Rubrics can be extremely useful for defining and clarifying expectations for student performance, and can make the process of grading student work faster and more consistent. Below are links to a variety of rubrics that can be adapted and modified to suit specific situations, and links to resources that will help you develop your own rubrics.
Created by the Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) project of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), these rubrics have been developed through collaborative efforts of faculty from institutions across the country. Meant as starting points to be modified for each campus' and course's specific applications, they offer an excellent starting point for anyone trying to define and describe the elements of liberal learning. Links to all of the rubrics as pdf files are given below. The rubrics can also be downloaded as Word documents from the VALUE project web site, where you can also find more information on how the rubrics were developed.