English

GRADE

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; 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).

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.

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.

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