IDC4U – Online Journalism Project Rubric

Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Know your audience / Off base or directed at an improper audience. / Some points consider proper audience but some improper considerations / Directed at proper audience. Effectively considers the needs of the audience / Exceeds expectations. Considers both the needs of the audience as well as potential interests or issues.
Think first and think differently / Considers limited point of view or does not consider all information available. Little or no evidence of planning. / Considers some points of view or has some evidence of planning. Follows through on plan / Develops and consults a plan for production of the piece. Follows the steps set out for production of the final piece. / Develops a complete plan and executes it perfectly in completing the assigned piece. Makes alterations to original plan when needed and also seeks out new opportunities for related stories.
Tailor your news gathering / Does not focus on the story. Simply tells the information instead of developing the story. / Somewhat considers the different elements of the story in terms of visuals and the medium in question. / Takes time to consider the elements of the story in terms of medium and message. Uses the personalities involved in the story. / Expertly puts focus on strongest aspects of the material and allows the information involved to tell the story. Uses techniques to emphasize production details.
Write lively and tight / Long-winded and often off-topic. Little or no focus on the topic and uses a style unbefitting the genre. / Some instances of concise writing. Limited diction or format. / Uses language and diction befitting the topic. Consistent language and tone throughout. / Uses language to the exactitudes of the topic, often incorporating specific language and style from the given vernacular.
Explain / Only tells what happens. / Gives some explanation of importance of story being told but mostly focuses on the raw story. / Mixes equal parts of the background story with consideration of its importance and implications for the larger world. / Considers the story itself as a supplement for the overall piece. Expertly combines fact with consideration of implications and results of the action in the piece.
Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 / Level 4
Never bury the lead / Little or no evidence of a lead. / Lead is present but is found deep within the story / Acceptable lead / Lead captures interest of audience almost immediately and elicits a response.
Don’t pile on / Continuously adds information that has been covered already in the piece. / Some redundancies exist within the story. Repetition of facts and developments is tedious / All aspects of the story are told in a proper format without re-stating key information. / Expert use of all points of information in an order that is inventive and fresh.
Short but sweet / Overly lengthy with little direction / Somewhat repetitive and redundant / Concise and too the point / Direct and concise with no extraneous words.
Break it up / Long blocks of text or groupings of images. / Some long sections of text or pairings of images. / Sections with subheadings or bullets when necessary and concise sentences. (No more than one breath per sentence) / Small, easily digestible sections with subheadings and images where appropriate. Includes charts, graphs and interactive material whenever possible.
Eliminate the guesswork / Confusing or absent headlines. No insight given to the piece’s topic or message. / Headline is a pun or failed joke. Does not allow for a judgment to be made by the reader independently of the story. / Headline conveys the topic and content of the story. / Headline conveys the topic and content while also enticing the reader to follow the story and future ones from the author
Do not fear the link / Few or no links to other stories. / Some links to other information. Some may be broken or incomplete or not relevant / Links are present that offer an extension to the story and pertinent information for the reader. / Links offer more developed information and the ability for the reader to discern how much more they want to know.
Take risks… but remember the basics / Several flaws, errors and misspellings. Facts may be incorrect or misleading. / Some errors take away from the effectiveness of the piece. / Few or no errors – does not take away from the overall effectiveness of the piece. / Flawless execution of the piece. No assumptions or unconfirmed materials are included.