| Criteria | Advanced (4) | Proficient (3) | Approaching Proficiency (2) | Developing (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideas | Writing successfully presents the topic in a novel or unique way. Writing includes excellent and specific concrete detail and insightful commentary. | Writing presents the topic in an interesting way. Writing includes good concrete detail and some insightful commentary. | Writing presents the topic in an ordinary way. Writing includes concrete detail, but commentary is obvious, simplistic, or generic. | Writing presents topic in an ordinary way. Concrete details and commentary are either weak or missing. |
| Organization | Writing has a compelling and logical flow of ideas. | Writing has a logical flow of ideas. | Organization is rough but workable. It sometimes gets off topic. | Writing is aimless and disorganized. |
| Topic Sentences and Transitions | Paragraphs have focused and poignant topic sentences and smooth, almost seamless transitions. | Paragraphs have focused topic sentences and obvious transitions. | Paragraphs have topic sentences that need to be more focused and rough transitions. | Paragraphs lack topic sentences and transitions. |
| Voice | Writing reveals your unique personality and view of the world, leaving the reader to want to know more about who you are. | Writing reveals some of your thoughts and feelings, but needs more personality behind it. | Writing is bland. There is either no hint of a real person behind the writing. | Writing is too informal. It sounds like you don’t care about the topic of the essay. |
| Word Choice | Writing uses words that are striking and fresh but natural, varied, and vivid. | Writing makes some quality but also some routine or ordinary word choices. | Writing uses words that are dull or uninspired. Writing sounds like you are trying too hard to impress. | Writing uses the same words over and over. Some words may be confusing or inappropriate. |
| Grammar Usage and Sentence Fluency | Writing uses proper grammar 100% of the time. Sentences flow well and vary in construction and length. | Writing has a few grammar problems. Sentences flow well but do not vary much. | Writing has enough grammar errors to distract a reader. Some sentences do not flow well and/or are not varied at all. | Writing has numerous grammar mistakes and poor sentence construction that make the paper hard to read. |
| Spelling and Punctuation | Writing uses correct punctuation and spelling 100% of the time. | Writing has a few errors to fix, but generally uses correct conventions. | Writing has enough errors in the essay to distract a reader. | Writing has numerous errors that make the paper hard to read. |
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