English 5 paragraph essay

ENG 102 Composition II Last Update: October 2019

Five-Paragraph Essay Rubric

Name: Name

Non Existent Poor Average High

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Content

Mechanics

Structure

Fluency

Thesis Each box in the table is worth 2 points.

Final Percentage: % Final Score:

General Comments ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ DEFINITIONS:

 Content. The essay matches the subject requested for the assignment. Five full paragraphs (for ENG 102).

 Mechanics. MLA format including paper header, four-line paper heading, paper title, line spacing, font, indentions, margins, in-text citation setup, works cited section, and so on. Proofreading and grammar.

 Structure. An introductory paragraph with the essay thesis as the last sentence. Three body paragraphs beginning with topic sentences that support the essay thesis as presented in the intro paragraph. A final paragraph that summarizes arguments made in the essay as a whole. Paragraphs maintain focus on proving the specific arguments and claims made in the topic sentence including use of evidence-based argumentation to support all claims. Use of third-person point of view for the academic essay.

 Fluency. Ease of flow and logical transition from one topic and paragraph to the next, as well as flow of wording within sentences.

 Thesis. The thesis is a complete sentence that expresses the main point or claim/argument to be proven over the course of the essay. An effective essay thesis is debatable (note: plot summary is not debatable).

IMPORTANT NOTE

If a submitted essay fails to respond to the assignment instructions, then the submission is not the assignment and will

receive zero points—i.e., the five grading categories listed above, even if the writing is flawless, receive zero points if

the essay fails to respond to the assignment instructions. For example, if the assignment instructions requests an essay

about a choice of specified literary devices and a choice of specified stories, but the submitted essay focuses on

discussion of a subject, literary device, or a story outside of the specified lists, then that essay fails to fulfill the

assignment and is thus worth zero points.