Yesterday, I unveiled the March Madness Reading for Information lesson plan along with a March Madness writing assignment. Today, I’m going to toss in a rubric for the 4-paragraph essay.
Category | Mastery | Good | OK | Not Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction (W 9-12. 1a,d) | A clearly written thesis statement makes a precise claim and appears as the last sentence of an attention-getting introduction. | A clearly written thesis statement makes a precise claim and appears as the last sentence of the introduction. | A clearly written thesis statement appears as the last sentence of the introduction, but is not precise or does not take a stand. | An attempt at writing a thesis statement was made, but it's not very precise or clear. There is little effort in grabbing the reader's attention. |
| Evidence (W 9-12.1b; W 9-12.2; RI 9-12.1) | Relevant evidence and logic supports precise claim(s). Opposing claims and evidence are considered and treated logically. | Relevant evidence and logic supports precise claim(s). Opposing claims are acknowledged, but not necessarily considered or treated logically. | Relevant evidence and logic supports precise claim(s). | There is evidence, but it's not used logically or in support of precise claims. |
| Organization (W. 9-12. 1a-1e; W.9-12.3a; W.9-12.4) | Essay contains an introduction, body, and conclusion that's arranged logically with appropriate transitions. | Essay contains an introduction, body and conclusion, but may not be arranged logically or may not have enough appropriate transitions. | There is an introduction, body and conclusion. | It looks like there's an introduction, body and conclusion, but there's not a lot of logic in the essay's sequence. |
| Conventions (W. 9-12.4; W 9-12.10; L. 9-12.1-2) | Essay contains no errors that distract the reader. | Essay contains 1-2 errors that distract the reader. | Essay contains 3-5 errors that distract the reader. | Essay contains more than 5 errors that distract the reader. |
Here are some links to support some of the requirements of this essay.
- How to Write the Introduction to an Essay
- How to Hook the Reader in the Introduction of an Essay
- How to Write a Conclusion
- How to Use Evidence in Writing
I also have a nice, little pdf on teaching the types of essays. It includes “How to Write a Persuasive Essay,” “How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay” and “How to Write a Problem/Solution Essay.” Each lesson contains common core objectives, instructions, notes, and a graphic organizer. It’s $2.50. Buy it here. If you prefer, you can pick up a similar set of lessons for “How to Write an Article Critique,” “How to Write an Informational Article,” “How to Write a Literary Analysis” and “How to Write a Tall Tale” for a $1.50.
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