90-100

80-90

75-80

70-75

65-70

65-

LEVEL OF COMPREHENSION& FOCUS

a sophisticated thesis reveals an in-depth analysis of the text

a sound thesis demonstrates a plausible interpretation of the text 

a clear thesis demonstrates some interpretive comprehension of the text

a thesis demonstrates a basic understanding of the text

the thesis is so general/simple it does not need development ; an obvious fact

no evidence of a thesis OR the thesis does not demonstrate a reading of the text

ORGANIZATION

exhibits a sophisticated and coherent structure through skillful placement of ideas and effective transitioning

exhibits a coherent structure with logical placement of ideas and smooth transitions

exhibits a logical structure and has relatively smooth transitions

exhibits a rudimentary structure that has fairly smooth transitions combined with some choppy ones

much of the essay seems out of order, illogical and has very few transitions

essay has little to no sense of logical order

SUPPORT & FOCUS

ideas are original, clearly developed and supported with effective, relevant, and specific references in order to analyze the text

ideas are developed, making use of relevant and specific references in order to interpret the text

most ideas are developed, with interpretation of the text, making use  of relevant and specific references from the text

ideas are briefly developed, using some relevant and specific references from the text combined with paraphrasing/summary

most ideas are undeveloped, repetitive, or supported only with summary of text

ideas are undeveloped, unsupported, or supported with irrelevant text or summary

LEAD/

INTRO.

innovative, original introduction that indicates writer’s grasp of topic, purpose and audience

pulls the reader into the piece, introduces the text and thesis

standard lead and introduction to  thesis – (it works)

lead is attempted,
introducing the text and thesis

lead is attempted,
but does little to introduce essay

too short, non-existent, or unfitting for the essay

CONCLUSION

writer “comes to a conclusion”, leaving reader satisfied and thinking

writer “comes to a conclusion” about thesis/text, leaving reader satisfied

writer “comes to a conclusion”, ties essay together

restates thesis, may be superficial

short or superficial, just tacked on the end

non-existent or does not make a point

VOICE

Diction
Syntax
Imagery
Tone

utilizes terminology appropriate to genre, chooses distinct words, and varies sentence length and grammatical structure to create an original and confident voice both fitting to the purpose of the essay and intended audience

utilizes terminology appropriate to genre, makes conscious word choice, and varies some sentence length and grammatical structure to create a convincing voice

utilizes terminology appropriate to genre, and varies some sentence length and grammatical structure; voice is stronger in some parts of essay

attempts to utilize terminology appropriate to genre, experiments with varied sentence length and grammatical structure; a hint of voice is present in essay

writing shows little awareness of varying grammatical structures or word choice to fit purpose of essay; voice may only be present in lead and conclusion

no voice and no awareness of audience demonstrated ; sentences are awkward, rambling, fragmented and/or confusing

CONVENTIONS

mastery of conventions: no spelling, punctuation or format errors (including MLA format & citing text)

strong conventions: correct format; one or two reasonable errors
in punctuation, verb tense, spelling, and/or MLA format

a few grade-appropriate errors in format, spelling, punctuation, verb tense, or MLA format

some grade-appropriate errors combined with careless errors in spelling, conventions, editing or MLA format

frequent spelling/editing typing and MLA format errors

Too many errors in spelling, conventions, or MLA format to be considered a final draft

Intro Paragraph / Thesis

Body Paragraphs / Organization

Literary Analysis

Language Style / Voice

Mechanics

A
(excellent)

Engaging opening introduces the essay’s general topic and inspires thinking about that topic; logically proceeds to thesis; thesis is an easily identifiable, well-phrased argument that assesses the text and addresses a specific idea to be analyzed and proven in the essay; the idea offered in the thesis reflects sound critical, analytical thinking; title and author of work are appropriately referenced

Each topic sentence clearly connects to the thesis and offers an identifiable, well-phrased idea to be proven in the paragraph; concrete details are well-chosen and incorporated; paragraphs are well-organized to create a coherent, carefully developed and supported argument; transitions between ideas are logical and each idea builds on the preceding; writer maintains focus and control of argument so that the point of each paragraph is always clear

Writing reflects a critical, analytical understanding of the text; through clear reasoning, writer draws sophisticated, insightful inferences from concrete details to support the connected ideas of the TS and thesis; inferences are developed so that all claims and points made are well-supported and persuasive; analysis focuses on both thematic and stylistic elements of the text, demonstrating writer’s ability to interpret the function of literary devices in the service of thematic meaning; appropriate balance of quotes & writer's analysis; writer is clearly engaged with and moved by his/her thinking process

Writing is academic in tone, demonstrating a clear sense of purpose and audience; writer's voice is evident -- confident and sophisticated; vocabulary and phrasing are academically appropriate, persuasive, and sophisticated without being pretentious

Essay includes a variety of sentences marked by varying opening words and structure; effective syntax and grammar demonstrate a mastery of writing conventions and serve the author’s purpose; consistent adherence to MLA guidelines; accurate Work Cited page; absence of misspellings, punctuation errors

B
(good)

Generally engaging opening; areas to be strengthened may include: presentation of general topic; development of transition between general opening and specific thesis statement; thesis statement is phrased as an argument but may be strengthened through clarification of the main idea being offered

Each topic sentence generally connects to the thesis but in one or more TS  the main idea may need to be clarified; concrete details are generally well-chosen though some may be irrelevant or insufficient as evidence to effectively support the thesis and/or TS; paragraphs are generally well-organized, although some transitions may be awkward and there may be gaps in the development of ideas; focus and control of argument may need improvement because the point of a paragraph may not always be clear

Writing generally reflects a critical, analytical understanding of the text but is uneven; inferences demonstrate interpretive ability but could be developed further to better explain significance of detail and support thesis and/or TS; some claims may be vague, generalized, or lacking in support; analysis could be stronger through focus on stylistic elements that create thematic meaning; some imbalance of quotes and writer's analysis

Writing is generally academic in tone; writer’s voice may not be consistently persuasive but is discernible; writing demonstrates an awareness of the purpose to persuade; vocabulary in some places may be simplistic or ineffective

Essay’s sentences generally effective but may lack appropriate variety (some repeated opening words and structure); syntax and grammar may be awkward in places (but not distracting); a few misspellings (but not distracting); consistent adherence to MLA guidelines; accurate Work Cited page

C
(satisfactory)

Opening is functional but too brief and/or simplistic, essay’s topic is apparent but needs to be developed to engage the reader; abrupt transition from first sentences to thesis statement; paragraph may be incoherent, jumping from one point to the next without developing a smooth progression of ideas; thesis may be too general, vague, or imprecisely phrased; thesis may not directly address the prompt (though still an argument that assesses the text)

Topic sentences are present but more than one is weak in the following areas: main idea not discernible; a fact about the text is summarized; unclear connection to thesis.  Concrete details are present but weak because they provide insufficient evidence to support TS and/or are irrelevant because they do not support an insightful inference.  Lack of coherent organization of ideas within individual paragraphs or from one paragraph to the next; abrupt transitions impede smooth flow of ideas; essay lacks consistent focus and control of argument; paragraph(s) may lack clear point(s); content of paragraphs does not consistently support or connect with thesis and/orTS

Writing demonstrates basic comprehension of the text but not a critical, analytical understanding of it, as reflected by one or more of the following: lack of focused, developed idea guiding essay; interpretive analysis inconsistent or unsubstantiated; frequent summary of plot details that retell the story; writer restates the content of cited concrete details rather than draws significant inferences about sub-textual meaning; little or no analysis of how stylistic elements of the text create meaning.  Writing marked and weakened by frequent generalizations, unsupported claims, assumptions, vague statements.

Writing tends to be mechanical in tone; writer’s voice is not discernible in the essay; writing demonstrates inconsistent awareness of the purpose to persuade; vocabulary tends to be simplistic, marked by instances of informal or imprecise diction

Essay sentences lack variety (frequently repeated opening words and sentence structure); awkward syntax and grammar confuse writer’s point and distract reader; misspellings, contractions, fragments, referring to “you” diminish academic nature of the writing and distract reader; inconsistent adherence to MLA guidelines (but does not compromise integrity of essay); Work Cited page may contain inaccuracies (but does not compromise the integrity of essay)

D
(marginal)

Opening is ineffective, poorly organized, and undeveloped (inappropriately brief); thesis may summarize plot point rather than present argument about text; thesis may not address the prompt at all; author and/or title of text may not be referenced properly (i.e. only author's last name, title incorrectly formatted)

Topic sentences absent or consistently lack focused ideas, either offering general, irrelevant comments or stating facts about the text; there is no discernible argument or point guiding essay; concrete details are absent or ineffective/ insufficient; consistent lack of coherent organization of ideas within paragraphs and from one paragraph to the next;  points of paragraphs are unclear

Writing demonstrates some awareness of text details but not a critical, analytical understanding of the text; points made are vague and unsubstantiated; essay lacks focus; no literary analysis present

Writing is mechanical in tone; writer’s voice is not discernible in essay; writing demonstrates no awareness of purpose to persuade; vocabulary is simplistic and/or inappropriate

Frequent syntax, grammar, misspelling errors that distract the reader; lack of adherence to MLA guidelines undermines integrity of essay; inaccurate Work Cited page compromises integrity of essay

F
(unacceptable)

Fails to fulfill the requirements of the assignment

Fails to fulfill the requirements of the assignment

Fails to fulfill the requirements of the assignment

Fails to fulfill the requirements of the assignment

No adherence to MLA guidelines (missing citations, lack of proper format); No Work Cited page

-Demonstrate complex and insightful knowledge about the text and sources

-Make larger and clear connections between texts and thesis( purpose)

- Understand the connections between text and audiece

Demonstrate goodl knowledge about the text and sources

-Make good connections between texts and thesis( purpose)

- Understand the connections between text and audiece

-Collects and presents highly specific, relevant and accurate evidence from the required work and other approriate sources

-supports main idea of each body paragraph with insightful evidence

-skillfully cites quotes and paraphrases

-skillfully introduces and discusses quotations

-Collects and presents specific, relevant and accurate evidence from the required work and other approriate sources

-supports main idea of each body paragraph with insightful evidence

-properly cites quotes and paraphrases

-properly introduces and discusses quotations

-Typed

-shows awareness of audience

-shows mastery of grammar and spelling

-

-Typed

-shows awareness of audience

-shows few spelling and grammatical errors

Uses own words and style and creativity

-uses varied sentence structure and sophisticated vocabulary

-uses standardized language

-Uses own words with some style and creativity

-uses varied sentence structure and some sophisticated vocabulary

-uses mostly standardized language

-Entices reader/audience with orginal, innovative, and daring use of ideas, language, narrative, imagery,etc.

-has clear purpose that is accessible to the reader/audience

-demonstrates expert use of literary and/or artistic devices

-contains powerful sensory images

-Capture and sustains reader/audience's attention with with orginal, innovative, and daring use of ideas, language, narrative, imagery,etc.

-conveys purpose

-demonstrates awareness of literary and/or artistic devices

-contains some images that are vivid and detailed