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ESSAY RUBRIC

6:  OUTSTANDING:  Clear and consistent mastery

-The ideas in the essay are presented using a clear and focused thesis.  The thesis is supported and elaborated upon with relevant, specific examples, evidence, anecdotes, details, imagery, and insightful commentary.  Ideas and support demonstrate outstanding critical thinking.

-The essay is well organized with a clear beginning, middle, and ending.  Thoughtful transitions show how ideas are connected and guide the reader smoothly and logically from beginning to end. 

-The writer’s voice and tone are engaging, interesting, and appropriate to the writer’s purpose, connecting strongly with the audience and revealing a person behind the words.

-The essay exhibits skillful use of word choice, using a specific, varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary.  Striking words and phrases, lively verbs, and specific nouns and modifiers add depth the essay’s ideas.

-The essay exhibits meaningful variety in sentence structure and sentence length.  Purposeful and varied sentence openings add variety and energy.  Flow, rhythm, and cadence invite expressive oral reading.

-The essay is free of most errors in conventions:  grammar, usage, and mechanics. 

5:  EFFECTIVE:  Reasonably consistent mastery

-The ideas in the essay are presented using a clear and focused thesis.  The thesis is supported and elaborated upon with relevant, specific examples, evidence, anecdotes, details, and effective commentary.  Ideas and support demonstrate strong critical thinking.

-The essay is well organized with a beginning, middle, and ending.  Clear transitions show how ideas are connected and guide the reader smoothly and logically from beginning to end. 

-The writer’s voice and tone are interesting, connecting effectively with the audience and revealing a person behind the words.

-The essay exhibits effective use of word choice, using a specific, varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary.  Strong verbs, specific nouns and modifiers add depth the essay’s ideas.

-The essay exhibits effective variety in sentence structure and sentence length.  Purposeful and varied sentence openings add variety and energy.  Flow, rhythm, and cadence invite expressive oral reading.

-The essay is generally free of most errors in conventions:  grammar, usage, and mechanics. 

4:  COMPETENT:  Adequate mastery

-The ideas in the essay are presented using a clear and focused thesis.  The thesis is supported and elaborated upon with adequate examples, evidence, anecdotes, details, and effective commentary.  Ideas and support demonstrate competent critical thinking.

-The essay is generally well organized with a beginning, middle, and ending.  Organization and transitions are strong enough to move the reader through the text with out too much confusion. 

-The writer’s voice and tone are sincere but not fully engaged or involved.  The writer attempts to connect with the audience and has a clear purpose, but the voice is not compelling.

-The essay exhibits adequate use of word choice, generally using a specific, varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary.

-The essay exhibits adequate variety in sentence structure and sentence length.  Some variety in sentence openings.

-The essay has some convention errors:  grammar, usage, and mechanics.

3:  INADEQUATE:  Developing mastery

-The ideas in the essay are presented using a focused thesis.  The thesis is inadequately supported with examples, evidence, anecdotes, details, and effective commentary.  Ideas and support demonstrate some critical thinking.

-The essay is limited in organization, with lapses in coherence that sometimes disrupts the flow of the writing, or forces the reader to work too hard for understanding. 

-The writer’s voice is not fully engaged or involved. 

-The essay exhibits weak or ordinary word choice that is not specific, accurate, or varied enough to maintain the reader’s interest.  Makes no attempt to connect with the reader.

-The essay exhibits little variety or demonstrates problems in sentence structure, sentence length., or sentence openings. 

-The essay has an accumulation of convention errors:  grammar, usage, and mechanics.

2:  SERIOUSLY LIMITED:  Little mastery

-The ideas in the essay are vague or seriously limited.  The thesis is inadequately supported with examples, evidence, anecdotes, details, and effective commentary.  Ideas and support demonstrate little critical thinking.

-The essay is poorly  organized, with lapses in coherence that disrupts the flow of the writing, or forces the reader to work too hard for understanding. 

-The writer’s voice is not engaged or involved. 

-The essay exhibits limited  word choice that is not specific, accurate, or varied enough to maintain the reader’s interest.  Makes no attempt to connect with the reader.

-The essay exhibits frequent problems in sentence structure, sentence length., or sentence openings. 

-The essay has many conventions errors:  grammar, usage, and mechanics.  Errors obscure the meaning of the essay.

1:  FUNDAMENTALY LACKING:  No mastery

-The essay develops no viable ideas or thesis; it proves little or no evidence to support a position.

-The essay is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed or incoherent essay.

-The essay exhibits limited  word choice and fundamental errors in vocabulary.

-The writer’s voice seems indifferent to the topic and content.

-The essay demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure.

-The essay contains pervasive errors in conventions:  grammar, usage, and mechanics.