DISTINGUISHED

PROFICIENT

·   Establishes a purpose with clear, focused thesis

·   Depth of development evidenced through strong use of research-based support, analysis, reflection and insight

·   Careful and/or subtle organization exists within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Effect of paper is enhanced through the use of varied sentence structures (compound, compound-complex, etc.)

·   Precise, rich, and appropriate language is evidenced

·   Mastery of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

·   Establishes a purpose with clear, focused thesis

·   Depth of development evidenced through use of research-based support, analysis, reflection, and insight

·   Logical, coherent organization exists within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Effect of paper is satisfied through controlled and varied sentence structures

·   Acceptable, appropriate language is evidenced

·   Few errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization do not impede readability of paper

APPRENTICE

NOVICE

·   Contains a thesis statement that is somewhat developed

·   Depth of development not clearly evidenced through support-based research

·   Lapses in organization and/or coherence within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Simplistic and/or awkward sentence structures

·   Simplistic and/or imprecise language used

·   Several errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization somewhat impede the readability of the paper

·   Lack of thesis or thesis unidentifiable

·   Depth of development minimal

·   Random and/or weak organization

·   Effect of paper is somewhat detracted by incorrect, ineffective, and/or incomplete sentence structure

·   Incorrect and/or ineffective language is evidenced

·   Abundant errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization impede the readability of the paper

CRITERIA

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

PURPOSE/AUDIENCE

The degree to which the writer provides thoughtful, detailed support to develop main ideas:

--establishes and maintains a purpose, communicates with the audience, employs a

  suitable voice and/or tone

IDEA DEVELOPMENT/

SUPPORT

The degree to which the writer provides thoughtful, detailed support to develop main

idea:

--uses supported-based research, integrates citations, analyzes citations and/or

  excerpts (if appropriate)

ORGANIZATION

The degree to which the writer demonstrates:

--topic sentences, logical order, coherence, unity, transitions/organizational signals

SENTENCES

The degree to which the writer includes sentences that are:

--varied in structure, length, and presentation; grammatically complete and correct

LANGUAGE

The degree to which the writer exhibits correct and effective:

--word choice, usage

CORRECTNESS

The degree to which the writer demonstrates correct

--spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

DISTINGUISHED

PROFICIENT

·   Mastery of MLA format

·   Establishes a purpose with clear, focused thesis

·   Depth of development evidenced through strong use of research-based support, analysis, reflection and insight

·   Careful and/or subtle organization exists within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Effect of paper is enhanced through the use of varied sentence structures (compound, compound-complex, etc.)

·   Precise, rich, and appropriate language is evidenced

·   Mastery of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

·   Mastery of MLA format

·   Establishes a purpose with clear, focused thesis

·   Depth of development evidenced through use of research-based support, analysis, reflection, and insight

·   Logical, coherent organization exists within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Effect of paper is satisfied through controlled and varied sentence structures

·   Acceptable, appropriate language is evidenced

·   Few errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization do not impede readability of paper

APPRENTICE

NOVICE

·   Mastery of MLA format

·   Contains a thesis statement that is somewhat developed

·   Depth of development not clearly evidenced through support-based research

·   Lapses in organization and/or coherence within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Simplistic and/or awkward sentence structures

·   Simplistic and/or imprecise language used

·   Several errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization somewhat impede the readability of the paper

·   Mastery of MLA format

·   Lack of thesis or thesis unidentifiable

·   Depth of development minimal

·   Random and/or weak organization

·   Effect of paper is somewhat detracted by incorrect, ineffective, and/or incomplete sentence structure

·   Incorrect and/or ineffective language is evidenced

·   Abundant errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization impede the readability of the paper

CRITERIA

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

MLA FORMAT

The degree to which the writer adheres to proper format regarding:

--margins, heading and headers, spacing, font, parenthetical citations (crediting

  sources), works cited page; length meets teacher requirements

PURPOSE/AUDIENCE

The degree to which the writer provides thoughtful, detailed support to develop main ideas:

--establishes and maintains a purpose, communicates with the audience, employs a

  suitable voice and/or tone

IDEA DEVELOPMENT/

SUPPORT

The degree to which the writer provides thoughtful, detailed support to develop main

idea:

--uses supported-based research, integrates citations, analyzes citations and/or

  excerpts ACCURATELY

ORGANIZATION

The degree to which the writer demonstrates:

--topic sentences, logical order, coherence, unity, transitions/organizational signals

SENTENCES

The degree to which the writer includes sentences that are:

--varied in structure, length, and presentation; grammatically complete and correct

LANGUAGE

The degree to which the writer exhibits correct and effective:

--word choice, usage

CORRECTNESS

The degree to which the writer demonstrates correct

--spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

DISTINGUISHED

PROFICIENT

·   Establishes an epiphany with strong support

·   Depth of development evidenced through strong use of concepts of storytelling

·   Careful and/or subtle organization exists within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Effect of paper is enhanced through the use of varied sentence structures (compound, compound-complex, etc.)

·   Precise, rich, and appropriate language is evidenced

·   Mastery of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

·   Establishes an epiphany with strong support

·   Depth of development evidenced through good use of concepts of storytelling

·   Logical, coherent organization exists within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Effect of paper is satisfied through controlled and varied sentence structures

·   Acceptable, appropriate language is evidenced

·   Few errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization do not impede readability of paper

APPRENTICE

NOVICE

·   Establishes an epiphany that is somewhat supported (additional development is necessary)

·   Dpth of development not clearly evidenced through concepts of storytelling

·   Lapses in organization and/or coherence within paragraphs and paper as a whole

·   Simplistic and/or awkward sentence structures

·   Simplistic and/or imprecise language used

·   Several errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization somewhat impede the readability of the paper

·   Lacks an epiphany

·   Depth of development minimal

·   Random and/or weak organization

·   Effect of paper is somewhat detracted by incorrect, ineffective, and/or incomplete sentence structure

·   Incorrect and/or ineffective language is evidenced

·   Abundant errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization impede the readability of the paper

CRITERIA

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

PURPOSE/AUDIENCE

The degree to which the writer provides thoughtful, detailed support to develop an epiphany:

--establishes strong setting, characterization, and coherence that result in an effective narrative; strong epiphany at end of story

IDEA DEVELOPMENT/

SUPPORT

The degree to which the writer provides thoughtful, detailed support to develop main

idea:

--strong  plot defined by details contribute to the work as a whole  

ORGANIZATION

The degree to which the writer demonstrates:

--topic sentences, logical order, coherence, unity, transitions/organizational signals

SENTENCES

The degree to which the writer includes sentences that are:

--varied in structure, length, and presentation; grammatically complete and correct

LANGUAGE

The degree to which the writer exhibits correct and effective:

use of strong adjectives, adverbs, and verbs

CORRECTNESS

The degree to which the writer demonstrates correct

--spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

Tennessee Writing Rubric

A 6 paper is OUTSTANDING. It demonstrates a high degree of proficiency in response to the assignment but may have a few minor errors.  A+ (96-100)

An essay in this category:

·         is well organized and coherently developed

·         clearly explains or illustrates key ideas

·         demonstrates syntactic variety

·         clearly displays facility in the use of language

·         is generally free from errors in mechanics, usage, and sentence structure

A 5 paper is STRONG. It demonstrates clear proficiency in response to the assignment and may have minor errors.  A / A- (91 – 95)

An essay in this category:

·         is generally well organized and coherently developed

·         explains or illustrates key ideas

·         demonstrates some syntactic variety

·         displays facility in the use of language

·         is generally free from errors in mechanics, usage, and sentence structure

A 4 paper is COMPETENT. It demonstrates proficiency in response to the assignment.

An essay in this category: B (81 – 90)

·         is adequately organized and developed

·         explains or illustrates some of the key ideas

·         demonstrates adequate facility in the use of language

·         may display some errors in mechanics, usage, or sentence structure

A 3 paper is LIMITED. It demonstrates some degree of proficiency in response to the assignment, but it is clearly flawed. C (72 – 80)

An essay in this category reveals one or more of the following weaknesses:

·         inadequate organization or development

·         inadequate explanation or illustration of key ideas

·         limited or inappropriate word choice

·         a pattern or accumulation of errors in mechanics, usage, or sentence structure

A 2 paper is FLAWED. It demonstrates limited proficiency in response to the assignment. D/F (50-71)

An essay in this category reveals one or more of the following weaknesses:

·         weak organization or very little development

·         little or no relevant detail

·         serious errors in mechanics, usage, sentence structure, or word choice

A 1 paper is DEFICIENT. It demonstrates fundamental deficiencies in writing skills. F (0 – 49)

An essay in this category contains serious and persistent writing errors or is incoherent or is undeveloped.

SCORE OF 0

A 0 paper is reported accompanied by one of the following codes to indicate a paper could not be scored for one of the following reasons:

0-A - Blank or Refusal
0-B - Insufficient to score or Illegible
0-C - Off Topic
0-D - Written predominantly in another language

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