Grade 8

Rubric

Writing

Outstanding 4.0=A

The essay:

• Clearly addresses all parts of the writing task.
• Provides a meaningful thesis and maintains a consistent tone and purposefully illustrates control of organization.
• Thoughtfully supports the thesis and main ideas with specific details and examples.
• Provides a variety of sentence types and uses precise, descriptive language.
• Demonstrates a clear sense of audience.
• Contains few, if any, errors in the conventions of the English language.  Errors are generally rough draft in nature.

• Authoritatively defend a position with precise and relevant evidence and convincingly addresses the readers' concerns, biases, and expectations.

Strong 3.0=B

The essay:

• Addresses all parts of the writing task.
• Provides a thesis and maintains a consistent tone and focus and illustrates a control of organization.
• Supports the thesis and main ideas with details and examples.
• Provides a variety of sentence types and uses some descriptive language.
• Demonstrates a general sense of audience.
• Contains some errors in conventions of the English language.  Errors do not interfere with the readers' understanding of the essay.

• Generally defend a position with relevant evidence and addresses the readers' concerns, biases, and expectations.
  

Capable 2.0=C

The essay:

• Addresses only parts of the writing task.
• May provide a thesis and maintains an inconsistent tone and focus and illustrates little, if any control of organization.
• May support the thesis and main ideas with limited, if any, details and/or examples.
• Provides few, if any, types of sentences and uses basic, predictable language.
• Demonstrates little or no sense of audience.
• Contains several errors in the conventions of the English language.  Errors may interfere with the readers' understanding of the essay.

• Defend a position with little, if any, evidence and addresses the readers' concerns, biases, and expectations.
  

Developing 1.0=D

The essay may be too short to evaluate or:

• Addresses only one part of the writing task.
• May provide a weak, if any thesis, fails to maintain a focus, and illustrates little, or no control of organization.
• Fails to support ideas with details and/or examples.
• Provides no sentence variety and uses limited vocabulary.
• Demonstrates no sense of audience.
• Contains serious errors in the conventions of the English language.  Errors interfere with the readers' understanding of the essay.

• fails to defend a position with any evidence and fails to address the readers' concerns, biases, and expectations.