Essay has no clearly defined or apparent organization. Introduction fails to engage or orient the reader; body paragraphs lack focus or cohesion; there are no topic sentences; conclusion is abrupt or not evident. The essay is not unified around one clear argument.
Comments: further explanations behind the scoring choices along with revision advice (for more commenting space, insert electronically or attach additional page)
—Holistic Essay Grade: |
Chap 3: Paper Topics (95-109) | Essay does not respond to the assignment and/or fails to fulfill the requirements. Essay does not analyze the text(s). | Essay responds to the assignment but fails to fulfill some of the requirements. Essay partially analyzes the text(s). | Essay responds to the assignment and fulfills all of the requirements. Essay analyzes the text(s). | Essay responds to the assignment and effectively fulfills all requirements. Essay thoroughly analyzes the text(s) in a meaningful and complex way. |
Chap 12: Literature (295-319) | Essay does not include literary analysis or criticism. Essay neglects to evaluate or analyze literary theme(s) or techniques. | Essay uses simple but inconsistent literary analysis and criticism. Essay provides basic level evaluation and analysis of literary theme(s) and techniques. | Essay provides probing literary analysis and criticism. Essay provides a thorough evaluation and analysis of literary theme(s) and techniques. | Essay applies thought-provoking and complex literary analysis and criticism. Essay engages in a sophisticated and original evaluation and analysis of literary theme(s) and techniques. |
Chap 7: Thesis (200-227) | Thesis is missing, unfocused or vague or the thesis does not respond to the text(s). | Operating as a controlling idea for the essay, the thesis makes an argument about the text(s) but is simplistic and/or formulaic. | Operating as a controlling idea for the essay, the thesis makes a focused, direct, and thought-provoking argument about the text(s). | Operating as a controlling idea for the essay, the thesis makes complex, enlightening argument about the text(s). |
Chap 8: Introductions & Conclusions (228-242) and Chap 9: Paragraphs (243-261) | Essay has no clearly defined or apparent organization. Introduction fails to engage or orient the reader; body paragraphs lack focus or cohesion; there are no topic sentences; conclusion is abrupt or not evident. The essay is not unified around one clear argument. | The sequence of ideas is functional but may have abrupt or illogical shifts. Introduction attempts to engage and orient the reader; body paragraphs are focused but lack cohesion; topics sentences are functional; conclusion reiterates the purpose and major points of the essay but is formulaic. The essay is loosely unified around one clear argument but there are gaps. | The sequence of ideas and transitions are effective. Introduction engages and orients the reader; body paragraphs are focused and cohesive; topic sentences are strong; conclusion illuminates the central idea and explores the larger implications and/or significance. The essay is unified around one clear argument. | The sequence of ideas and transitions are seamless and fluid. Introduction is quick to capture reader interest and strongly orients the reader; body paragraphs are clearly focused and cohesive; conclusion provides sophisticated, thought-provoking, and convincing analysis into the larger implications and/or significance. The essay is tightly unified around one clear argument. |
Chap 9: Paragraphs (243-261) | Body paragraphs contain illogical reasoning. Body paragraphs contain summaries or generalizations that lack relevant supporting evidence and analysis. | Body paragraphs contain some well-reasoned points but are sometimes illogical.. Body paragraphs offer some level of evidence and analysis which at times may be too general. | Body paragraphs are mostly fair, reasonable and logical. Body paragraphs offer focused, convincing and somewhat original analysis of relevant evidence. | Body paragraphs are consistently fair, reasonable and logical. Body paragraphs offer focused, richly developed, sophisticated, original, and convincing analysis of relevant evidence. |
Chap 10: Integrating Sources (262-282) | Relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the reading and relevant sources to support and illustrate ideas are missing or inadequate. Neglects to or weakly integrates quotes and paraphrases to support and illustrate ideas. | Relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the reading and relevant sources to support and illustrate ideas are adequate. | Relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the reading and relevant sources to support and illustrate ideas are skillfully integrated. | Relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the reading and relevant sources to support and illustrate ideas are not only selected and skillfully integrated but demonstrate deep use of the texts. |
Chap 5: MLA (170-182) | MLA format has not been used properly. Sources are not properly cited according to MLA format. | Some MLA formatting has been used but is missing elements. Sources are properly cited using MLA format with occasional lapses in usage. | Has properly used MLA format in title page, body of paper and page numbering. Sources are cited using MLA format with very few lapses in usage. | Has properly used MLA format in title page, body of paper and page numbering. Sources are properly cited using MLA format correctly. |
Chap 13: Style (320-349) | Sentences are either overly simplistic or confusingly worded. Sentences are not joined logically to show relationships between ideas. There is a lack of sentence variety. | Sentences are solid but sometimes choppy. Sentences could be joined more logically to show relationships between ideas. There is minimal sentence variety. | Sentences are clear and direct. Sentences are joined logically to show relationships between ideas. Sentences demonstrate syntactical maturity through varied sentence structure. | Sentences are fluid and graceful and are joined logically to show relationships between ideas. Sentences effectively demonstrate syntactical maturity through varied sentence structure. |
Chap 14: Grammar (350-439) | Essay has frequent errors in grammar, usage and spelling. 4 or more errors per page. | Essay has some errors in grammar, usage and spelling. 3 or fewer errors per page. | Essay has occasional errors in grammar, usage and spelling. 2 or fewer errors per page. | Essay has few, if any, grammatical or proofreading errors. 1 or fewer errors per page. |
How to : Check the appropriate rubric boxes and provide explanations afterwards of the ratings. Using the information : For areas where a writer receives “needs work” or “adequate,” review that area in the Rhetoric associated with that topic (link below) and use the advice when revising.
Does the essay respond to all parts of the assignment and effectively fulfill all the requirements? Is the essay an analysis of/argument about the text(s)? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/3Papertopics.htm | ||||
Is the thesis a controlling idea for the essay? Is it clear and arguable? Does it have a clear “so what?” stating a larger significance? Is the thesis a response to and an analysis of the text(s)? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/7Thesis.htm | ||||
Is the introduction quick to capture reader interest and strongly orient the reader? Is there a logical order of ideas with clear transitions? Are there strong topic sentences? Does the writer stay on topic within each paragraph? Does the conclusion lead to larger implications and/or significance? Is the overall essay unified around one clear argument? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/9Paragraphs.htm www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/8Introductions-Conclusions.htm | ||||
Are the arguments fair, reasonable, and logical? Is the evidence in the body paragraphs consistently focused on a clear supporting point? Are body paragraphs fully developed, insightful, and convincing? Is there a balance of textual support and the student’s own analysis? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/9Paragraphs.htm | ||||
Are relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the text skillfully integrated to support and illustrate ideas? Do they demonstrate sophisticated use of the text(s)? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/10IntegratingSources.htm | ||||
Has MLA format been used including title page and page numbers? Are the sources cited within the essay and in the Works Cited done correctly according to MLA format? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/5MLA.htm | ||||
Do the sentences flow well? Does the writer join sentences to show relationships between ideas? Is there sentence variety? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/13Style.htm | ||||
Is the essay proofread paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/14Grammar.htm |
Does the essay respond to all parts of the assignment and effectively fulfill all the requirements? Is the essay an analysis of/argument about the text(s)? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/3Papertopics.htm | ||||
Has the essay included literary analysis and criticism? Has the essay effectively evaluated and analyzed literary theme(s) and techniques? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/12Literature.htm | ||||
Is the thesis a controlling idea for the essay? Is it clear and arguable? Does it have a clear “so what?” stating a larger significance? Is the thesis a response to and an analysis of the text(s)? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/7Thesis.htm | ||||
Is the introduction quick to capture reader interest and strongly orient the reader? Is there a logical order of ideas with clear transitions? Are there strong topic sentences? Does the writer stay on topic within each paragraph? Does the conclusion lead to larger implications and/or significance? Is the overall essay unified around one clear argument? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/9Paragraphs.htm www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/8Introductions-Conclusions.htm | ||||
Are the arguments fair, reasonable, and logical? Is the evidence in the body paragraphs consistently focused on a clear supporting point? Are body paragraphs fully developed, insightful, and convincing? Is there a balance of textual support and the student’s own analysis? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/9Paragraphs.htm | ||||
Are relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the text skillfully integrated to support and illustrate ideas? Do they demonstrate sophisticated use of the text(s)? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/10IntegratingSources.htm | ||||
Has MLA format been used including title page and page numbers? Are the sources cited within the essay and in the Works Cited done correctly according to MLA format? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/5MLA.htm | ||||
Do the sentences flow well? Does the writer join sentences to show relationships between ideas? Is there sentence variety? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/13Style.htm | ||||
Is the essay proofread paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling? www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/14Grammar.htm |
How to : Check the appropriate rubric box and provide an explanation of the ratings by answering the questions below. Fill out each section thoroughly to provide thoughtful and comprehensive feedback. Using the information : For areas where a writer receives “needs work” or “adequate,” review that area in the Rhetoric associated with that topic (link below) and use the advice when revising.
Does the essay respond to all parts of the assignment and effectively fulfill all the requirements? Is the essay an analysis of/argument about the text(s)? |
More information: See Chapter 3: Paper Topics (95-109) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/3Papertopics.htm |
Is the thesis a controlling idea for the essay? Is it clear and arguable? Does it have a clear “so what?” stating a larger significance? Is the thesis a response to and an analysis of the text(s)? |
More information: See Chapter 7: Thesis Statements (200-227) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/7Thesis.htm |
Is the introduction quick to capture reader interest and strongly orient the reader? Is there a logical order of ideas with clear transitions? Are there strong topic sentences? Does the writer stay on topic within each paragraph? Does the conclusion lead to larger implications and/or significance? Is the overall essay unified around one clear argument? |
More info: See Chapter 8 (228-242) & Chapter 9 (243-261) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/9Paragraphs.htm |
Are the arguments fair, reasonable, and logical? Is the evidence in the body paragraphs consistently focused on a clear supporting point? Are body paragraphs fully developed, insightful, and convincing? Is there a balance of textual support and the student’s own analysis? |
More information: See Chapter 9: Paragraphs (243-261) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/9Paragraphs.htm |
Are relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the text skillfully integrated to support and illustrate ideas? Do they demonstrate sophisticated use of the text(s)? |
More information: See Chapter 10: Integrating Sources (262-282) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/10IntegratingSources.htm |
Has MLA format been used including title page and page numbers? Are the sources cited within the essay and in the Works Cited done correctly according to MLA format? |
Do the sentences flow well? Does the writer join sentences to show relationships between ideas? Is there sentence variety? |
More information: See Chapter 13: Style (320-349) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/13Style.htm |
Is the essay proofread paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling? |
More information: See Chapter 14: Grammar (350-439) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/14Grammar.htm |
Has the essay included literary analysis and criticism? Has the essay effectively evaluated and analyzed literary theme(s) and techniques? |
More information: See Chapter 12: Literature (295-319) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/12Literature.htm |
Is the thesis a controlling idea for the essay? Is it clear and arguable? Does it have a clear “so what?” stating a larger significance? Is the thesis a response to and an analysis of the text(s)? |
Is the introduction quick to capture reader interest and strongly orient the reader? Is there a logical order of ideas with clear transitions? Are there strong topic sentences? Does the writer stay on topic within each paragraph? Does the conclusion lead to larger implications and/or significance? Is the overall essay unified around one clear argument? |
Are the arguments fair, reasonable, and logical? Is the evidence in the body paragraphs consistently focused on a clear supporting point? Are body paragraphs fully developed, insightful, and convincing? Is there a balance of textual support and the student’s own analysis? |
Are relevant quotes, paraphrases and concepts from the text skillfully integrated to support and illustrate ideas? Do they demonstrate sophisticated use of the text(s)? |
Has MLA format been used including title page and page numbers? Are the sources cited within the essay and in the Works Cited done correctly according to MLA format? |
More information: See Chapter 5: MLA Conventions (170-182) www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/5MLA.htm |
Do the sentences flow well? Does the writer join sentences to show relationships between ideas? Is there sentence variety? |
Is the essay proofread paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling? |
Creating and using rubrics.
Last Updated: 4 March 2024. Click here to view archived versions of this page.
On this page:
Note: The information and resources contained here serve only as a primers to the exciting and diverse perspectives in the field today. This page will be continually updated to reflect shared understandings of equity-minded theory and practice in learning assessment.
A rubric is an assessment tool often shaped like a matrix, which describes levels of achievement in a specific area of performance, understanding, or behavior.
There are two main types of rubrics:
Analytic Rubric : An analytic rubric specifies at least two characteristics to be assessed at each performance level and provides a separate score for each characteristic (e.g., a score on “formatting” and a score on “content development”).
Holistic Rubric: A holistic rubrics provide a single score based on an overall impression of a student’s performance on a task.
Faculty members can use rubrics for program assessment. Examples:
The English Department collected essays from students in all sections of English 100. A random sample of essays was selected. A team of faculty members evaluated the essays by applying an analytic scoring rubric. Before applying the rubric, they “normed”–that is, they agreed on how to apply the rubric by scoring the same set of essays and discussing them until consensus was reached (see below: “6. Scoring rubric group orientation and calibration”). Biology laboratory instructors agreed to use a “Biology Lab Report Rubric” to grade students’ lab reports in all Biology lab sections, from 100- to 400-level. At the beginning of each semester, instructors met and discussed sample lab reports. They agreed on how to apply the rubric and their expectations for an “A,” “B,” “C,” etc., report in 100-level, 200-level, and 300- and 400-level lab sections. Every other year, a random sample of students’ lab reports are selected from 300- and 400-level sections. Each of those reports are then scored by a Biology professor. The score given by the course instructor is compared to the score given by the Biology professor. In addition, the scores are reported as part of the program’s assessment report. In this way, the program determines how well it is meeting its outcome, “Students will be able to write biology laboratory reports.”
Rubrics are composed of four basic parts. In its simplest form, the rubric includes:
Step 1: Identify what you want to assess
Step 2: Identify the characteristics to be rated (rows). These are also called “dimensions.”
Step 3: Identify the levels of mastery/scale (columns).
Tip: Aim for an even number (4 or 6) because when an odd number is used, the middle tends to become the “catch-all” category.
Step 4: Describe each level of mastery for each characteristic/dimension (cells).
Important: Each description and each characteristic should be mutually exclusive.
Step 5: Test rubric.
Tip: Faculty members often find it useful to establish the minimum score needed for the student work to be deemed passable. For example, faculty members may decided that a “1” or “2” on a 4-point scale (4=exemplary, 3=proficient, 2=marginal, 1=unacceptable), does not meet the minimum quality expectations. We encourage a standard setting session to set the score needed to meet expectations (also called a “cutscore”). Monica has posted materials from standard setting workshops, one offered on campus and the other at a national conference (includes speaker notes with the presentation slides). They may set their criteria for success as 90% of the students must score 3 or higher. If assessment study results fall short, action will need to be taken.
Step 6: Discuss with colleagues. Review feedback and revise.
Important: When developing a rubric for program assessment, enlist the help of colleagues. Rubrics promote shared expectations and consistent grading practices which benefit faculty members and students in the program.
Rubrics are on our Rubric Bank page and in our Rubric Repository (Graduate Degree Programs) . More are available at the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center in Crawford Hall (hard copy).
These open as Word documents and are examples from outside UH.
When using a rubric for program assessment purposes, faculty members apply the rubric to pieces of student work (e.g., reports, oral presentations, design projects). To produce dependable scores, each faculty member needs to interpret the rubric in the same way. The process of training faculty members to apply the rubric is called “norming.” It’s a way to calibrate the faculty members so that scores are accurate and consistent across the faculty. Below are directions for an assessment coordinator carrying out this process.
Suggested materials for a scoring session:
Hold the scoring session in a room that:
Ensure transparency by making rubric criteria public, explicit, and accessible
Transparency is a core tenet of equity-minded assessment practice. Students should know and understand how they are being evaluated as early as possible.
Meaningfully involve students and engage multiple perspectives
Rubrics created by faculty alone risk perpetuating unseen biases as the evaluation criteria used will inherently reflect faculty perspectives, values, and assumptions. Including students and other stakeholders in developing criteria helps to ensure performance expectations are aligned between faculty, students, and community members. Additional perspectives to be engaged might include community members, alumni, co-curricular faculty/staff, field supervisors, potential employers, or current professionals. Consider the following strategies to meaningfully involve students and engage multiple perspectives:
Honor students’ strengths in performance descriptions
When describing students’ performance at different levels of mastery, use language that describes what students can do rather than what they cannot do. For example:
Rubric examples:
Workshop presentation slides and handouts:
Contributors: Monica Stitt-Bergh, Ph.D., TJ Buckley, Yao Z. Hill Ph.D.
Sat / act prep online guides and tips, sat essay rubric: full analysis and writing strategies.
We're about to dive deep into the details of that least beloved* of SAT sections, the SAT essay . Prepare for a discussion of the SAT essay rubric and how the SAT essay is graded based on that. I'll break down what each item on the rubric means and what you need to do to meet those requirements.
On the SAT, the last section you'll encounter is the (optional) essay. You have 50 minutes to read a passage, analyze the author's argument, and write an essay. If you don’t write on the assignment, plagiarize, or don't use your own original work, you'll get a 0 on your essay. Otherwise, your essay scoring is done by two graders - each one grades you on a scale of 1-4 in Reading, Analysis, and Writing, for a total essay score out of 8 in each of those three areas . But how do these graders assign your writing a numerical grade? By using an essay scoring guide, or rubric.
*may not actually be the least belovèd.
Feature image credit: Day 148: the end of time by Bruce Guenter , used under CC BY 2.0 /Cropped from original.
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In January 2021, the College Board announced that after June 2021, it would no longer offer the Essay portion of the SAT (except at schools who opt in during School Day Testing). It is now no longer possible to take the SAT Essay, unless your school is one of the small number who choose to offer it during SAT School Day Testing.
While most colleges had already made SAT Essay scores optional, this move by the College Board means no colleges now require the SAT Essay. It will also likely lead to additional college application changes such not looking at essay scores at all for the SAT or ACT, as well as potentially requiring additional writing samples for placement.
What does the end of the SAT Essay mean for your college applications? Check out our article on the College Board's SAT Essay decision for everything you need to know.
Based on the CollegeBoard’s stated Reading, Analysis, and Writing criteria, I've created the below charts (for easier comparison across score points). For the purpose of going deeper into just what the SAT is looking for in your essay, I've then broken down each category further (with examples).
The information in all three charts is taken from the College Board site .
The biggest change to the SAT essay (and the thing that really distinguishes it from the ACT essay) is that you are required to read and analyze a text , then write about your analysis of the author's argument in your essay. Your "Reading" grade on the SAT essay reflects how well you were able to demonstrate your understanding of the text and the author's argument in your essay.
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(Inadequate) | The response demonstrates little or no comprehension of the source text. The response fails to show an understanding of the text’s central idea(s), and may include only details without reference to central idea(s). The response may contain numerous errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes little or no use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating little or no understanding of the source text. |
(Partial) | The response demonstrates some comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) but not of important details. The response may contain errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes limited and/or haphazard use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating some understanding of the source text. |
(Proficient) | The response demonstrates effective comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and important details. The response is free of substantive errors of fact and interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes appropriate use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating an understanding of the source text. |
(Advanced) | The response demonstrates thorough comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and of most important details and how they interrelate, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the text. The response is free of errors of fact or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes skillful use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating a complete understanding of the source text. |
You'll need to show your understanding of the text on two different levels: the surface level of getting your facts right and the deeper level of getting the relationship of the details and the central ideas right.
One of the most important ways you can show you've actually read the passage is making sure you stick to what is said in the text . If you’re writing about things the author didn’t say, or things that contradict other things the author said, your argument will be fundamentally flawed.
For instance, take this quotation from a (made-up) passage about why a hot dog is not a sandwich:
“The fact that you can’t, or wouldn’t, cut a hot dog in half and eat it that way, proves that a hot dog is once and for all NOT a sandwich”
Here's an example of a factually inaccurate paraphrasing of this quotation:
The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are often served cut in half, this makes them different from sandwiches.
The paraphrase contradicts the passage, and so would negatively affect your reading score. Now let's look at an accurate paraphrasing of the quotation:
The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are never served cut in half, they are therefore different from sandwiches.
It's also important to be faithful to the text when you're using direct quotations from the passage. Misquoting or badly paraphrasing the author’s words weakens your essay, because the evidence you’re using to support your points is faulty.
The next step beyond being factually accurate about the passage is showing that you understand the central ideas of the text and how details of the passage relate back to this central idea.
Why does this matter? In order to be able to explain why the author is persuasive, you need to be able to explain the structure of the argument. And you can’t deconstruct the author's argument if you don’t understand the central idea of the passage and how the details relate to it.
Here's an example of a statement about our fictional "hot dogs are sandwiches" passage that shows understanding of the central idea of the passage:
Hodgman’s third primary defense of why hot dogs are not sandwiches is that a hot dog is not a subset of any other type of food. He uses the analogy of asking the question “is cereal milk a broth, sauce, or gravy?” to show that making such a comparison between hot dogs and sandwiches is patently illogical.
The above statement takes one step beyond merely being factually accurate to explain the relation between different parts of the passage (in this case, the relation between the "what is cereal milk?" analogy and the hot dog/sandwich debate).
Of course, if you want to score well in all three essay areas, you’ll need to do more in your essay than merely summarizing the author’s argument. This leads directly into the next grading area of the SAT Essay.
The items covered under this criterion are the most important when it comes to writing a strong essay. You can use well-spelled vocabulary in sentences with varied structure all you want, but if you don't analyze the author's argument, demonstrate critical thinking, and support your position, you will not get a high Analysis score .
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(Inadequate) | The response offers little or no analysis or ineffective analysis of the source text and demonstrates little or no understanding of the analytic task. The response identifies without explanation some aspects of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s choosing, Or numerous aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made, or support is largely irrelevant. The response may not focus on features of the text that are relevant to addressing the task, Or the response offers no discernible analysis (e.g., is largely or exclusively summary). |
(Partial) | The response offers limited analysis of the source text and demonstrates only partial understanding of the analytical task. The response identifies and attempts to describe the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing, but merely asserts rather than explains their importance, or one or more aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response may lack a clear focus on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. |
(Proficient) | The response offers an effective analysis of the source text and demonstrates an understanding of the analytical task. The response competently evaluates the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant and sufficient support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses primarily on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. |
(Advanced) | The response offers an insightful analysis of the source text and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the analytical task. The response offers a thorough, well-considered evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses consistently on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. |
Because this category is so important, I've broken it down even further into its two different (but equally important) component parts to make sure everything is as clearly explained as possible.
Critical thinking, also known as critical reasoning, also known as logic, is the skill that SAT essay graders are really looking to see displayed in the essay. You need to be able to evaluate and analyze the claim put forward in the prompt. This is where a lot of students may get tripped up, because they think “oh, well, if I can just write a lot, then I’ll do well.” While there is some truth to the assertion that longer essays tend to score higher , if you don’t display critical thinking you won’t be able to get a top score on your essay.
What do I mean by critical thinking? Let's take the previous prompt example:
Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich.
An answer to this prompt that does not display critical thinking (and would fall into a 1 or 2 on the rubric) would be something like:
The author argues that hot dogs aren’t sandwiches, which is persuasive to the reader.
While this does evaluate the prompt (by providing a statement that the author's claim "is persuasive to the reader"), there is no corresponding analysis. An answer to this prompt that displays critical thinking (and would net a higher score on the rubric) could be something like this:
The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well.
See the difference? Critical thinking involves reasoning your way through a situation (analysis) as well as making a judgement (evaluation) . On the SAT essay, however, you can’t just stop at abstract critical reasoning - analysis involves one more crucial step...
The other piece of the puzzle (apparently this is a tiny puzzle) is making sure you are able to back up your point of view and critical thinking with concrete evidence . The SAT essay rubric says that the best (that is, 4-scoring) essay uses “ relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made. ” This means you can’t just stick to abstract reasoning like this:
That explanation is a good starting point, but if you don't back up your point of view with quoted or paraphrased information from the text to support your discussion of the way the author builds his/her argument, you will not be able to get above a 3 on the Analysis portion of the essay (and possibly the Reading portion as well, if you don't show you've read the passage). Let's take a look of an example of how you might support an interpretation of the author's effect on the reader using facts from the passage :
The author’s reference to the Biblical story about King Solomon elevates the debate about hot dogs from a petty squabble between friends to a life-or-death disagreement. The reader cannot help but see the parallels between the two situations and thus find themselves agreeing with the author on this point.
Does the author's reference to King Solomon actually "elevate the debate," causing the reader to agree with the author? From the sentences above, it certainly seems plausible that it might. While your facts do need to be correct, you get a little more leeway with your interpretations of how the author’s persuasive techniques might affect the audience. As long as you can make a convincing argument for the effect a technique the author uses might have on the reader, you’ll be good.
Say whaaat?! #tbt by tradlands , used under CC BY 2.0 /Cropped and color-adjusted from original.
Did I just blow your mind? Read more about the secrets the SAT doesn’t want you to know in this article .
Your Writing score on the SAT essay is not just a reflection of your grasp of the conventions of written English (although it is that as well). You'll also need to be focused, organized, and precise.
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(Inadequate) | The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and inadequate skill in the use and control of language. The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea. The response lacks a recognizable introduction and conclusion. The response does not have a discernible progression of ideas. The response lacks variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general and vague word choice; word choice may be poor or inaccurate. The response may lack a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a weak control of the conventions of standard written English and may contain numerous errors that undermine the quality of writing. |
(Partial) | The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and limited skill in the use and control of language. The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea or may deviate from the claim or idea over the course of the response. The response may include an ineffective introduction and/or conclusion. The response may demonstrate some progression of ideas within paragraphs but not throughout the response. The response has limited variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general or vague word choice; word choice may be repetitive. The response may deviate noticeably from a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a limited control of the conventions of standard written English and contains errors that detract from the quality of writing and may impede understanding. |
(Proficient) | The response is mostly cohesive and demonstrates effective use and control of language. The response includes a central claim or implicit controlling idea. The response includes an effective introduction and conclusion. The response demonstrates a clear progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay. The response has variety in sentence structures. The response demonstrates some precise word choice. The response maintains a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a good control of the conventions of standard written English and is free of significant errors that detract from the quality of writing. |
(Advanced) | The response is cohesive and demonstrates a highly effective use and command of language. The response includes a precise central claim. The response includes a skillful introduction and conclusion. The response demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay. The response has a wide variety in sentence structures. The response demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice. The response maintains a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a strong command of the conventions of standard written English and is free or virtually free of errors. |
Because there's a lot of different factors that go into calculating your Writing score, I've divided the discussion of this rubric area into five separate items:
Organization, vocab and word choice, sentence structure, grammar, etc..
One of the most basic rules of the SAT essay is that you need to express a clear opinion on the "assignment" (the prompt) . While in school (and everywhere else in life, pretty much) you’re encouraged to take into account all sides of a topic, it behooves you to NOT do this on the SAT essay. Why? Because you only have 50 minutes to read the passage, analyze the author's argument, and write the essay, there's no way you can discuss every single way in which the author builds his/her argument, every single detail of the passage, or a nuanced argument about what works and what doesn't work.
Instead, I recommend focusing your discussion on a few key ways the author is successful in persuading his/her audience of his/her claim.
Let’s go back to the assignment we've been using as an example throughout this article:
"Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich."
Your instinct (trained from many years of schooling) might be to answer:
"There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument."
This is a nice, vague statement that leaves you a lot of wiggle room. If you disagree with the author, it's also a way of avoiding having to say that the author is persuasive. Don't fall into this trap! You do not necessarily have to agree with the author's claim in order to analyze how the author persuades his/her readers that the claim is true.
Here's an example of a precise central claim about the example assignment:
The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence.
In contrast to the vague claim that "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument," this thesis both specifies what the author's argument is and the ways in which he builds the argument (that you'll be discussing in the essay).
While it's extremely important to make sure your essay has a clear point of view, strong critical reasoning, and support for your position, that's not enough to get you a top score. You need to make sure that your essay "demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay."
What does this mean? Part of the way you can make sure your essay is "well organized" has to do with following standard essay construction points. Don't write your essay in one huge paragraph; instead, include an introduction (with your thesis stating your point of view), body paragraphs (one for each example, usually), and a conclusion. This structure might seem boring, but it really works to keep your essay organized, and the more clearly organized your essay is, the easier it will be for the essay grader to understand your critical reasoning.
The second part of this criteria has to do with keeping your essay focused, making sure it contains "a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas." You can't just say "well, I have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, so I guess my essay is organized" and expect to get a 4/4 on your essay. You need to make sure that each paragraph is also organized . Recall the sample prompt:
“Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich.”
And our hypothetical thesis:
Let's say that you're writing the paragraph about the author's use of logic to persuade his reader that hot dogs aren't sandwiches. You should NOT just list ways that the author is logical in support of his claim, then explain why logic in general is an effective persuasive device. While your points might all be valid, your essay would be better served by connecting each instance of logic in the passage with an explanation of how that example of logic persuades the reader to agree with the author.
Above all, it is imperative that you make your thesis (your central claim) clear in the opening paragraph of your essay - this helps the grader keep track of your argument. There's no reason you’d want to make following your reasoning more difficult for the person grading your essay (unless you’re cranky and don’t want to do well on the essay. Listen, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life).
In your essay, you should use a wide array of vocabulary (and use it correctly). An essay that scores a 4 in Writing on the grading rubric “demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice.”
You’re allowed a few errors, even on a 4-scoring essay, so you can sometimes get away with misusing a word or two. In general, though, it’s best to stick to using words you are certain you not only know the meaning of, but also know how to use. If you’ve been studying up on vocab, make sure you practice using the words you’ve learned in sentences, and have those sentences checked by someone who is good at writing (in English), before you use those words in an SAT essay.
Creating elegant, non-awkward sentences is the thing I struggle most with under time pressure. For instance, here’s my first try at the previous sentence: “Making sure a sentence structure makes sense is the thing that I have the most problems with when I’m writing in a short amount of time” (hahaha NOPE - way too convoluted and wordy, self). As another example, take a look at these two excerpts from the hypothetical essay discussing how the author persuaded his readers that a hot dog is not a sandwich:
Score of 2: "The author makes his point by critiquing the argument against him. The author pointed out the logical fallacy of saying a hot dog was a sandwich because it was meat "sandwiched" between two breads. The author thus persuades the reader his point makes sense to be agreed with and convinces them."
The above sentences lack variety in structure (they all begin with the words "the author"), and the last sentence has serious flaws in its structure (it makes no sense).
Score of 4: "The author's rigorous examination of his opponent's position invites the reader, too, to consider this issue seriously. By laying out his reasoning, step by step, Hodgman makes it easy for the reader to follow along with his train of thought and arrive at the same destination that he has. This destination is Hodgman's claim that a hot dog is not a sandwich."
The above sentences demonstrate variety in sentence structure (they don't all begin with the same word and don't have the same underlying structure) that presumably forward the point of the essay.
In general, if you're doing well in all the other Writing areas, your sentence structures will also naturally vary. If you're really worried that your sentences are not varied enough, however, my advice for working on "demonstrating meaningful variety in sentence structure" (without ending up with terribly worded sentences) is twofold:
This part of the Writing grade is all about the nitty gritty details of writing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling . It's rare that an essay with serious flaws in this area can score a 4/4 in Reading, Analysis, or Writing, because such persistent errors often "interfere with meaning" (that is, persistent errors make it difficult for the grader to understand what you're trying to get across).
On the other hand, if they occur in small quantities, grammar/punctuation/spelling errors are also the things that are most likely to be overlooked. If two essays are otherwise of equal quality, but one writer misspells "definitely" as "definately" and the other writer fails to explain how one of her examples supports her thesis, the first writer will receive a higher essay score. It's only when poor grammar, use of punctuation, and spelling start to make it difficult to understand your essay that the graders start penalizing you.
My advice for working on this rubric area is the same advice as for sentence structure: look over what you’ve written to double check for mistakes, and ask someone who’s good at writing to look over your practice essays and point out your errors. If you're really struggling with spelling, simply typing up your (handwritten) essay into a program like Microsoft Word and running spellcheck can alert you to problems. We've also got a great set of articles up on our blog about SAT Writing questions that may help you better understand any grammatical errors you are making.
Now that you understand the SAT essay rubric, how can you use it in your SAT prep? There are a couple of different ways.
Since you know what the SAT is looking for in an essay, you can now use that knowledge to guide what you write about in your essays!
A tale from my youth: when I was preparing to take the SAT for the first time, I did not really know what the essay was looking for, and assumed that since I was a good writer, I’d be fine.
Not true! The most important part of the SAT essay is using specific examples from the passage and explaining how they convince the reader of the author's point. By reading this article and realizing there's more to the essay than "being a strong writer," you’re already doing better than high school me.
Change the object in that girl’s left hand from a mirror to a textbook and you have a pretty good sketch of what my junior year of high school looked like.
The SAT can’t exactly give you an answer key to the essay. Even when an example of an essay that scored a particular score is provided, that essay will probably use different examples than you did, make different arguments, maybe even argue different interpretations of the text...making it difficult to compare the two. The SAT essay rubric is the next best thing to an answer key for the essay - use it as a lens through which to view and assess your essay.
Of course, you don’t have the time to become an expert SAT essay grader - that’s not your job. You just have to apply the rubric as best as you can to your essays and work on fixing your weak areas . For the sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics stuff 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 ? I manage the essay grading and so happen to know quite a bit about the essay part of this platform, which gives you both an essay grade and custom feedback for each essay you complete. Learn more about how it all works here .
Are you so excited by this article that you want to read even more articles on the SAT essay? Of course you are. Don't worry, I’ve got you covered. Learn how to write an SAT essay step-by-step and read about the 6 types of SAT essay prompts .
Want to go even more in depth with the SAT essay? We have a complete list of past SAT essay prompts as well as tips and strategies for how to get a 12 on the SAT essay .
Still not satisfied? Maybe a five-day free trial of our very own PrepScholar test prep platform (which includes essay practice and feedback) is just what you need.
Trying to figure out whether the old or new SAT essay is better for you? Take a look at our article on the new SAT essay assignment to find out!
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.
Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!
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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, creative endeavors, and oral presentations.
Rubrics can help instructors communicate expectations to students and assess student work fairly, consistently and efficiently. Rubrics can provide students with informative feedback on their strengths and weaknesses so that they can reflect on their performance and work on areas that need improvement.
Best practices, moodle how-to guides.
The first step in the rubric creation process is to analyze the assignment or assessment for which you are creating a rubric. To do this, consider the following questions:
Types of rubrics: holistic, analytic/descriptive, single-point
Holistic Rubric. A holistic rubric includes all the criteria (such as clarity, organization, mechanics, etc.) to be considered together and included in a single evaluation. With a holistic rubric, the rater or grader assigns a single score based on an overall judgment of the student’s work, using descriptions of each performance level to assign the score.
Advantages of holistic rubrics:
Disadvantages of holistic rubrics:
Analytic/Descriptive Rubric . An analytic or descriptive rubric often takes the form of a table with the criteria listed in the left column and with levels of performance listed across the top row. Each cell contains a description of what the specified criterion looks like at a given level of performance. Each of the criteria is scored individually.
Advantages of analytic rubrics:
Disadvantages of analytic rubrics:
Single-Point Rubric . A single-point rubric is breaks down the components of an assignment into different criteria, but instead of describing different levels of performance, only the “proficient” level is described. Feedback space is provided for instructors to give individualized comments to help students improve and/or show where they excelled beyond the proficiency descriptors.
Advantages of single-point rubrics:
Disadvantage of analytic rubrics: Requires more work for instructors writing feedback
You might Google, “Rubric for persuasive essay at the college level” and see if there are any publicly available examples to start from. Ask your colleagues if they have used a rubric for a similar assignment. Some examples are also available at the end of this article. These rubrics can be a great starting point for you, but consider steps 3, 4, and 5 below to ensure that the rubric matches your assignment description, learning objectives and expectations.
Make a list of the knowledge and skills are you measuring with the assignment/assessment Refer to your stated learning objectives, the assignment instructions, past examples of student work, etc. for help.
Helpful strategies for defining grading criteria:
Most ratings scales include between 3 and 5 levels. Consider the following questions when designing your rating scale:
Artificial Intelligence tools like Chat GPT have proven to be useful tools for creating a rubric. You will want to engineer your prompt that you provide the AI assistant to ensure you get what you want. For example, you might provide the assignment description, the criteria you feel are important, and the number of levels of performance you want in your prompt. Use the results as a starting point, and adjust the descriptions as needed.
For a single-point rubric , describe what would be considered “proficient,” i.e. B-level work, and provide that description. You might also include suggestions for students outside of the actual rubric about how they might surpass proficient-level work.
For analytic and holistic rubrics , c reate statements of expected performance at each level of the rubric.
Well-written descriptions:
Create your rubric in a table or spreadsheet in Word, Google Docs, Sheets, etc., and then transfer it by typing it into Moodle. You can also use online tools to create the rubric, but you will still have to type the criteria, indicators, levels, etc., into Moodle. Rubric creators: Rubistar , iRubric
Prior to implementing your rubric on a live course, obtain feedback from:
Try out your new rubric on a sample of student work. After you pilot-test your rubric, analyze the results to consider its effectiveness and revise accordingly.
Above Average (4) | Sufficient (3) | Developing (2) | Needs improvement (1) | |
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(Thesis supported by relevant information and ideas | The central purpose of the student work is clear and supporting ideas always are always well-focused. Details are relevant, enrich the work. | The central purpose of the student work is clear and ideas are almost always focused in a way that supports the thesis. Relevant details illustrate the author’s ideas. | The central purpose of the student work is identified. Ideas are mostly focused in a way that supports the thesis. | The purpose of the student work is not well-defined. A number of central ideas do not support the thesis. Thoughts appear disconnected. |
(Sequencing of elements/ ideas) | Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence which flows naturally and is engaging to the audience. | Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence which is followed by the reader with little or no difficulty. | Information and ideas are presented in an order that the audience can mostly follow. | Information and ideas are poorly sequenced. The audience has difficulty following the thread of thought. |
(Correctness of grammar and spelling) | Minimal to no distracting errors in grammar and spelling. | The readability of the work is only slightly interrupted by spelling and/or grammatical errors. | Grammatical and/or spelling errors distract from the work. | The readability of the work is seriously hampered by spelling and/or grammatical errors. |
The audience is able to easily identify the central message of the work and is engaged by the paper’s clear focus and relevant details. Information is presented logically and naturally. There are minimal to no distracting errors in grammar and spelling. : The audience is easily able to identify the focus of the student work which is supported by relevant ideas and supporting details. Information is presented in a logical manner that is easily followed. The readability of the work is only slightly interrupted by errors. : The audience can identify the central purpose of the student work without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present and clear. The information is presented in an orderly fashion that can be followed with little difficulty. Grammatical and spelling errors distract from the work. : The audience cannot clearly or easily identify the central ideas or purpose of the student work. Information is presented in a disorganized fashion causing the audience to have difficulty following the author’s ideas. The readability of the work is seriously hampered by errors. |
Advanced (evidence of exceeding standards) | Criteria described a proficient level | Concerns (things that need work) |
---|---|---|
Criteria #1: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
Criteria #2: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
Criteria #3: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
Criteria #4: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance | ||
90-100 points | 80-90 points | <80 points |
An essay rubric is a way teachers assess students' essay writing by using specific criteria to grade assignments. Essay rubrics save teachers time because all of the criteria are listed and organized into one convenient paper. If used effectively, rubrics can help improve students' writing .
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Piece was written in an extraordinary style and voice Very informative and well-organized | Piece was written in an interesting style and voice Somewhat informative and organized | Piece had little style or voice Gives some new information but poorly organized | Piece had no style or voice Gives no new information and very poorly organized | |
Virtually no spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors | Few spelling and punctuation errors, minor grammatical errors | A number of spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors | So many spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors that it interferes with the meaning |
Presents ideas in an original manner | Presents ideas in a consistent manner | Ideas are too general | Ideas are vague or unclear | |
Strong and organized beg/mid/end | Organized beg/mid/end | Some organization; attempt at a beg/mid/end | No organization; lack beg/mid/end | |
Writing shows strong understanding | Writing shows a clear understanding | Writing shows adequate understanding | Writing shows little understanding | |
Sophisticated use of nouns and verbs make the essay very informative | Nouns and verbs make essay informative | Needs more nouns and verbs | Little or no use of nouns and verbs | |
Sentence structure enhances meaning; flows throughout the piece | Sentence structure is evident; sentences mostly flow | Sentence structure is limited; sentences need to flow | No sense of sentence structure or flow | |
Few (if any) errors | Few errors | Several errors | Numerous errors |
Main navigation, articulating your assessment values.
Reading, commenting on, and then assigning a grade to a piece of student writing requires intense attention and difficult judgment calls. Some faculty dread “the stack.” Students may share the faculty’s dim view of writing assessment, perceiving it as highly subjective. They wonder why one faculty member values evidence and correctness before all else, while another seeks a vaguely defined originality.
Writing rubrics can help address the concerns of both faculty and students by making writing assessment more efficient, consistent, and public. Whether it is called a grading rubric, a grading sheet, or a scoring guide, a writing assignment rubric lists criteria by which the writing is graded.
Create a rubric at the same time you create the assignment. It will help you explain to the students what your goals are for the assignment.
Consider involving students in Steps 2 and 3. A class session devoted to developing a rubric can provoke many important discussions about the ways the features of the language serve the purpose of the writing. And when students themselves work to describe the writing they are expected to produce, they are more likely to achieve it.
At this point, you will need to decide if you want to create a holistic or an analytic rubric. There is much debate about these two approaches to assessment.
Holistic scoring .
Holistic scoring aims to rate overall proficiency in a given student writing sample. It is often used in large-scale writing program assessment and impromptu classroom writing for diagnostic purposes.
General tenets to holistic scoring:
Holistic rubrics emphasize what students do well and generally increase efficiency; they may also be more valid because scoring includes authentic, personal reaction of the reader. But holistic sores won’t tell a student how they’ve progressed relative to previous assignments and may be rater-dependent, reducing reliability. (For a summary of advantages and disadvantages of holistic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 116.)
Here is an example of a partial holistic rubric:
Summary meets all the criteria. The writer understands the article thoroughly. The main points in the article appear in the summary with all main points proportionately developed. The summary should be as comprehensive as possible and should be as comprehensive as possible and should read smoothly, with appropriate transitions between ideas. Sentences should be clear, without vagueness or ambiguity and without grammatical or mechanical errors.
A complete holistic rubric for a research paper (authored by Jonah Willihnganz) can be downloaded here.
Analytic scoring makes explicit the contribution to the final grade of each element of writing. For example, an instructor may choose to give 30 points for an essay whose ideas are sufficiently complex, that marshals good reasons in support of a thesis, and whose argument is logical; and 20 points for well-constructed sentences and careful copy editing.
General tenets to analytic scoring:
Advantages of an analytic rubric include ease of training raters and improved reliability. Meanwhile, writers often can more easily diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of their work. But analytic rubrics can be time-consuming to produce, and raters may judge the writing holistically anyway. Moreover, many readers believe that writing traits cannot be separated. (For a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of analytic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 115.)
For example, a partial analytic rubric for a single trait, “addresses a significant issue”:
A complete analytic rubric for a research paper can be downloaded here. In WIM courses, this language should be revised to name specific disciplinary conventions.
Whichever type of rubric you write, your goal is to avoid pushing students into prescriptive formulas and limiting thinking (e.g., “each paragraph has five sentences”). By carefully describing the writing you want to read, you give students a clear target, and, as Ed White puts it, “describe the ongoing work of the class” (75).
Writing rubrics contribute meaningfully to the teaching of writing. Think of them as a coaching aide. In class and in conferences, you can use the language of the rubric to help you move past generic statements about what makes good writing good to statements about what constitutes success on the assignment and in the genre or discourse community. The rubric articulates what you are asking students to produce on the page; once that work is accomplished, you can turn your attention to explaining how students can achieve it.
Becker, Anthony. “Examining Rubrics Used to Measure Writing Performance in U.S. Intensive English Programs.” The CATESOL Journal 22.1 (2010/2011):113-30. Web.
White, Edward M. Teaching and Assessing Writing . Proquest Info and Learning, 1985. Print.
CCCC Committee on Assessment. “Writing Assessment: A Position Statement.” November 2006 (Revised March 2009). Conference on College Composition and Communication. Web.
Gallagher, Chris W. “Assess Locally, Validate Globally: Heuristics for Validating Local Writing Assessments.” Writing Program Administration 34.1 (2010): 10-32. Web.
Huot, Brian. (Re)Articulating Writing Assessment for Teaching and Learning. Logan: Utah State UP, 2002. Print.
Kelly-Reilly, Diane, and Peggy O’Neil, eds. Journal of Writing Assessment. Web.
McKee, Heidi A., and Dànielle Nicole DeVoss DeVoss, Eds. Digital Writing Assessment & Evaluation. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital Press/Utah State University Press, 2013. Web.
O’Neill, Peggy, Cindy Moore, and Brian Huot. A Guide to College Writing Assessment . Logan: Utah State UP, 2009. Print.
Sommers, Nancy. Responding to Student Writers . Macmillan Higher Education, 2013.
Straub, Richard. “Responding, Really Responding to Other Students’ Writing.” The Subject is Writing: Essays by Teachers and Students. Ed. Wendy Bishop. Boynton/Cook, 1999. Web.
White, Edward M., and Cassie A. Wright. Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide . 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.
Discussions.
on time | less than a week late | more than a week late | |
both on time | one late, one on time | both late | |
clear and distinct ideas with specific details | clear and distinct ideas with weak details | weak or vague idea with weak details | |
clear topic sentence, supporting sentences, and concluding sentence | no clear organization, but the information flows well | lack of information makes the information difficult to read | |
few to no errors, easy to read | several errors, but they do not interfere with comprehension | many errors make it difficult to read |
Total points per discussion: 10
On time and complete | On time or complete, but not both | Neither on time, nor complete |
Total points per self-reflection journal entry: 3
2 pointsThe writing is clear, complete, and compelling. | 1 pointThe writing addresses the topic, but some parts are unclear, incomplete, and/or irrelevant. | 0.5 pointThe writing does not address the topic and/or errors interfere with comprehension. | |
2 pointsThe writing is clear, complete, and compelling. | 1 pointThe writing addresses the topic, but some parts are unclear, incomplete, and/or irrelevant. | 0.5 pointThe writing does not address the topic and/or errors interfere with comprehension. | |
2 pointsThe writing is clear, complete, and compelling. | 1 pointThe writing addresses the topic, but some parts are unclear, incomplete, and/or irrelevant. | 0.5 pointThe writing does not address the topic and/or errors interfere with comprehension. | |
2 pointsThe writing is clear, complete, and compelling. | 1 pointThe writing addresses the topic, but some parts are unclear, incomplete, and/or irrelevant. | 0.5 pointThe writing does not address the topic and/or errors interfere with comprehension. | |
1 pointThe introduction gets the reader’s attention and connects the four paragraphs in a specific thesis. The conclusion restates the thesis, offers and offers a final thought that brings closure to the essay. | 0.5 pointThe introduction, conclusion, or thesis statement are missing or vague/superficial. | 0 pointThe introduction and the conclusion are both missing. | |
1 pointThe writing uses standard academic grammar and mechanics. The essay follows the instructions for formatting. | 0.5 pointThere are noticeable errors in grammar, mechanics, or formatting, but they do not interfere with comprehension. | 0 pointThere are noticeable errors in grammar, mechanics, or formatting that interfere with comprehension. |
This grading rubric is designed for the first draft of an essay. It focuses more on content and organization, and it focuses less on grammar and mechanics.
The introduction has an interesting hook, helpful background information, a clear thesis statement, and a preview of the content of the essay. | The introduction has some, but not all of the parts … or the parts are present but some are strong and some are weak. | Several or all parts are missing or inadequate. | |
The thesis statement is clearly articulated with both a topic and a claim (and, in later essays, implications). | The thesis statement has only one part. Or, if it has both parts, one or both parts are weak or unclear. | There is no clearly articulated thesis statement. | |
Each body paragraph has a clearly articulated topic sentence that expresses the topic and controlling idea. | Some body paragraphs have clear topic sentences; others do not. | The author does not use topic sentences regularly. | |
Each body paragraph uses specific supporting details to explain the topic sentence. | Some paragraphs do not fully develop the topic sentence. | Supporting details do not develop the topic sentence. | |
The conclusion paragraph restates the thesis, suggests implications, and provides closure to the essay. | The conclusion has some, but not all of the parts … or the parts are present but some are strong and some are weak. | Several or all parts are missing or inadequate. | |
The author consistently uses formal academic vocabulary that is appropriate to the topic. This includes writing in the third person, avoiding contractions, and using transition words. | The author attempts to use formal academic vocabulary, with some exceptions. | The author does not try to use formal academic vocabulary. | |
There is a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The information flows in a logical sequence, with each paragraph building upon the previous one. | While the essay may have all of the necessary parts, the structure is confusing or indirect. | There is no clear structure to the essay, or the essay is missing a necessary part. | |
The author writes with clarity, unity, and concision. It’s easy to understand the information; it all supports a single thesis; and the essay includes only what is necessary to explain the thesis. | The essay is weak in one of the three areas: clarity, unity, or concision. | The essay is weak in two or more areas: clarity, unity, or concision. | |
The author uses standard academic conventions, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, page formatting, and source citations | There are noticeable errors in mechanics, but they do not interfere with comprehension. | There are many errors in mechanics that interfere with comprehension. | |
The author uses standard academic grammar with few or not errors.
| There are noticeable errors in grammar, but they do not interfere with comprehension. | There are many errors in grammar that interfere with comprehension. |
Total points per draft essay: 10
This grading rubric is designed for the second draft of an essay. It focuses more on grammar and mechanics, and it focuses less on content and organization.
There are no errors. | There are one or two errors. | There are more than two errors. | |
There are no errors. | There are one or two errors. | There are more than two errors. | |
There are no errors. | There are one or two errors. | There are more than two errors. | |
There are no errors. | There are one or two errors. | There are more than two errors. | |
There are no or few errors. Nothing interferes with comprehension. | There are noticeable grammar errors, but they do not interfere with comprehension. | There are noticeable grammar errors, and they interfere with comprehension. | |
The author consistently uses formal academic vocabulary that is appropriate to the topic. This includes writing in the third person, avoiding contractions, and using transition words. | The author attempts to use formal academic vocabulary, with some exceptions. | The author does not try to use formal academic vocabulary. | |
There is a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. The information flows in a logical sequence, with each paragraph building upon the previous one. | While the essay may have all of the necessary parts, the structure is confusing or indirect. | There is no clear structure to the essay, or the essay is missing a necessary part. | |
The author writes with clarity, unity, and concision. It’s easy to understand the information; it all supports a single thesis; and the essay includes only what is necessary to explain the thesis. | The essay is weak in one of the three areas: clarity, unity, or concision. | The essay is weak in two or more areas: clarity, unity, or concision. | |
The author uses standard academic conventions, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, page formatting, and source citations | There are noticeable errors in mechanics, but they do not interfere with comprehension. | There are many errors in mechanics that interfere with comprehension. | |
The content of the essay is meaningful and detailed, not vague or superficial. Feedback from the first draft has been addressed. | The content of the essay is interesting and feedback from the draft has been addressed. However, weak areas remain. | The content remains vague or superficial and/or feedback from the first draft was not addressed. |
Total points per revised essay: 10
Synthesis Copyright © 2022 by Timothy Krause is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
100 Last-Day-of-School Activities Your Students Will Love!
In the end, they actually make grading easier.
When it comes to student assessment and evaluation, there are a lot of methods to consider. In some cases, testing is the best way to assess a student’s knowledge, and the answers are either right or wrong. But often, assessing a student’s performance is much less clear-cut. In these situations, a scoring rubric is often the way to go, especially if you’re using standards-based grading . Here’s what you need to know about this useful tool, along with lots of rubric examples to get you started.
In the United States, a rubric is a guide that lays out the performance expectations for an assignment. It helps students understand what’s required of them, and guides teachers through the evaluation process. (Note that in other countries, the term “rubric” may instead refer to the set of instructions at the beginning of an exam. To avoid confusion, some people use the term “scoring rubric” instead.)
A rubric generally has three parts:
Rubrics take more time to develop up front, but they help ensure more consistent assessment, especially when the skills being assessed are more subjective. A well-developed rubric can actually save teachers a lot of time when it comes to grading. What’s more, sharing your scoring rubric with students in advance often helps improve performance . This way, students have a clear picture of what’s expected of them and what they need to do to achieve a specific grade or performance rating.
Learn more about why and how to use a rubric here.
There are three basic rubric categories, each with its own purpose.
Source: Cambrian College
This type of rubric combines all the scoring criteria in a single scale. They’re quick to create and use, but they have drawbacks. If a student’s work spans different levels, it can be difficult to decide which score to assign. They also make it harder to provide feedback on specific aspects.
Traditional letter grades are a type of holistic rubric. So are the popular “hamburger rubric” and “ cupcake rubric ” examples. Learn more about holistic rubrics here.
Source: University of Nebraska
Analytic rubrics are much more complex and generally take a great deal more time up front to design. They include specific details of the expected learning outcomes, and descriptions of what criteria are required to meet various performance ratings in each. Each rating is assigned a point value, and the total number of points earned determines the overall grade for the assignment.
Though they’re more time-intensive to create, analytic rubrics actually save time while grading. Teachers can simply circle or highlight any relevant phrases in each rating, and add a comment or two if needed. They also help ensure consistency in grading, and make it much easier for students to understand what’s expected of them.
Learn more about analytic rubrics here.
Source: Deb’s Data Digest
A developmental rubric is a type of analytic rubric, but it’s used to assess progress along the way rather than determining a final score on an assignment. The details in these rubrics help students understand their achievements, as well as highlight the specific skills they still need to improve.
Developmental rubrics are essentially a subset of analytic rubrics. They leave off the point values, though, and focus instead on giving feedback using the criteria and indicators of performance.
Learn how to use developmental rubrics here.
Ready to create your own rubrics? Find general tips on designing rubrics here. Then, check out these examples across all grades and subjects to inspire you.
These elementary school rubric examples come from real teachers who use them with their students. Adapt them to fit your needs and grade level.
You can use this one as an analytic rubric by counting up points to earn a final score, or just to provide developmental feedback. There’s a second rubric page available specifically to assess prosody (reading with expression).
Learn more: Teacher Thrive
The nice thing about this rubric is that you can use it at any grade level, for any text. If you like this style, you can get a reading fluency rubric here too.
Learn more: Pawprints Resource Center
Rubrics aren’t just for huge projects. They can also help kids work on very specific skills, like this one for improving written responses on assessments.
Learn more: Dianna Radcliffe: Teaching Upper Elementary and More
If you use interactive notebooks as a learning tool , this rubric can help kids stay on track and meet your expectations.
Learn more: Classroom Nook
Use this simple rubric as it is, or tweak it to include more specific indicators for the project you have in mind.
Learn more: Tales of a Title One Teacher
Developmental rubrics are perfect for assessing behavior and helping students identify opportunities for improvement. Send these home regularly to keep parents in the loop.
Learn more: Teachers.net Gazette
In middle school, use rubrics to offer detailed feedback on projects, presentations, and more. Be sure to share them with students in advance, and encourage them to use them as they work so they’ll know if they’re meeting expectations.
Argumentative writing is a part of language arts, social studies, science, and more. That makes this rubric especially useful.
Learn more: Dr. Caitlyn Tucker
Role-plays can be really useful when teaching social and critical thinking skills, but it’s hard to assess them. Try a rubric like this one to evaluate and provide useful feedback.
Learn more: A Question of Influence
Art is one of those subjects where grading can feel very subjective. Bring some objectivity to the process with a rubric like this.
Source: Art Ed Guru
You can use diorama projects in almost any subject, and they’re a great chance to encourage creativity. Simplify the grading process and help kids know how to make their projects shine with this scoring rubric.
Learn more: Historyourstory.com
Rubrics are terrific for grading presentations, since you can include a variety of skills and other criteria. Consider letting students use a rubric like this to offer peer feedback too.
Learn more: Bright Hub Education
In high school, it’s important to include your grading rubrics when you give assignments like presentations, research projects, or essays. Kids who go on to college will definitely encounter rubrics, so helping them become familiar with them now will help in the future.
Analyze a student’s presentation both for content and communication skills with a rubric like this one. If needed, create a separate one for content knowledge with even more criteria and indicators.
Learn more: Michael A. Pena Jr.
Debate is a valuable learning tool that encourages critical thinking and oral communication skills. This rubric can help you assess those skills objectively.
Learn more: Education World
Implementing project-based learning can be time-intensive, but the payoffs are worth it. Try this rubric to make student expectations clear and end-of-project assessment easier.
Learn more: Free Technology for Teachers
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.
Learn more: Learn for Your Life
If you’re unsure how to grade a student’s participation and performance in drama class, consider this example. It offers lots of objective criteria and indicators to evaluate.
Learn more: Chase March
Plus, 25 of the best alternative assessment ideas ..
There's a difference between regular projects and true-project based learning. Continue Reading
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Most scores from the June 1st SAT are now available. View your scores.
Digital SAT Suite of Assessments
From free practice tests to a checklist of what to bring on test day, College Board provides everything you need to prepare for the digital SAT.
Download and install the Bluebook app.
Take a full-length practice test in Bluebook.
Complete exam setup in Bluebook and get your admission ticket.
Arrive on time (check your admission ticket).
Practice tests.
Find full-length practice tests on Bluebook™ as well as downloadable linear SAT practice tests.
Official Digital SAT Prep on Khan Academy ® is free, comprehensive, and available to all students.
Get information on how to practice for the digital SAT if you're using assistive technology.
Take full-length digital SAT practice exams by first downloading Bluebook and completing practice tests. Then sign into My Practice to view practice test results and review practice exam items, answers, and explanations.
Find out everything you need to bring and do for the digital SAT.
This guide provides helpful information for students taking the SAT during a weekend administration in Spring 2024.
A guide to the SAT for international students to learn how to prepare for test day. It covers the structure of the digital test, how to download the app and practice, information about policies, and testing rules.
Information about SAT School Day, sample test materials, and test-taking advice and tips.
Learn how to practice for the SAT with this step-by-step guide.
Aprende cómo practicar para el SAT con esta guía de inicio rápido.
This resource informs students about the benefits of practicing for the SAT and provides links to free practice resources.
Este folleto ofrece información sobre los beneficios de practicar para el SAT e incluye enlaces hacia recursos de práctica.
This resource provides parents and guardians with a schedule outline to help their child prepare for the SAT and includes links to free official practice materials.
Sat suite question bank: overview.
Need help finding something? Enter a search term below
When you get your IELTS test results you will be given an overall test score of between 0 and 9 on the IELTS scale. You will also get a score for each of the four sections of the test – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The IELTS scale helps organisations understand your level of English.
9 Skill Level: Expert
8 Skill Level: Very good
7 Skill Level: Good
6 Skill Level: Competent
5 Skill Level: Modest
4 Skill Level: Limited
3 Skill Level: Extremely limited
2 Skill Level: Intermittent
1 Skill Level: Non-user
0 Skill Level: Did not attempt the test
For each section of the test – Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking – you will be awarded a score on the IELTS scale. Your overall score is the average of your section scores, rounded to the closest half-point on the scale.
We recommend that IELTS test results are considered valid for two years after a test has been taken. This is based on research into second-language loss. Organisations that accept IELTS can choose to accept results for a longer period, so you should check with them directly.
Find out what CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level you need for UKVI and the IELTS band score equivalent .
2024. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council; IDP IELTS; and Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Goal 2 is about creating a world free of hunger by 2030.The global issue of hunger and food insecurity has shown an alarming increase since 2015, a trend exacerbated by a combination of factors including the pandemic, conflict, climate change, and deepening inequalities.
By 2022, approximately 735 million people – or 9.2% of the world’s population – found themselves in a state of chronic hunger – a staggering rise compared to 2019. This data underscores the severity of the situation, revealing a growing crisis.
In addition, an estimated 2.4 billion people faced moderate to severe food insecurity in 2022. This classification signifies their lack of access to sufficient nourishment. This number escalated by an alarming 391 million people compared to 2019.
The persistent surge in hunger and food insecurity, fueled by a complex interplay of factors, demands immediate attention and coordinated global efforts to alleviate this critical humanitarian challenge.
Extreme hunger and malnutrition remains a barrier to sustainable development and creates a trap from which people cannot easily escape. Hunger and malnutrition mean less productive individuals, who are more prone to disease and thus often unable to earn more and improve their livelihoods.
2 billion people in the world do not have reg- ular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. In 2022, 148 million children had stunted growth and 45 million children under the age of 5 were affected by wasting.
It is projected that more than 600 million people worldwide will be facing hunger in 2030, highlighting the immense challenge of achieving the zero hunger target.
People experiencing moderate food insecurity are typically unable to eat a healthy, balanced diet on a regular basis because of income or other resource constraints.
Shockingly, the world is back at hunger levels not seen since 2005, and food prices remain higher in more countries than in the period 2015–2019. Along with conflict, climate shocks, and rising cost of living, civil insecurity and declining food production have all contributed to food scarcity and high food prices.
Investment in the agriculture sector is critical for reducing hunger and poverty, improving food security, creating employment and building resilience to disasters and shocks.
We all want our families to have enough food to eat what is safe and nutritious. A world with zero hunger can positively impact our economies, health, education, equality and social development.
It’s a key piece of building a better future for everyone. Additionally, with hunger limiting human development, we will not be able to achieve the other sustainable development goals such as education, health and gender equality.
Food security requires a multi-dimensional approach – from social protection to safeguard safe and nutritious food especially for children to transforming food systems to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable world. There will need to be investments in rural and urban areas and in social protection so poor people have access to food and can improve their livelihoods.
You can make changes in your own life—at home, at work and in the community—by supporting local farmers or markets and making sustainable food choices, supporting good nutrition for all, and fighting food waste.
You can also use your power as a consumer and voter, demanding businesses and governments make the choices and changes that will make Zero Hunger a reality. Join the conversation, whether on social media platforms or in your local communities.
Goal 2 targets.
Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.
2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
2.5 By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.
2.A Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.
2.B Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round.
2.C Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Food and Agriculture Organization
World Food Programme
UNICEF – Nutrition
Zero Hunger Challenge
Think.Eat.Save. Reduce your foodprint.
UNDP – Hunger
dpicampaigns 2024-06-14T08:00:00-04:00 14 Jun 2024 |
Despite its huge potential, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues to grapple with a host of challenges which are impacting people’s lives and triggering conflict over key resources, a senior UN official in the country said on Friday.
Read Full Story on UN News
Yinuo 2024-06-12T10:49:59-04:00 12 Jun 2024 |
dpicampaigns 2024-06-12T08:00:00-04:00 12 Jun 2024 |
The right to development is inextricably linked with trade which the world’s poorest countries - now “mired in debt” through no fault of their own - have every right to pursue on much fairer terms, UN chief António Guterres insisted on Wednesday.
Despite its huge potential, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues to grapple with a host of challenges which are impacting people’s lives and triggering conflict over key resources, a senior UN official in the country [...]
Global energy access gap worsens as population growth outpaces new connections: 685 million people living without electricity access in 2022, 2.1 billion people continue to rely on damaging cooking fuels globally 12 June 2024 | [...]
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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.
An essay rubric refers to the way how teachers assess student's composition writing skills and abilities. Basically, an essay rubric provides specific criteria to grade assignments. In this case, teachers use essay rubrics to save time when evaluating and grading various papers.
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.
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 ...
1. Define Clear Criteria. Identify specific aspects of writing to evaluate. Be clear and precise. The criteria should reflect the key components of the writing task. For example, for a narrative essay, criteria might include plot development, character depth, and use of descriptive language.
Persuasive Essay Rubric 1 - This rubric mainly covers the structure of the essay: attention catcher, introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion and so forth. Includes a page explaining the structure of the essay. Persuasive Essay Rubric 2 - Another persuasive essay rubric mainly covering the structure of the essay; however, this rubric also ...
Richard Keyser Essay Guidelines, Grading Rubric, & Corrections 2015 Essay Guidelines, Short Grading Rubric, & Corrections Guide I. Essential Essay Guidelines Argument: Do you have a thesis statement? Check the last sentence or two of your introduction - this is where your reader will look for a statement that summarizes your argument.
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.
General Essay Rubric Rank each category with any number from 0-4. Please note each essay has a different prompt and will be different to review. See the electronic rubric for more information. Criteria Not Acceptable (1) Somewhat Acceptable (2) Somewhat Excellent (3) Excellent (4) Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar, and Mechanics punctuation,
Rubrics - 2 Writing Rubric Johnson Community College, downloaded 12/22/04 from ... 5 = Essay contains strong composition skills including a clear and thought-provoking thesis, although development, diction, and sentence style may suffer minor flaws. Shows careful and acceptable use of
Rubrics take a variety of forms, from grids to checklists, and measure a range of writing tasks, from conceptual design to sentence-level considerations. As with any assessment tool, a rubric's effectiveness is entirely dependent upon its design and its deployment in the classroom. Whatever form rubrics take, the criteria for assessment must ...
Literature Essay Rubric How to : Check the appropriate rubric boxes and provide explanations afterwards of the ratings. Using the information : For areas where a writer receives "needs work" or "adequate," review that area in the Rhetoric associated with that topic (link below) and use the advice when revising.
A rubric is an assessment tool often shaped like a matrix, which describes levels of achievement in a specific area of performance, understanding, or behavior. There are two main types of rubrics: Analytic Rubric: An analytic rubric specifies at least two characteristics to be assessed at each performance level and provides a separate score for ...
The SAT essay rubric says that the best (that is, 4-scoring) essay uses " relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim (s) or point (s) made. " This means you can't just stick to abstract reasoning like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches.
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, creative endeavors, and oral presentations.
Sample Essay Rubric for Elementary Teachers. An essay rubric is a way teachers assess students' essay writing by using specific criteria to grade assignments. Essay rubrics save teachers time because all of the criteria are listed and organized into one convenient paper. If used effectively, rubrics can help improve students' writing .
Section 1. Evaluation of Thinking (continued) Directions: For each of the three criteria (content and focus; analysis and critical thinking; logic and flow) select 10, 8, 6, 4, or 2 from the five possible scores (representing strong, proficient, satisfactory, weak, or unacceptable, respectively). Section 2. Evaluation of Communicating Ideas.
Grading Rubric for the . Two-Page Essay (20. points possible) Student's Name: TA's Name: Below you will find the breakdown of how successful your essay was. This rubric is based on the 5-step LAD process and assesses whether your essay was precise, argumentative, and impactful. The steps of . paraphrase, observe, contextualize,
Writing rubrics can help address the concerns of both faculty and students by making writing assessment more efficient, consistent, and public. Whether it is called a grading rubric, a grading sheet, or a scoring guide, a writing assignment rubric lists criteria by which the writing is graded.
DRAFT ESSAYS. This grading rubric is designed for the first draft of an essay. It focuses more on content and organization, and it focuses less on grammar and mechanics. The introduction has an interesting hook, helpful background information, a clear thesis statement, and a preview of the content of the essay.
Try this rubric to make student expectations clear and end-of-project assessment easier. Learn more: Free Technology for Teachers. 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. Learn more: Learn for Your Life. Drama ...
E 316N/CL 315 World Literature Dr. E.M. Richmond-Garza Grading Rubric for the Two-Page Essay (20 points possible) Student's Name: TA's Name: Below you will find the breakdown of how successful your essay was. This rubric is based on the 5-step LAD process and assesses whether your essay was precise, argumentative, and impactful. The steps of paraphrase, observe, contextualize, analyze, and ...
My Practice. Take full-length digital SAT practice exams by first downloading Bluebook and completing practice tests. Then sign into My Practice to view practice test results and review practice exam items, answers, and explanations. Download Bluebook.
Understanding your score. When you get your IELTS test results you will be given an overall test score of between 0 and 9 on the IELTS scale. You will also get a score for each of the four sections of the test - Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. The IELTS scale helps organisations understand your level of English.
AP French Language and Culture. AP German Language and Culture. AP Italian Language and Culture. AP Japanese Language and Culture. AP Latin. AP Spanish Language and Culture. AP Spanish Literature and Culture. A list of all current AP courses and exams by category.
Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023. Goal 2 is about creating a world free of hunger by 2030.The global issue of hunger and food insecurity has shown an alarming increase since ...