The Rubric Bank — with all five levels

How clearly the critique distinguishes "what is in the work" (description) from "my opinion of it" (judgment), rather than blurring them in one undifferentiated sentence

The critic's distinction between "what is seen in the work" and "what it is presumed to mean or symbolize", and whether the move from the first to the second is signalled

Whether every evaluative judgment is paired with a specific pointer to an actual location or detail in the work that grounds it

Whether evidentiary grounding is sustained throughout the text, rather than concentrated in one paragraph while the rest of the critique is unmoored judgment

The critic's use of the discipline's own terms (composition, rhythm, contrast, plot, maqam...) with their precise conventional meaning in that art, rather than as loose metaphor

Whether the critic situates the work in its context (a school, a tradition, an era, or a comparison to similar works) rather than judging it in complete isolation

Whether the text is free of ornate, purely decorative phrasing that carries no actual information or judgment about the work

Whether the critic's judgments hold together across the text, rather than contradicting themself evaluating the same element or equivalent elements

Whether the critic explicitly distinguishes between what is personal taste preference and what is judgment grounded in a general, defensible artistic standard

Whether the critique has a clear structure (a framing opening, an analytical body, a concluding close) rather than scattered, unordered observations

Whether the critique goes past the first impression to uncover relationships or causes not obvious on the surface, rather than stopping at surface-level description

Whether the critique fairly discusses the work's strengths and weaknesses, rather than swinging to unqualified praise or unqualified condemnation

Whether the critical argument follows a clear logical line from observation to conclusion, rather than containing unjustified inferential leaps

Whether the work is judged by a standard fitting its own purpose and maker's context (a learning exercise, an experiment, a commercial piece...), rather than held to a goal it never set out to achieve

Whether the text actually delivers on the critique type the critic selected (descriptive/analytical/evaluative), rather than claiming one type while practicing another

Painter's ability to observe reality and translate it accurately into lines and forms

Distributing elements in the work to create visual balance and guide the eye

Quality and confidence of drawn line and stroke's suitability to what it describes

Understanding light source and using shadow to give objects depth and volume

Color selection, harmony, and use to serve subject and mood

Ability to choose details that serve the work and remove what distracts

Repeating visual elements in a way that creates movement and rhythm in the work

Conveying sense of movement and vitality in a static work

Personal visual fingerprint distinguishing the work from others