In Scoring, consider the grid of  written 
language

Inadequate Command

Limited Command

Partial Command

Adequate Command

Strong Command

Score

1

2

3

4

5

Content & Organization

·  May lack opening and/or closing

·  May lack opening and/or closing

·  May lack opening and/or closing

·  Generally has opening and/ or closing

·  Opening and closing

.

·  Minimal response to topic; uncertain focus

·  Attempts to focus

·  May drift or shift focus

·  Usually has single focus

·  Single focus

·  Single focus

·  Sense of unity and coherence

·  Key ideas developed

.

·  No planning evident: disorganized

·  Attempts organization

·  Few, if any, transactions between ideas

·  Some lapses or flaws in organization

·  May lack some transactions between ideas

·  Ideas loosely connected

·  Transition evident

·  Logical progression of ideas

·  Moderately fluent

·  Attempts compositional risks

.

·  Details random, inappropriate, or barely apparent

·  Details lack elaboration, i.e., highlight paper

·  Repetitious details

·  Several unelaborated details

·  Uneven development of details

·  Details appropriate and varied

Usage

·  No apparent control

·  Severe/numerous errors

·  Numerous errors

·  Errors/ patterns of errors may be evident

·  Some errors that do not interfere with meaning

·  Few errors

Sentence Construction

·  Assortment of incomplete and/or incorrect sentences

·  Excessive monotony/same structure

·  Numerous errors

·  Little variety in syntax

·  Some errors

·  Some variety

·  Generally correct

·  Variety in syntax appropriate and effective 

·  Few errors

Mechanics

·  Errors so severe they detract from meaning

·  Numerous serious errors

·  Patterns of errors evident

·  No consistent pattern of errors

·  Some errors that do not interfere with meaning

·  Few errors

Content & Organization

Usage

Sentence Construction

Mechanics

·  Communicates intended message to intended audience

·  Relates to topic

·  Opening and closing

·  Focused

·  Logical progression of ideas

·  Transitions

·  Appropriate details and information

·  Tense formation

·  Subject-verb agreement

·  Pronouns usage/agreement

·  Word choice/meaning

·  Proper modifiers

·  Variety of type, structure, and length

·  Correct construction

·  Spelling

·  Capitalization

·  Punctuation

In Scoring, consider the grid of  written
language

Inadequate Command

Limited Command

Partial Command

Adequate Command

Strong Command

Superior Command

Score

1

2

3

4

5

6

Content & Organiza-
tion
(see below)

·  May lack opening and/or closing

·  May lack opening and/or closing

·  May lack opening and/or closing

·  Generally has opening and/or closing

·  Opening and closing

·  Opening and closing

.

·  Minimal response to topic; uncertain focus

·  Attempts to focus

·  May drift or shift focus

·  Usually has single focus

·  Single focus

·  Single focus

·  Sense of unity and coherence

·  Key ideas developed

·  Single, distinct focus

·  Unified and coherent

·  Well-developed

.

·  No planning evident; disorganized

·  Attempts organization

·  Few, if any, transitions between ideas

·  Some lapses or flaws in organization

·  May lack some transitions between ideas

·  Ideas loosely connected

·  Transition evident

·  Logical progression of ideas

·  Moderately fluent

·  Attempts compositional risks

·  Logical progression of ideas

·  Fluent, cohesive

·  Composi-
tional risks successful

.

·  Details random, inappropriate, or barely apparent

·  Details lack elaboration, i.e., highlight paper

·  Repetitious details

·  Several unelaborated details

·  Uneven development of details

·  Details appropriate and varied

·  Details effective, vivid, explicit, and/or pertinent

Usage
(see below)

·  No apparent control

·  Severe/
numerous errors

·  Numerous errors

·  Errors/ patterns of errors may be evident

·  Some errors that do not interfere with meaning

·  Few errors

·  Very few, if any, errors

Sentence Construc-
tion
(see below)

·  Assortment of incomplete and/or incorrect sentences

·  Excessive monotony/ same structure

·  Numerous errors

·  Little variety in syntax

·  Some errors

·  Some errors that do not interfere with meaning

·  Few errors

·  Very few, if any, errors

Mechanics
(see below)

·  Errors so severe they detract from meaning

·  Numerous serious errors

·  Patterns of errors evident

·  No consistent pattern of errors

·  Some errors that do not interfere with meaning

·  Few errors

·  Very few, if any, errors

Non-Scorable Responses

NR = No Response

Student wrote too little to allow reliable judgment of his/her writing.

OT = Off Topic/ Off Task

Student did not write on the assigned topic/task, or the student attempted to copy the prompt.

NE = Not English

Student wrote in a language other than English.

WF = Wrong Format

Student refused to write on the topic, or the writing task folder was blank.

Content & Organization

Usage

Sentence Construction

Mechanics

·  Communicates intended message to intended audience

·  Relates to topic

·  Opening and closing

·  Focused

·  Logical progression of ideas

·  Transitions

·  Appropriate details and information

·  Tense formation

·  Subject-verb agreement

·  Pronouns usage/agreement

·  Word choice/meaning

·  Proper modifiers

·  Variety of type, structure, and length

·  Correct construction

• Spelling
• Capitalization
• Punctuation

Score Point Scale

0

1

2

3

4

Content & Organization

·  central focus

·  relevant supporting details

·  use of transitions and other devices to ensure cohesiveness

no attention to opening or closing; no focus; no organization of ideas

minimal attention to opening or closing; some details but no elaboration; no transitions; unable to focus

limited attention to opening and/or closing; progression of ideas but flawed or uneven; may attempt to use transitions

general attention to opening and closing; sense of focus; some use of transitions, but uneven development may be overlooked

consistent attention to opening and closing; single, distinct focus; organization and elaboration of ideas; logical and cohesive use of transitions

Sentence Construction

·  subordination/
coordination

·  sentence fragments and run-on sentences

·  sentence combining

·  additional words to complete meaning

incomplete/incorrect sentences

some sentence construction but marked by monotony and/or awkward syntax; no sense of rhetorical modes

some control of syntax; simple sentence structure, but little or no variety

control of syntax; eliminates excessive monotony; varied sentence structure

syntactic and rhetorical sophistication; subordination and coordination; avoids wordiness

Usage

·  verbs (tense/agreement)

·  pronouns (number/agreement)

·  parallel structure

·  correct modifiers

numerous and/or serious errors ignored; inability to apply rules

some errors corrected but generally inconsistent application of rules

inconsistent in correcting errors; knowledge of rules but inability to utilize them effectively or consistently

errors corrected, but some may be overlooked; general knowledge and application of rules

knowledge and application of rules, leaving few, if any, errors

Mechanics

·  spelling

·  punctuation

·  capitalization

numerous and serious errors are ignored; inability to apply rules

inability to apply rules; errors, but inconsistently corrected; may create some errors where none existed

knowledge of rules, but some inconsistency in application; patterns of errors remain

errors, though some may be overlooked; knowledge and application of rules

errors, leaving few, if any; knowledge and application of rules

Word choice

no attention to word choice

limited word choice

relies on familiar vocabulary

varied vocabulary with some use of rich words

consistent use of rich words and images to develop topic