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Good day I require rubrics for Grade 8 and 9 English First Additional Language please… Essays as well as transactional writing.
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That’s exactly what I was going for. Thank you for the kind words and for visiting my site. Best wishes!
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Thank you so much for these resources.They are so helpful..Can you please include one sample essay if possible. Thanks, Lavanya.
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I am a teacher with the Sacramento County Office of Education in Sacramento California. I just want to say how thankful I am for discovering your site. You have my utmost admiration for your material. Are you developing more in the future?
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i learned a lot upon browsing some of the sample of rubrics hope you can put as many sample you can have
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I hope to return your kindness by continuing to add more content in the years to come.
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Very useful information loved teaching my students theme using your resources!! Thank you!!
Thank u so much for the resources, checking essay are quiet easy than before, this is such a great help for us teachers.
Wow!! What an incredible resource. Thank you very much.
thanks… helpful for my composition class!
Thanks for everything Mr. Morton. I am a high school teacher of both enthusiastic readers/writers, and very nonenthusiastic readers/writers. How nice to find your resources. I’m sure I will be able to entice even the most reluctant to do some writing with the help of your prompts. Thanks for sharing!
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Popular content.
Interactive Writing Rubric
Element: Argument
Strand: Position
Criteria: Thesis
Criteria: Justification
Strand: Ideas
Criteria: Quality
Criteria: Substantiation
Strand: Organization
Criteria: Structure
Criteria: Flow
Element: Evidence
Strand: Contextualization
Criteria: Framing
Criteria: Context
Strand: Selection
Criteria: Choice
Criteria: Presentation
Strand: Interpretation
Criteria: Analysis
Element: Language
Strand: Style
Criteria: Register
Criteria: Craft
Strand: Sentence Fluency
Criteria: Fluency
Criteria: Concision
Strand: Word Choice
Criteria: Diction
Criteria: Range
Strand: Conventions
Criteria: Spelling
Criteria: Grammar
Element: Process
Strand: Process
Strand: Publishing
Criteria: Professionalism
Criteria: MLA Formatting
Criteria: Document
This strand encompasses the argument in the essay—the four or five key sentences that state what you are proving and how you are proving it.
Thesis: The sentence(s) explicitly or implicitly stated early in the paper that outline the argument being made in the paper.
Assertions: The assertion is the sentence at the paragraph level that is the written articulation of the subargument. This sentence is sometimes called the topic sentence.
This strand evaluates at the holistic and synthesis level. The Ideas strand seeks to evaluate how well the Position is proven (substantiation) and how well the ideas are synthesized and interwoven. This strand is broader than the Interpretation strand—it encompasses the essay as a whole.
Quality: Quality evaluates the correctness of ideas, the complexity of ideas, and the integration of ideas across a full spectrum.
Substantiation: Substantiation addresses the level of proof that supports the position. When scoring at levels 5-8, it is important to think about the substantiation of both the position’s depth and breadth.
Organization is a crucial aspect of argumentation. This strand addresses the overall structure of a paper. Does the organization support and encourage logical order? Do ideas flow smoothly?
Structure: This criterion addresses the overall architecture of the essay—is the paper ordered (chronologically, compare and contrast, logically, cause and effect, etc) in a way that supports the position?
Flow: Do ideas flow smoothly within sentences and paragraph and between sentences and paragraphs?
There are two primary criteria that make up Contextualization:
Framing: The framing criterion is the broader umbrella within contextualization. Framing occurs often occurs within the introduction, thesis statement, and around evidence. Does the author include only the basic frame (novel, historical event) or is their argument framed within the greater discourse of historical ideas and movements?
Content: Context is more specific and concrete than framing; it refers to the background information around the evidence chunks. Does the author set up the reader with enough background information for the paragraphs to be read smoothly and cohesively?
Selection primarily evaluates evidence selection—relevance, persuasiveness, and concision. Included in this strand is evidence presentation—how smoothly is argument incorporated into the paragraph.
Choice: When we evaluate choice, we are analyzing the type of evidence selected—is it pertinent, is it relevant, is it authoritative?
Presentation: Evidence must be presented clearly within an essay; this criterion addresses the blending, chunking, and overall weaving of evidence into an argument.
Interpretation deals with logic, analysis, and reasoning. The Ideas strand within Argument is comprehensive and evaluates the synthesis of ideas. The interpretation strand is much more specific to the paragraph level.
Analysis: Analysis evaluates the discussion of evidence. At the lower level, is the interpretation accurate and focused? At higher level, students are expected to analyze thoughtfully, including subtle nuances while retaining clarity.
Justification: Justification evaluates a student’s ability to develop a link from evidence to assertion. As readers and teachers, we often find that students almost prove their argument but fail to fully land on their point: this criterion addresses that logic gap.
Formal essay writing style is more limited than its creative counterparts. The style strand evaluates the formal register, or formal style, of the author’s writing as well as their craft.
Register: Addresses the appropriateness of style/language for the task/audience. For academic writing pieces assessed using this rubric, we strive for formal register.
Craft: Craft refers to the specific writer’s moves in expository writing.
Sentence Fluency focuses on the type, fluidity, and effect of sentences within the essay. Strong sentence fluency leads to natural, active, and concise writing.
Fluency: Fluency is the ability to expertly deliver information quickly, naturally, and correctly.
Concision: Concision is marked by effective and efficient communication: it is free of superfluous information and requires a strong command of language and a dedication to revision.
This strand evaluates one’s ability to select the best word to communicate an idea and utilize a broad range of dynamic, striking, and sophisticated words.
Diction: Selecting the best word to most clearly and powerfully communicate an idea.
Range: The breadth of words used correctly; an author’s vocabulary.
Authors need to understand and apply grammatical rules; they also need to spell correctly.
Grammar: These are Standard English rules of communication.
Spelling: This criterion evaluates spelling in an essay.
David Conley clearly articulates that “self-management behaviors” are one of the four key levers to ensure college and career readiness. Revision evaluates the changes made from the rough draft to final draft, including the depth of those changes, the independence of the author, and the effect of the changes on the essay. In this way, we require students learn self-management behaviors (reflection, time management, advocating for themselves, professional meetings, etc.) in order to revise their paper.
Quality: “As the lone criterion for Revising, quality evaluates all aspects of revision.”
This strand encompasses the final product, from completion, timeliness, and presentation to MLA formatting guidelines.
Professionalism: Includes completion, timeliness, attention to the details of the assignment, and final product presentation.
MLA Formatting: Follows MLA formatting guidelines.
Document: Formatting of the document, from headers and title to spacing.
Click Numbers to View Standard Bearers
Justification
Substantiation
4 Ideas 4 (Set 1) Ideas 4 (Set 2)
5 Ideas 5 (Set 1) Ideas 5 (Set 2)
0 Contextualization 0 (Set 1) Contextualization 0 (Set 2)
4 Contextualization 4 (Set 1) Contextualization 4 (Set 2) Contextualization 4 (Set 3)
Presentation
1 Interpretation 1 (Set 1) Interpretation 1 (Set 2)
2 Interpretation 2 (Set 1) Interpretation 2 (Set 2)
3 Word Choice 3 (Set 1) Word Choice 3 (Set 2)
5 Word Choice 5 (Set 1) Word Choice 5 (Set 2)
4 Conventions 4 (Set 1) Conventions 4 (Set 2) Conventions 4 (Set 3) Conventions 4 (Set 4)
Professionalism
MLA Formatting
An essay rubric for high school is a great way to assess students. Not only do essay rubrics help students better understand the assignment, but they can also make your job as a teacher easier.
In fact, our case studies show that when classes are assessed using rubrics, student grades improve.
Our essay rubric is designed for high school writing projects. We know that the process of explicitly teaching writing strategies is difficult enough without having to worry about essay assessment. Not to worry, our essay rubric comes with five simple assessment criteria. We’ve also taken care to embed Bloom’s taxonomy into key criteria descriptions.
That said, let’s provide you with a quick breakdown of our analytic essay rubric for high school and get you back to teaching.
Essays are one of the most common writing tasks in high school. That said, writing an essay is not an easy skill to master. Students need to understand how to organize their ideas, insert references to support their thoughts, and create a unique-cohesive story. That’s why we love rubrics – they help students better understand how and what they should focus on.
Our essay rubric for high school is an analytic rubric. This means we have five different assessment criteria that are all assessed separately – each with unique percent weights.
At first glance, the essay rubric can look like a lot – but we’ve designed these to be easily editable in our online software.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the assessment criteria on our essay rubric.
Limited depth of content. Clarity in writing is not apparent.
| Some depth of content. Clarity of writing needs development.
| Moderate depth of content. Writing demonstrates good clarity.
| Thick description. Detailed content provides very good clarity.
| ||||||||
D- | D | D+ | C- | C | C+ | B- | B | B+ | A- | A | A+ |
Lack of coherent themes. Unclear and difficult to understand thesis.
| Moderate use of themes. Thesis shows some detail and some organization..
| Appropriate organization. Satisfying articulation of ideas.
| Logical, structured and engaging ideas create clear themes and organization. : reflects, defends, debates, predicts, solves | ||||||||
D- | D | D+ | C- | C | C+ | B- | B | B+ | A- | A | A+ |
High degree of errors in formatting. Student does not use references to support their work. . | Frequent or severe errors in formatting. Uses and cites some sources. | Limited errors in formatting and references. Writer cites sources with accuracy. | No errors in formatting and references. Writer uses references to strengthen content and develop themes. | ||||||||
D- | D | D+ | C- | C | C+ | B- | B | B+ | A- | A | A+ |
Very high degree of errors in sentence structure and word usage makes writing difficult to understand. | Moderate errors in grammar, sentence structure and word usage. | Limited errors in grammar, sentence structure and word usage. Content is easy to read. | No errors in grammar, sentence structure and word usage. Creative use of language provides a thick, narrative description of content and themes. | ||||||||
D- | D | D+ | C- | C | C+ | B- | B | B+ | A- | A | A+ |
Writing is limited in depth. Limited effort made to create unique and persuasive work. | Writing has some depth. Moderate effort made to create unique and persuasive work that creates a new understanding of topic. | Writer displays good understanding for rhetoric and helps reader to understand unique perspectives drawn from critical thinking. | Writer creates a thick description that leads to mastery-level writing. Perspective is clear, planned, and leads to discovery. | ||||||||
D- | D | D+ | C- | C | C+ | B- | B | B+ | A- | A | A+ |
So you’ve had a chance to read each of the criteria but you might be asking yourself – how would I use this?
Well, a rubric can be used as both a formative (ongoing) assessment tool, but it can also be used as a summative (final) assessment tool. We’d suggest following a few important steps to ensure your students get the most from their rubric.
Remember, our rubric software comes with pre-built information – but this doesn’t mean you can’t tweak the rubric to suit the needs of your students. For more information on how our software works, click here .
Enjoy student assessment made simple with templates, gradebooks, and smart reporting software.
How a literacy rubric will maximize student success, report card writing made simple.
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Lectures and tutors provide specific requirements for students to meet when writing essays. Basically, an essay rubric helps tutors to analyze an overall quality of compositions written by students. In this case, a rubric refers to a scoring guide used to evaluate performance based on a set of criteria and standards. As such, useful marking schemes make an analysis process simple for lecturers as they focus on specific concepts related to a writing process. Moreover, an assessment table lists and organizes all of the criteria into one convenient paper. In other instances, students use assessment tables to enhance their writing skills by examining various requirements. Then, different types of essay rubrics vary from one educational level to another. Essentially, Master’s and Ph.D. grading schemes focus on examining complex thesis statements and other writing mechanics. However, high school evaluation tables examine basic writing concepts. In turn, guidelines on a common format for writing a good essay rubric and corresponding examples provided in this article can help students to evaluate their papers before submitting them to their teachers.
An essay rubric refers to a way for teachers to assess students’ composition writing skills and abilities. Basically, an evaluation scheme provides specific criteria to grade assignments. Moreover, the three basic elements of an essay rubric are criteria, performance levels, and descriptors. In this case, teachers use assessment guidelines to save time when evaluating and grading various papers. Hence, learners must use an essay rubric effectively to achieve desired goals and grades, while its general example is:
According to its definition, an essay rubric is a structured evaluation tool that educators use to grade students’ compositions in a fair and consistent manner. The main purpose of an essay rubric in writing is to ensure consistent and fair grading by clearly defining what constitutes excellent, good, average, and poor performance (DeVries, 2023). This tool specifies a key criteria for grading various aspects of a written text, including a clarity of a thesis statement, an overall quality of a main argument, an organization of ideas, a particular use of evidence, and a correctness of grammar and mechanics. Moreover, an assessment grading helps students to understand their strengths to be proud of and weaknesses to be pointed out and guides them in improving their writing skills (Taylor et al., 2024). For teachers, such an assessment simplifies a grading process, making it more efficient and less subjective by providing a clear standard to follow. By using an essay rubric, both teachers and students can engage in a transparent, structured, and constructive evaluation process, enhancing an overall educational experience (Stevens & Levi, 2023). In turn, the length of an essay rubric depends on academic levels, types of papers, and specific requirements, while general guidelines are:
High School
University (Undergraduate)
Master’s
Element | Description |
---|---|
Thesis Statement | A well-defined thesis statement is crucial as it sets a particular direction and purpose of an essay, making it clear what a writer intends to argue or explain. |
Introduction | An introduction captures a reader’s interest and provides a framework for what a paper will cover, setting up a stage for arguments or ideas that follow after an opening paragraph. |
Content | High-quality content demonstrates thorough understanding and research on a specific topic, providing valuable and relevant information that supports a thesis. |
Organization | Effective organization ensures author’s ideas are presented in a clear, well-structure, and logical order, enhancing readability and an overall flow of a central argument. |
Evidence and Support | Providing strong evidence and detailed analysis is essential for backing up main arguments, adding credibility and depth to a final document. |
Conclusion | A strong conclusion ties all the main numbers together, reflects on potential implications of arguments, and reinforces a thesis, leaving a lasting impression on a reader. |
Grammar and Mechanics | Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation are vital for clarity and professionalism, making a whole text easy to read and understand. |
Style and Tone | Correctness in writing style and author’s tone appropriate to a paper’s purpose and audience enhances an overall effectiveness of a particular text and engages a reader. |
Citations and References | Accurate and complete citations and references are crucial for giving credit to sources, avoiding plagiarism, and allowing readers to follow up on the research. |
Note: Some elements of an essay rubric can be added, deled, or combined with each other because different types of papers, their requirements, and instructors’ choices affect a final assessment. To format an essay rubric, people create a table with criteria listed in rows, performance levels in columns, and detailed descriptors in each cell explaining principal expectations for each level of performance (Steven & Levi, 2023). Besides, the five main criteria in a rubric are thesis statement, content, organization, evidence and support, and grammar and mechanics. In turn, a good essay rubric is clear, specific, aligned with learning objectives, and provides detailed, consistent descriptors for each performance level.
In writing, the key elements of an essay rubric are clear criteria, defined performance levels, and detailed descriptors for each evaluation.
Organization
Excellent/8 points: A submitted essay contains stiff topic sentences and a controlled organization.
Very Good/6 points: A paper contains a logical and appropriate organization. An author uses clear topic sentences.
Average/4 points: A composition contains a logical and appropriate organization. An author uses clear topic sentences.
Needs Improvement/2 points: A provided text has an inconsistent organization.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): A complete document shows an absence of a planned organization.
Grade: ___ .
Excellent/8 points: A submitted essay shows the absence of a planned organization.
Very Good/6 points: A paper contains precise and varied sentence structures and word choices.
Average/4 points: A composition follows a limited but mostly correct sentence structure. There are different sentence structures and word choices.
Needs Improvement/2 points: A provided text contains several awkward and unclear sentences. There are some problems with word choices.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): An author does not have apparent control over sentence structures and word choice.
Excellent/8 points: An essay’s content appears sophisticated and contains well-developed ideas.
Very Good/6 points: A paper’s content appears illustrative and balanced.
Average/4 points: A composition contains unbalanced content that requires more analysis.
Needs Improvement/2 points: A provided text contains a lot of research information without analysis or commentary.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): A complete document lacks relevant content and does not fit the thesis statement. Essay rubric rules are not followed.
Excellent/8 points: A submitted essay contains a clearly stated and focused thesis statement.
Very Good/6 points: A paper comprises a clearly stated argument. However, a particular focus would have been sharper.
Average/4 points: A thesis statement phrasing sounds simple and lacks complexity. An author does not word the thesis correctly.
Needs Improvement/2 points: A thesis statement requires a clear objective and does not fit the theme in a paper’s content.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): A thesis statement is not evident in an introduction paragraph.
Excellent/8 points: A submitted is clear and focused. An overall work holds a reader’s attention. Besides, relevant details and quotes enrich a thesis statement.
Very Good/6 points: A paper is mostly focused and contains a few useful details and quotes.
Average/4 points: An author begins a composition by defining an assigned topic. However, a particular development of ideas appears general.
Needs Improvement/2 points: An author fails to define an assigned topic well or focuses on several issues.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): A complete document lacks a clear sense of a purpose or thesis statement. Readers have to make suggestions based on sketchy or missing ideas to understand an intended meaning. Essay rubric requirements are missed.
Sentence Fluency
Excellent/8 points: A submitted essay has a natural flow, rhythm, and cadence. Its sentences are well-built and have a wide-ranging and robust structure that enhances reading.
Very Good/6 points: Presented ideas mostly flow and motivate a compelling reading.
Average/4 points: A composition hums along with a balanced beat but tends to be more businesslike than musical. Besides, a particular flow of ideas tends to become more mechanical than fluid.
Needs Improvement/2 points: A provided text appears irregular and hard to read.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): Readers have to go through a complete document several times to give this paper a fair interpretive reading.
Conventions
Excellent/8 points: An author demonstrates proper use of standard writing conventions, like spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, and paragraphing. A person also uses correct protocols in a way that improves an overall readability of an essay.
Very Good/6 points: An author demonstrates proper writing conventions and uses them correctly. One can read a paper with ease, and errors are rare. Few touch-ups can make a submitted composition ready for publishing.
Average/4 points: An author shows reasonable control over a short range of standard writing rules. A person also handles all the conventions and enhances readability. Writing errors in a presented composition tend to distract and impair legibility.
Needs Improvement/2 points: An author makes an effort to use various conventions, including spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar usage, and paragraphing. A provided text contains multiple errors.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): An author makes repetitive errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, and paragraphing. Some mistakes distract readers and make it hard to understand discussed concepts. Essay rubric rules are not covered.
Presentation
Excellent/8 points: A particular form and presentation of a text enhance an overall readability of an essay and its flow of ideas.
Very Good/6 points: A chosen format has few mistakes and is easy to read.
Average/4 points: An author’s message is understandable in this format.
Needs Improvement/2 points: An author’s message is only comprehensible infrequently, and a provided text appears disorganized.
Unacceptable/0 (zero): Readers receive a distorted message due to difficulties connecting to a presentation of an entire text.
Final Grade: ___ .
Grading Scheme
An overall quality of various types of texts changes at different education levels. In writing, an essay rubric works by providing a structured framework with specific criteria and performance levels to consistently evaluate and grade a finished paper. For instance, college students must write miscellaneous papers when compared to high school learners (Harrington et al., 2021). In this case, assessment criteria will change for these different education levels. For example, university and college compositions should have a debatable thesis statement with varying points of view (Mewburn et al., 2021). However, high school compositions should have simple phrases as thesis statements. Then, other requirements in a marking rubric will be more straightforward for high school students (DeVries, 2023). For Master’s and Ph.D. works, a writing criteria presented in a scoring evaluation should focus on examining a paper’s complexity. In turn, compositions for these two categories should have thesis statements that demonstrate a detailed analysis of defined topics that advance knowledge in a specific area of study.
When observing any essay rubric, people should remember to ensure clarity and specificity in each criterion and performance level. This clarity helps both an evaluator and a student to understand principal expectations and how a written document will be assessed (Ozfidan & Mitchell, 2022). Consistency in language and terminology across an essay rubric is crucial to avoid confusion and maintain fairness. Further on, it is essential to align a working scheme with learning objectives and goals of an essay’s assignment, ensuring all key components, such as thesis, content, organization, and grammar, are covered comprehensively (Stevens & Levi, 2023). Evaluators should also be aware of the weighting and scoring distribution, making sure they accurately reflect an actual importance of each criterion. Moreover, testing a rubric on sample essays before finalizing it can help to identify any mistakes or imbalances in scores. Essentially, providing concrete examples or descriptions for each performance level can guide students in understanding what is expected for each grade (Taylor et al., 2024). In turn, an essay rubric should be reviewed, revised, and updated after each educational year to remain relevant and aligned with current academic standards. Lastly, sharing and explaining grading assessment with students before they start their composition fosters transparency and helps them to put more of their efforts into meeting defined criteria, ultimately improving their writing and learning experience in general.
Essay rubrics help teachers, instructors, professors, and tutors to analyze an overall quality of compositions written by students. Basically, an assessment scheme makes an analysis process simple for lecturers, and it lists and organizes all of the criteria into one convenient paper. In other instances, students use such evaluation tools to improve their writing skills. However, they vary from one educational level to the other. Master’s and Ph.D. assessment schemes focus on examining complex thesis statements and other writing mechanics. However, high school grading criteria examine basic writing concepts. As such, the following are some of the tips that one must consider when preparing any rubric.
DeVries, B. A. (2023). Literacy assessment and intervention for classroom teachers . Routledge.
Harrington, E. R., Lofgren, I. E., Gottschalk Druschke, C., Karraker, N. E., Reynolds, N., & McWilliams, S. R. (2021). Training graduate students in multiple genres of public and academic science writing: An assessment using an adaptable, interdisciplinary rubric. Frontiers in Environmental Science , 9 , 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.715409
Mewburn, I., Firth, K., & Lehmann, S. (2021). Level up your essays: How to get better grades at university . NewSouth.
Ozfidan, B., & Mitchell, C. (2022). Assessment of students’ argumentative writing: A rubric development. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies , 9 (2), 121–133. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1064
Stevens, D. D., & Levi, A. (2023). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning . Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Taylor, B., Kisby, F., & Reedy, A. (2024). Rubrics in higher education: An exploration of undergraduate students’ understanding and perspectives. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education , 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2023.2299330
Learn more about writing resources.
Writing worksheets can help your child develop essential writing and literacy skills needed for school and life. If you’re a teacher or parent looking for printable and digital writing resources to help your student learn a writing concept, look no further! TPT has an extensive collection of resources, created by other teachers, that are designed to help with any need across grade levels.
For elementary students who are just learning to write, you can use worksheets to practice letter formation. Students in middle and high school can use learning stations to learn how to write and revise essays. With plenty of TPT resources at your fingertips, you can sharpen your student's writing skills in no time. Extend writing activities beyond the classroom and observe as your child nurtures their imagination, enriches their vocabulary, and enhances their storytelling prowess.
Here are a few ideas for writing activities — from our teacher-created resources — that you can find on TPT and that are designed to teach students how to write effectively. (Pro tip: These worksheets serve as an excellent complement to our reading materials.)
Encourage students to keep daily journals where they can freely express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This practice helps them develop their writing style and build the habit of writing regularly.
Provide engaging prompts that encourage imaginative storytelling. For instance, you could ask students to write about a world without the internet, or ask them to describe something only using one of their five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste).
Have students exchange their written work with a peer for feedback. This helps them strengthen their ability to identify and correct mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and spelling; give constructive criticism; and revise their writing based on feedback.
Provide sentence and paragraph building exercises to help students understand the basic structure of writing and how to organize their ideas coherently.
Ask students to write letters to real or fictional recipients. They could compose formal letters, persuasive letters on specific topics, thank-you notes, or postcards.
Create a classroom blog where students can publish their writing for a wider audience. This teaches them to write for a purpose and consider their audience's perspective.
Guide students through the process of researching and writing informative or argumentative essays. Teach them how to construct persuasive arguments and counterarguments on various topics, include evidence, and cite sources.
Explore different forms of poetry, such as haikus, sonnets, and free verse. Encourage students to experiment with imagery, rhythm, and metaphor.
By incorporating these (and other!) writing activities into your lesson plans, you can nurture a love for writing.
What types of writing resources are available on tpt.
There are many different types of writing resources sold by Sellers on TPT. Some popular writing lessons include creative writing, poetry, writing essays, writing expository, and handwriting.
Educators can save time preparing writing lessons with resources created by experienced teachers. Simply start a search for writing resources on the TPT marketplace, and filter by grade level, price, and/or resource type to find materials that've been proven to work in classrooms like yours. No matter what you’re teaching, there are plenty of writing lessons and activities sold by Sellers on TPT that are tailored to meet your students' skill levels.
ACT Writing
What time is it? It's essay time! In this article, I'm going to get into the details of the newly transformed ACT Writing by discussing the ACT essay rubric and how the essay is graded based on that. You'll learn what each item on the rubric means for your essay writing and what you need to do to meet those requirements.
If you've chosen to take the ACT Plus Writing , you'll have 40 minutes to write an essay (after completing the English, Math, Reading, and Science sections of the ACT, of course). Your essay will be evaluated by two graders , who score your essay from 1-6 on each of 4 domains, leading to scores out of 12 for each domain. Your Writing score is calculated by averaging your four domain scores, leading to a total ACT Writing score from 2-12.
Based on ACT, Inc's stated grading criteria, I've gathered all the relevant essay-grading criteria into a chart. The information itself is available on the ACT's website , and there's more general information about each of the domains here . The columns in this rubric are titled as per the ACT's own domain areas, with the addition of another category that I named ("Mastery Level").
demonstrate little or no skill in writing an argumentative essay. | The writer fails to generate an argument that responds intelligibly to the task. The writer's intentions are difficult to discern. Attempts at analysis are unclear or irrelevant. | Ideas lack development, and claims lack support. Reasoning and illustration are unclear, incoherent, or largely absent. | The response does not exhibit an organizational structure. There is little grouping of ideas. When present, transitional devices fail to connect ideas. | The use of language fails to demonstrate skill in responding to the task. Word choice is imprecise and often difficult to comprehend. Sentence structures are often unclear. Stylistic and register choices are difficult to identify. Errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics are pervasive and often impede understanding. | |
demonstrate weak or inconsistent skill in writing an argumentative essay | The writer generates an argument that weakly responds to multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument's thesis, if evident, reflects little clarity in thought and purpose. Attempts at analysis are incomplete, largely irrelevant, or consist primarily of restatement of the issue and its perspectives. | Development of ideas and support for claims are weak, confused, or disjointed. Reasoning and illustration are inadequate, illogical, or circular, and fail to fully clarify the argument. | The response exhibits a rudimentary organizational structure. Grouping of ideas is inconsistent and often unclear. Transitions between and within paragraphs are misleading or poorly formed. | The use of language is inconsistent and often unclear. Word choice is rudimentary and frequently imprecise. Sentence structures are sometimes unclear. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are inconsistent and are not always appropriate for the rhetorical purpose. Distracting errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics are present, and they sometimes impede understanding. | |
demonstrate some developing skill in writing an argumentative essay | The writer generates an argument that responds to multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument's thesis reflects some clarity in thought and purpose. The argument establishes a limited or tangential context for analysis of the issue and its perspectives. Analysis is simplistic or somewhat unclear. | Development of ideas and support for claims are mostly relevant but are overly general or simplistic. Reasoning and illustration largely clarify the argument but may be somewhat repetitious or imprecise. | The response exhibits a basic organizational structure. The response largely coheres, with most ideas logically grouped. Transitions between and within paragraphs sometimes clarify the relationships among ideas. | The use of language is basic and only somewhat clear. Word choice is general and occasionally imprecise. Sentence structures are usually clear but show little variety. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are not always appropriate for the rhetorical purpose. Distracting errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics may be present, but they generally do not impede understanding. | |
demonstrate adequate skill in writing an argumentative essay | The writer generates an argument that engages with multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument's thesis reflects clarity in thought and purpose. The argument establishes and employs a relevant context for analysis of the issue and its perspectives. The analysis recognizes implications, complexities and tensions, and/or underlying values and assumptions. | Development of ideas and support for claims clarify meaning and purpose. Lines of clear reasoning and illustration adequately convey the significance of the argument. Qualifications and complications extend ideas and analysis. | The response exhibits a clear organizational strategy. The overall shape of the response reflects an emergent controlling idea or purpose. Ideas are logically grouped and sequenced. Transitions between and within paragraphs clarify the relationships among ideas. | The use of language conveys the argument with clarity. Word choice is adequate and sometimes precise. Sentence structures are clear and demonstrate some variety. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are appropriate for the rhetorical purpose. While errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics are present, they rarely impede understanding. | |
demonstrate well-developed skill in writing an argumentative essay | The writer generates an argument that productively engages with multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument's thesis reflects precision in thought and purpose. The argument establishes and employs a thoughtful context for analysis of the issue and its perspectives. The analysis addresses implications, complexities and tensions, and/or underlying values and assumptions. | Development of ideas and support for claims deepen understanding. A mostly integrated line of purposeful reasoning and illustration capably conveys the significance of the argument. Qualifications and complications enrich ideas and analysis. | The response exhibits a productive organizational strategy. The response is mostly unified by a controlling idea or purpose, and a logical sequencing of ideas contributes to the effectiveness of the argument. Transitions between and within paragraphs consistently clarify the relationships among ideas. | The use of language works in service of the argument. Word choice is precise. Sentence structures are clear and varied often. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are purposeful and productive. While minor errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics may be present, they do not impede understanding. | |
demonstrate effective skill in writing an argumentative essay | The writer generates an argument that critically engages with multiple perspectives on the given issue. The argument's thesis reflects nuance and precision in thought and purpose. The argument establishes and employs an insightful context for analysis of the issue and its perspectives. The analysis examines implications, complexities and tensions, and/or underlying values and assumptions. | Development of ideas and support for claims deepen insight and broaden context. An integrated line of skillful reasoning and illustration effectively conveys the significance of the argument. Qualifications and complications enrich and bolster ideas and analysis. | The response exhibits a skillful organizational strategy. The response is unified by a controlling idea or purpose, and a logical progression of ideas increases the effectiveness of the writer's argument. Transitions between and within paragraphs strengthen the relationships among ideas. | The use of language enhances the argument. Word choice is skillful and precise. Sentence structures are consistently varied and clear. Stylistic and register choices, including voice and tone, are strategic and effective. While a few minor errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics may be present, they do not impede understanding. |
Whew. That rubric might be a little overwhelming—there's so much information to process! Below, I've broken down the essay rubric by domain, with examples of what a 3- and a 6-scoring essay might look like.
The Ideas and Analysis domain is the rubric area most intimately linked with the basic ACT essay task itself. Here's what the ACT website has to say about this domain:
Scores in this domain reflect the ability to generate productive ideas and engage critically with multiple perspectives on the given issue. Competent writers understand the issue they are invited to address, the purpose for writing, and the audience. They generate ideas that are relevant to the situation.
Based on this description, I've extracted the three key things you need to do in your essay to score well in the Ideas and Analysis domain.
#1: Choose a perspective on this issue and state it clearly. #2: Compare at least one other perspective to the perspective you have chosen. #3: Demonstrate understanding of the ways the perspectives relate to one another. #4: Analyze the implications of each perspective you choose to discuss.
There's no cool acronym, sorry. I guess a case could be made for "ACCE," but I wanted to list the points in the order of importance, so "CEAC" it is.
Fortunately, the ACT Writing Test provides you with the three perspectives to analyze and choose from, which will save you some of the time of "generating productive ideas." In addition, "analyzing each perspective" does not mean that you need to argue from each of the points of view. Instead, you need to choose one perspective to argue as your own and explain how your point of view relates to at least one other perspective by evaluating how correct the perspectives you discuss are and analyzing the implications of each perspective.
Note: While it is technically allowable for you to come up with a fourth perspective as your own and to then discuss that point of view in relation to another perspective, we do not recommend it. 40 minutes is already a pretty short time to discuss and compare multiple points of view in a thorough and coherent manner—coming up with new, clearly-articulated perspectives takes time that could be better spend devising a thorough analysis of the relationship between multiple perspectives.
To get deeper into what things fall in the Ideas and Analysis domain, I'll use a sample ACT Writing prompt and the three perspectives provided:
Many of the goods and services we depend on daily are now supplied by intelligent, automated machines rather than human beings. Robots build cars and other goods on assembly lines, where once there were human workers. Many of our phone conversations are now conducted not with people but with sophisticated technologies. We can now buy goods at a variety of stores without the help of a human cashier. Automation is generally seen as a sign of progress, but what is lost when we replace humans with machines? Given the accelerating variety and prevalence of intelligent machines, it is worth examining the implications and meaning of their presence in our lives.
Perspective One : What we lose with the replacement of people by machines is some part of our own humanity. Even our mundane daily encounters no longer require from us basic courtesy, respect, and tolerance for other people.
Perspective Two : Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone.
Perspective Three : Intelligent machines challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be. This is good because it pushes both humans and machines toward new, unimagined possibilities.
First, in order to "clearly state your own perspective on the issue," you need to figure out what your point of view, or perspective, on this issue is going to be. For the sake of argument, let's say that you agree the most with the second perspective. A essay that scores a 3 in this domain might simply restate this perspective:
I agree that machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone.
In contrast, an essay scoring a 6 in this domain would likely have a more complex point of view (with what the rubric calls "nuance and precision in thought and purpose"):
Machines will never be able to replace humans entirely, as creativity is not something that can be mechanized. Because machines can perform delicate and repetitive tasks with precision, however, they are able to take over for humans with regards to low-skill, repetitive jobs and high-skill, extremely precise jobs. This then frees up humans to do what we do best—think, create, and move the world forward.
Next, you must compare at least one other perspective to your perspective throughout your essay, including in your initial argument. Here's what a 3-scoring essay's argument would look like:
I agree that machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone. Machines do not cause us to lose our humanity or challenge our long-standing ideas about what humans are or can be.
And here, in contrast, is what a 6-scoring essay's argument (that includes multiple perspectives) would look like:
Machines will never be able to replace humans entirely, as creativity is not something that can be mechanized, which means that our humanity is safe. Because machines can perform delicate and repetitive tasks with precision, however, they are able to take over for humans with regards to low-skill, repetitive jobs and high-skill, extremely precise jobs. Rather than forcing us to challenge our ideas about what humans are or could be, machines simply allow us to BE, without distractions. This then frees up humans to do what we do best—think, create, and move the world forward.
You also need to demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the way in which the two perspectives relate to each other. A 3-scoring essay in this domain would likely be absolute, stating that Perspective Two is completely correct, while the other two perspectives are absolutely incorrect. By contrast, a 6-scoring essay in this domain would provide a more insightful context within which to consider the issue:
In the future, machines might lead us to lose our humanity; alternatively, machines might lead us to unimaginable pinnacles of achievement. I would argue, however, projecting possible futures does not make them true, and that the evidence we have at present supports the perspective that machines are, above all else, efficient and effective completing repetitive and precise tasks.
Finally, to analyze the perspectives, you need to consider each aspect of each perspective. In the case of Perspective Two, this means you must discuss that machines are good at two types of jobs, that they're better than humans at both types of jobs, and that their efficiency creates a better world. The analysis in a 3-scoring essay is usually "simplistic or somewhat unclear." By contrast, the analysis of a 6-scoring essay "examines implications, complexities and tensions, and/or underlying values and assumptions."
To score well on the ACT essay overall, however, it's not enough to just state your opinions about each part of the perspective; you need to actually back up your claims with evidence to develop your own point of view. This leads straight into the next domain: Development and Support.
Another important component of your essay is that you explain your thinking. While it's obviously important to clearly state what your ideas are in the first place, the ACT essay requires you to demonstrate evidence-based reasoning. As per the description on ACT.org [bolding mine]:
Scores in this domain reflect the ability to discuss ideas, offer rationale, and bolster an argument. Competent writers explain and explore their ideas, discuss implications, and illustrate through examples . They help the reader understand their thinking about the issue.
"Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs, and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases they work better than humans. This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone."
In your essay, you might start out by copying the perspective directly into your essay as your point of view, which is fine for the Ideas and Analysis domain. To score well in the Development and Support domain and develop your point of view with logical reasoning and detailed examples, however, you're going to have to come up with reasons for why you agree with this perspective and examples that support your thinking.
Here's an example from an essay that would score a 3 in this domain:
Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases, they work better than humans. For example, machines are better at printing things quickly and clearly than people are. Prior to the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg people had to write everything by hand. The printing press made it faster and easier to get things printed because things didn't have to be written by hand all the time. In the world today we have even better machines like laser printers that print things quickly.
Essays scoring a 3 in this domain tend to have relatively simple development and tend to be overly general, with imprecise or repetitive reasoning or illustration. Contrast this with an example from an essay that would score a 6:
Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases, they work better than humans. Take, for instance, the example of printing. As a composer, I need to be able to create many copies of my sheet music to give to my musicians. If I were to copy out each part by hand, it would take days, and would most likely contain inaccuracies. On the other hand, my printer (a machine) is able to print out multiple copies of parts with extreme precision. If it turns out I made an error when I was entering in the sheet music onto the computer (another machine), I can easily correct this error and print out more copies quickly.
The above example of the importance of machines to composers uses "an integrated line of skillful reasoning and illustration" to support my claim ("Machines are good at low-skill, repetitive jobs and at high-speed, extremely precise jobs. In both cases, they work better than humans"). To develop this example further (and incorporate the "This efficiency leads to a more prosperous and progressive world for everyone" facet of the perspective), I would need to expand my example to explain why it's so important that multiple copies of precisely replicated documents be available, and how this affects the world.
World Map - Abstract Acrylic by Nicolas Raymond , used under CC BY 2.0 /Resized from original.
Essay organization has always been integral to doing well on the ACT essay, so it makes sense that the ACT Writing rubric has an entire domain devoted to this. The organization of your essay refers not just to the order in which you present your ideas in the essay, but also to the order in which you present your ideas in each paragraph. Here's the formal description from the ACT website :
Scores in this domain reflect the ability to organize ideas with clarity and purpose. Organizational choices are integral to effective writing. Competent writers arrange their essay in a way that clearly shows the relationship between ideas, and they guide the reader through their discussion.
Making sure your essay is logically organized relates back to the "development" part of the previous domain. As the above description states, you can't just throw examples and information into your essay willy-nilly, without any regard for the order; part of constructing and developing a convincing argument is making sure it flows logically. A lot of this organization should happen while you are in the planning phase, before you even begin to write your essay.
Let's go back to the machine intelligence essay example again. I've decided to argue for Perspective Two, which is:
An essay that scores a 3 in this domain would show a "basic organizational structure," which is to say that each perspective analyzed would be discussed in its own paragraph, "with most ideas logically grouped." A possible organization for a 3-scoring essay:
An essay that scores a 6 in this domain, on the other hand, has a lot more to accomplish. The "controlling idea or purpose" behind the essay should be clearly expressed in every paragraph, and ideas should be ordered in a logical fashion so that there is a clear progression from the beginning to the end. Here's a possible organization for a 6-scoring essay:
In this example, the unifying idea is that machines are helpful (and it's mentioned in each paragraph) and the progression of ideas makes more sense. This is certainly not the only way to organize an essay on this particular topic, or even using this particular perspective. Your essay does, however, have to be organized, rather than consist of a bunch of ideas thrown together.
Here are my Top 5 ACT Writing Organization Rules to follow:
#1: Be sure to include an introduction (with your thesis stating your point of view), paragraphs in which you make your case, and a conclusion that sums up your argument
#2: When planning your essay, make sure to present your ideas in an order that makes sense (and follows a logical progression that will be easy for the grader to follow).
#3: Make sure that you unify your essay with one main idea . Do not switch arguments partway through your essay.
#4: Don't write everything in one huge paragraph. If you're worried you're going to run out of space to write and can't make your handwriting any smaller and still legible, you can try using a paragraph symbol, ¶, at the beginning of each paragraph as a last resort to show the organization of your essay.
#5: Use transitions between paragraphs (usually the last line of the previous paragraph and the first line of the paragraph) to "strengthen the relationships among ideas" ( source ). This means going above and beyond "First of all...Second...Lastly" at the beginning of each paragraph. Instead, use the transitions between paragraphs as an opportunity to describe how that paragraph relates to your main argument.
The final domain on the ACT Writing rubric is Language Use and Conventions. This the item that includes grammar, punctuation, and general sentence structure issues. Here's what the ACT website has to say about Language Use:
Scores in this domain reflect the ability to use written language to convey arguments with clarity. Competent writers make use of the conventions of grammar, syntax, word usage, and mechanics. They are also aware of their audience and adjust the style and tone of their writing to communicate effectively.
I tend to think of this as the "be a good writer" category, since many of the standards covered in the above description are ones that good writers will automatically meet in their writing. On the other hand, this is probably the area non-native English speakers will struggle the most, as you must have a fairly solid grasp of English to score above a 2 on this domain. The good news is that by reading this article, you're already one step closer to improving your "Language Use" on ACT Writing.
There are three main parts of this domain:
#1: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics #2: Sentence Structure #3: Vocabulary and Word Choice
I've listed them (and will cover them) from lowest to highest level. If you're struggling with multiple areas, I highly recommend starting out with the lowest-level issue, as the components tend to build on each other. For instance, if you're struggling with grammar and usage, you need to focus on fixing that before you start to think about precision of vocabulary/word choice.
At the most basic level, you need to be able to "effectively communicate your ideas in standard written English" ( ACT.org ). First and foremost, this means that your grammar and punctuation need to be correct. On ACT Writing, it's all right to make a few minor errors if the meaning is clear, even on essays that score a 6 in the Language Use domain; however, the more errors you make, the more your score will drop.
Here's an example from an essay that scored a 3 in Language Use:
Machines are good at doing there jobs quickly and precisely. Also because machines aren't human or self-aware they don't get bored so they can do the same thing over & over again without getting worse.
While the meaning of the sentences is clear, there are several errors: the first sentence uses "there" instead of "their," the second sentence is a run-on sentence, and the second sentence also uses the abbreviation "&" in place of "and." Now take a look at an example from a 6-scoring essay:
Machines excel at performing their jobs both quickly and precisely. In addition, since machines are not self-aware they are unable to get "bored." This means that they can perform the same task over and over without a decrease in quality.
This example solves the abbreviation and "there/their" issue. The second sentence is missing a comma (after "self-aware"), but the worse of the run-on sentence issue is absent.
Our Complete Guide to ACT Grammar might be helpful if you just need a general refresh on grammar rules. In addition, we have several articles that focus in on specific grammar rules, as they are tested on ACT English; while the specific ways in which ACT English tests you on these rules isn't something you'll need to know for the essay, the explanations of the grammar rules themselves are quite helpful.
Once you've gotten down basic grammar, usage, and mechanics, you can turn your attention to sentence structure. Here's an example of what a 3-scoring essay in Language Use (based on sentence structure alone) might look like:
Machines are more efficient than humans at many tasks. Machines are not causing us to lose our humanity. Instead, machines help us to be human by making things more efficient so that we can, for example, feed the needy with technological advances.
The sentence structures in the above example are not particularly varied (two sentences in a row start with "Machines are"), and the last sentence has a very complicated/convoluted structure, which makes it hard to understand. For comparison, here's a 6-scoring essay:
Machines are more efficient than humans at many tasks, but that does not mean that machines are causing us to lose our humanity. In fact, machines may even assist us in maintaining our humanity by providing more effective and efficient ways to feed the needy.
For whatever reason, I find that when I'm under time pressure, my sentences maintain variety in their structures but end up getting really awkward and strange. A real life example: once I described a method of counteracting dementia as "supporting persons of the elderly persuasion" during a hastily written psychology paper. I've found the best ways to counteract this are as follows:
#1: Look over what you've written and change any weird wordings that you notice.
#2: If you're just writing a practice essay, get a friend/teacher/relative who is good at writing (in English) to look over what you've written and point out issues (this is how my own awkward wording was caught before I handed in the paper). This point obviously does not apply when you're actually taking the ACT, but it very helpful to ask for someone else to take a look over any practice essays you write to point out issues you may not notice yourself.
The icing on the "Language Use" domain cake is skilled use of vocabulary and correct word choice. Part of this means using more complicated vocabulary in your essay. Once more, look at this this example from a 3-scoring essay (spelling corrected):
Machines are good at doing their jobs quickly and precisely.
Compare that to this sentence from a 6-scoring essay:
Machines excel at performing their jobs both quickly and precisely.
The 6-scoring essay uses "excel" and "performing" in place of "are good at" and "doing." This is an example of using language that is both more skillful ("excel" is more advanced than "are good at") and more precise ("performing" is a more precise word than "doing"). It's important to make sure that, when you do use more advanced words, you use them correctly. Consider the below sentence:
"Machines are often instrumental in ramifying safety features."
The sentence uses a couple of advanced vocabulary words, but since "ramifying" is used incorrectly, the language use in this sentence is neither skillful nor precise. Above all, your word choice and vocabulary should make your ideas clearer, not make them harder to understand.
Okay, we've taken a look at the ACTual ACT Writing grading rubric and gone over each domain in detail. To finish up, I'll go over a couple of ways the scoring rubric can be useful to you in your ACT essay prep.
Now that you know what the ACT is looking for in an essay, you can use that to guide what you write about in your essays...and how develop and organize what you say!
Because I'm an Old™ (not actually trademarked), and because I'm from the East Coast, I didn't really know much about the ACT prior to starting my job at PrepScholar. People didn't really take it in my high school, so when I looked at the grading rubric for the first time, I was shocked to see how different the ACT essay was (as compared to the more familiar SAT essay ).
Basically, by reading this article, you're already doing better than high school me.
An artist's impression of L. Staffaroni, age 16 (look, junior year was/is hard for everyone).
The ACT can't really give you an answer key to the essay the way it can give you an answer key to the other sections (Reading, Math, etc). There are some examples of essays at each score point on the ACT website , but these examples assume that students will be at an equal level in each of domains, which will not necessarily be true for you. Even if a sample essay is provided as part of a practice test answer key, it will probably use different context, have a different logical progression, or maybe even argue a different viewpoint.
The ACT Writing rubric is the next best thing to an essay answer key. Use it as a filter through which to view your essay . Naturally, you don't have the time to become an expert at applying the rubric criteria to your essay to make sure you're in line with the ACT's grading principles and standards. That is not your job. Your job is to write the best essay that you can. If you're not confident in your ability to spot grammar, usage, and mechanics issues, I highly recommend asking a friend, teacher, or family member who is really good at (English) writing to take a look over your practice essays and point out the mistakes.
If you really want custom feedback on your practice essays from experienced essay graders, may I also suggest the PrepScholar test prep platform ? As I manage all essay grading, I happen to know a bit about the essay part of this platform, which provides you with both an essay grade and custom feedback. Learn more about PrepScholar ACT Prep and our essay grading here!
Desirous of some more sweet sweet ACT essay articles? Why not start with our comprehensive guide to the ACT Writing test and how to write an ACT essay, step-by-step ? (Trick question: obviously you should do this.)
Round out your dive into the details of the ACT Writing test with tips and strategies to raise your essay score , information about the best ACT Writing template , and advice on how to get a perfect score on the ACT essay .
Want actual feedback on your essay? Then consider signing up for our PrepScholar test prep platform . Included in the platform are practice tests and practice essays graded by experts here at PrepScholar.
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Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.
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Offer 9th-12th Grade students a structure for analytical writing with this standards-aligned rubric developed by educators for Feedback Studio.
Rubric suitable for formative and summative assignments with tasks involving the rigorous analysis of a text or texts. Use this rubric when asking students to analyze an author's use of rhetorical strategies, to analyze the impact of a literary element in a story, etc. Consider using the 9th-12th Grade Analysis QuickMark set with this rubric. These drag-and-drop comments were tailor-made by veteran educators to give actionable, formative feedback directly to students. While they were explicitly aligned to this particular rubric, you can edit or add your own content to any QuickMark. This rubric is available and ready to use in your Feedback Studio account. However, if you would like to customize its criteria, you can "Duplicate this rubric" in your Feedback Studio account and then edit the rubric as needed. Or, download this .rbc file and then import to your account to begin editing the content.
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Sample grading rubric an instructor can use to assess students’ work on short essay questions.
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Essay Rubric Directions: Your essay will be graded based on this rubric. Consequently, use this rubric as a guide when writing your essay and check it again before you submit your essay. Traits 4 3 2 1 Focus & Details There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main ideas are clear and are well supported by detailed and accurate information.
High School Writing Scoring Rubric February 28, 2018 Level 2 Rubric Elements Full Evidence 3 Partial Evidence 2 Limited Evidence 1 Unrelated Evidence 0 or 5 Organization - The essay addresses a specified claim supported with organized complex ideas. The essay includes at a minimum:
Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates. A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects ...
High School Rubric Examples. In high school, it's important to include your grading rubrics when you give assignments like presentations, research projects, or essays. ... 100-Point Essay Rubric. Need an easy way to convert a scoring rubric to a letter grade? This example for essay writing earns students a final score out of 100 points.
Grading rubrics can be of great benefit to both you and your students. For you, a rubric saves time and decreases subjectivity. Specific criteria are explicitly stated, facilitating the grading process and increasing your objectivity. For students, the use of grading rubrics helps them to meet or exceed expectations, to view the grading process ...
Rubric to be used to assess a five paragraph essay at the high school level. It is to be attached to your essay. Rubric Code: VX432X3. By Evan_Ortiz. Ready to use. Public Rubric. Subject: (General) Type: Assignment. Grade Levels: 9-12.
Essay Writing Rubrics. Here are some essay writing rubrics to help you get started grading your students' essays. You will probably have to customize these rubrics to meet your goals and standards, but these should give you a decent place to start. Persuasive Essay Rubric 1 - This rubric mainly covers the structure of the essay: attention ...
Interactive Writing Rubric High School. Bird's Eye View . Download the PDF . Element: Argument. Strand: Position Criteria: Thesis Criteria: Justification Strand: Ideas ... Formal essay writing style is more limited than its creative counterparts. The style strand evaluates the formal register, or formal style, of the author's writing as well ...
A writing rubric is a clear set of guidelines on what your paper should include, often written as a rating scale that shows the range of scores possible on the assignment and how to earn each one. Professors use writing rubrics to grade the essays they assign, typically scoring on content, organization, mechanics, and overall understanding.
An essay rubric for high school is a great way to assess students. Not only do essay rubrics help students better understand the assignment, but they can also make your job as a teacher easier. In fact, our case studies show that when classes are assessed using rubrics, student grades improve. ...
In turn, the length of an essay rubric depends on academic levels, types of papers, and specific requirements, while general guidelines are: High School. Length: 1-2 pages. Word Count: 300-600 words. College. Length: 1-3 pages.
Holistic scoring is a quick method of evaluating a composition based on the reader's general impression of the overall quality of the writing—you can generally read a student's composition and assign a score to it in two or three minutes. Holistic scoring is usually based on a scale of 0-4, 0-5, or 0-6.
Logical, compelling progression of ideas in essay;clear structure which enhances and showcases the central idea or theme and moves the reader through the text. Organization flows so smoothly the reader hardly thinks about it. Effective, mature, graceful transitions exist throughout the essay.
Five-Paragraph Essay Writing Rubric. Thesis statement/topic idea sentence is clear, correctly placed, and restated in the closing sentence. Your three supporting ideas are briefly mentioned. Thesis statement/topic idea sentence is either unclear or incorrectly placed, and it's restated in the closing sentence.
An objective tone is used in few areas. Work contains spelling, punctuation, capitalization and/or grammar mistakes that detract from the reader's ability to understand the writing. The writing adheres to few formatting guidelines included in the prompt. Mostly informal language is used, with some repetition.
This persuasive essay rubric uses standards based grading (1-4) to assess the student writers in the following categories. ... editing, and revision curriculum for high-school students. Using only the first ten minutes of each day, this unit will help students analyze effective paragraph structure and write or revise their own paragraphs with ...
Student persuasive speech/essay rubric CATEGORY 4 - Above Standards 3 - Meets Standards 2-Approaching Standards 1 - Below Standards Focus or Thesis Statement not name the topic The thesis statement names the topic of the essay and outlines the main points to be discussed. essay. The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be
The essay poorly addresses topic and includes irrelevant ideas The essay is focused on topic and includes few loosely related ideas The essay is ... Rubric for Artwork: High School! Criteria 1! Poor Quality 2! Good Quality 3! Excellent Quality Score Craftmanship No evidence of skill development in the media; little technical
On the following page of this document, you will find the Noble High School School-wide Writing Rubric. This rubric has been designed to assess whether a student can meet our school's expectations for research, as articulated in our 21st Century Learning Expectation A3.i: A1.i. Effective Communication: Communicates clearly and effectively in ...
Reflective Essay Rubric Controlling Idea: 5 (Exceeds Standard) - Controlling idea clearly identifies the purpose of the paper, showing analysis of a condition, personal observation, or experience. 4 (Meets Standard) - Controlling idea identifies the purpose of the paper, showing analysis of a condition, personal observation, or experience.
Your essay will be evaluated by two graders, who score your essay from 1-6 on each of 4 domains, leading to scores out of 12 for each domain. Your Writing score is calculated by averaging your four domain scores, leading to a total ACT Writing score from 2-12.
Offer 9th-12th Grade students a structure for analytical writing with this standards-aligned rubric developed by educators for Feedback Studio. Rubric suitable for formative and summative assignments with tasks involving the rigorous analysis of a text or texts. Use this rubric when asking students to analyze an author's use of rhetorical ...
This is a grading rubric an instructor uses to assess students' work on this type of. assignment. It is a sample rubric that needs to be edited to reflect the specifics of a. particular assignment. Students can self-assess using the rubric as a checklist before. submitting their assignment. This sample rubric can also be found under the ...