Scoring Rubric for Written Assignments
Score
6
Superior
Purpose & Audience
Takes ownership of purpose, uses
assignment to explore topic’s
intrinsic interest, shows full
understanding of issues, engages
audience, uses format to enhance
clarity
Organization
Focuses consistently on
clearly expressed central idea,
establishes strong unity and
coherence among ideas,
guides readers smoothly with
paragraph structure and
transitions, opens and closes
with strength
Development
Explores ideas vigorously, supports
points fully, balances general and
specific skillfully, chooses evidence
(subjective or objective)
appropriately, reasons persuasively
making useful distinctions
Language
Employs words with fluency, develops
concise standard English sentences,
balances a variety of sentence structures
effectively, conveys lively consistent voice
5
Collegiate
Address purpose effectively,
manages assignment skillfully,
shows good understanding of
issues , establishes credibility, uses
appropriate format and style
Clear central idea is steady
and supported by paragraph
progression, unity and
coherence are evident,
paragraph structures and
transitions are competent,
opens and closes effectively
Supports all key ideas with examples
and details, finds suitable levels of
generality and of subjectivity, makes
logical connections and clear
distinctions
Word forms are correct, sentence structure
is effective, applies conventions of standard
English, presence of a few errors is not
distracting
4
In
Progress
Establishes and adheres to
purpose, fulfills assignment, shows
basic understanding of key issues,
style steady, format mostly correct
Establishes central idea,
paragraph structures
adequate to convey
continuity among ideas,
opening and closing devices
sufficient to frame essay
Supports some ideas with examples
and details, shows some ability to
choose among levels of generality
and subjectivity, clarifies some
distinctions
Word forms are mostly correct, sentence
structure adequate for clarity, few areas of
usage deviations, errors minimally
distracting
3
Essential
Purpose clear, mostly fulfills
assignment, shows need for more
study of issues, style varies, format
or visual presentation ragged
Central idea present but
wavering, unsteady use of
paragraph structures,
problems with consistency or
progression of ideas
Supports some generalizations with
details, instability in levels of
subjectivity, distinctions and
reasoning only implied or tangled
Word forms and sentence structures are
adequate to convey basic meaning, errors
cause noticeable distraction
2
Basic
Purpose partly clear, incompletely
address topic or directions, grasp of
issues minimal, inappropriate style,
careless visual presentation
Central idea is identifiable,
some repetition or digression,
weak paragraph structures,
tangled progression of ideas
Presents ideas in general terms,
support for ideas unsuitably
personal or distant, distinctions
need clarification, reasoning unclear
Word forms and sentence structures are
unreliable, meaning sometimes unclear,
errors seriously distracting
1
Entry
Purpose unclear, failure to address
topic or directions, weak grasp of
issues, visual presentation poor
No central idea, no clear logic
or focus, many repetitions or
digressions, lack of evident
structure
Most ideas are unsupported,
confusion between personal and
external evidence, lack of needed
distinctions, reasoning flawed
Word use is unclear, sentence structures
inadequate for clarity, errors obscure
meaning
Developed by Capital Community College’s Committee on Writing Standards