Cy‐Fair ISD Expository Writing Rubric for Grades 3 – 5 Focus Detail ACCOMPLISHED 4+ 4 4‐ SATISFACTORY 3+ 3 3‐ (100‐95%) (94%) (90%) (88%) (84%) (80%) 
Structure is clearly appropriate to purpose (to explain) and prompt 
Structure is mostly appropriate to purpose (to explain) and prompt 
Essay is skillfully crafted 
Essay is clear 
Organizational strategies suited to expository task 
Organizational strategies adequately suited to expository task 
Ideas strongly relate to a clear, central idea 
Most ideas relate to clear, central idea 
Focused on prompt topic 
Focused on prompt topic 
Unified, thoughtful essay 
Coherent essay may have minor lapses in focus 
Logical and well controlled 
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Meaningful transitions 
Strong sentence‐to‐
sentence connections show relationships among ideas and enhance flow of essay 
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SCORE POINT 2: LIMITED 2+ 2 2‐ (78%) (74%) SCORE POINT 1: VERY LIMITED 1 (70%) 
Structure is evident, but not always appropriate to purpose (to explain) or prompt 
Essay is not always clear 
(69‐50%)

Structure is inappropriate to purpose (to explain) or prompt 
Essay lacks clarity and direction Organizational strategies somewhat suited to expository task 
Organizational strategies marginally suited to expository task 
Most ideas generally relate to prompt topic , but central idea is weak or somewhat unclear 
Most ideas generally relate to prompt topic, but central idea is missing, unclear, or illogical 
Essay may have irrelevant details 
Essay may have extraneous details or abruptly shift from idea to idea Generally logical and controlled 
Not always logical and controlled 
Unclear and difficult to follow Mostly meaningful transitions Sufficient sentence‐to‐
sentence connections show relationships among ideas and support flow of essay 
Wordiness or repetition cause minor disruptions 
Wordiness or repetition cause serious disruptions 
Weak transitions 
Lacks transitions 
Weak sentence‐to‐sentence connections do not support relationships among ideas or flow of essay 
Lack of sentence‐to‐
sentence connections present ideas in random or illogical ways 
Inappropriate, general, or brief details 
Inappropriate, vague, or insufficient details 
Minimal development 
Weak development Specific, well‐chosen details and examples add substance 
Specific, appropriate details and examples add some substance 
Effective development 
Sufficient development 
Thoughtful and engaging 
Some thoughtfulness 
Little or no thoughtfulness 
Weak link to prompt 
Thorough understanding of expository writing task 
Good understanding of expository task 
Limited understanding of expository task 
Lack of understanding of expository task 
Connects ideas in interesting ways 
Original response to prompt is not formulaic 
Response is sometimes formulaic 
Response is vague and confused 
Purposeful and precise 
Mostly clear and specific 
General or imprecise 
Vague or limited Keen awareness of expository purpose 
Awareness of expository purpose 
Basic awareness of expository purpose 
Limited or no awareness of expository purpose Word Choice 
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Appropriate tone 
Appropriate tone 
Inappropriate tone 
Inappropriate tone 
Words strongly add to quality and clarity 
Words usually add to quality and clarity 
Some words may not contribute to quality and clarity 
Word choice may impede quality and clarity Sentences Thoughtfulness SCORE POINT 3: 

Purposeful, varied, and well‐controlled sentences enhance effectiveness 
Varied and adequately controlled sentences mostly contribute to essay 
Awkward or somewhat controlled sentences limit effectiveness 
Simplistic, awkward, or uncontrolled sentences significantly limit effectiveness 
Consistent command of sentence boundaries, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar/usage 
Adequate command of sentence boundaries, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar/usage 
Partial command of sentence boundaries, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar/usage 
Little or no command of sentence boundaries, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar/usage 
Minor errors do not take away from fluency or clarity 
Some errors, but few, if any, disruptions to fluency or clarity 
Distracting errors may create minor disruptions to fluency or clarity 
Serious and persistent errors create disruptions to fluency or clarity Conventions USE OF LANGUAGE / CONVENTIONS DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS Progression ORGANIZATION Structure SCORE POINT 4: