticipating potential objections to joining the organization with a discussion of how the reader’s involvement will be valued; Discussion is concise and primarily uses active language to appeal to its audience or contains 1 mechanical error 3 - Demonstrates why the reader needs to join the organization by anticipating potential objections to joining the organization with a wordy or uninspired discussion of how the reader’s involvement will be valued; or contains 2 mechanical errors 2- Anticipates potential objections with a patronizing discussion of the reader’s involvement (e.g., Membership only costs $20. Who can’t afford that?) or lacks the discussion of a barrier vital to joining the organization or contains 3+ mechanical errors 1 - E-mail makes no attempt to anticipate the reader’s potential barriers to joining the organization
Action	5 - Invites reader to a specific event, makes it easy for reader to get involved (e.g., fill out the attached application, come to Room 2311 in the BA), and tells reader how to find additional information; Author seems sincere in recruiting the reader; Contains no mechanical errors 4 - Invites reader to a specific event, makes it easy for reader to get involved, and tells him/her where to find additional information but contains 1 mechanical error or lacks a statement of sincerity 3 - Invites reader to a specific event and makes it easy for him/her to get involved but neglects to mention where to find additional information or contains 2 mechanical errors 2 - Neglects to tell reader how to specifically get involved with the organization (e.g., we hold meetings pretty regularly) or requests action with muddled or indirect language or contains 3+ mechanical errors 1 - E-mail never invites reader to a specific event or never shows reader how to get involved with the organization

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