Elementary 4-Point Rubric

Score 4: Excellent

Develops ideas well and uses details throughout the essay.
Has good organization and stays focused.
Contains some varied sentence structure.
Displays good word choices.
Contains little or no errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation; errors do not prevent understanding.

Persuasive mode

Clearly states the position and effectively convinces the reader of a certain viewpoint.

Score 3: Sufficient

Generally develops ideas; may have some details.
Provides a clear order of information; provides pieces of information that are generally related to each other.
Generally has simple sentences but may show some examples of sentence variety.
Contains mostly simple word choices but may show some examples of good word choices.
Contains errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation that generally do not prevent understanding.

Persuasive mode

Clearly states the position and persuades the reader.

Score 2: Uneven

Provides limited information and makes very little attempt at development; may be a list or an outline.
Is not organized in most of the essay or does not provide information in the correct order.
Displays uneven control over sentence structure.
May have some poor word choices.
Contains errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation that sometimes prevent understanding.

Persuasive mode

While a position is stated, either it is not clear or not developed.

Score 1: Unsatisfactory

Attempts a response, but may only copy the prompt or be brief.
Is not organized or too brief to find organization.
Displays limited control over sentence structure.
Contains incorrect word choices throughout most of the essay.
Is characterized by misspellings, missing words, and incorrect word order; errors in grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation severely prevent understanding throughout the essay.

Persuasive mode

Little effort is made to persuade, either because there is no position taken or no support is given.