Grades 6-11 Informative/Explanatory Rubric

Domain / Score 4 / Score 3 / Score 2 / Score 1 / 0
Purpose, Focus, and Organization / Response is fully sustained, and consistently focused to TAP* with clear controlling idea and effective organizational structure creating coherence and completeness.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Strongly maintained controlling idea with little or no loosely related material
  • Skillful use of effective transitional strategies to clarify relationships between and among ideas
  • Logical progression of ideas from beginning to end with satisfying introduction and conclusion
  • Appropriate style and tone established and maintained
/ Response is adequately sustained and generally focused to TAP*; and it has a clear controlling idea and evident organizational structure with a sense of completeness.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Controlling idea maintained, though some loosely related material may be present
  • Adequate use of a variety of transitional strategies clarify the relationships between and among ideas
  • Adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end with sufficient introduction and conclusion
  • Appropriate style and tone established
/ Response is somewhat sustained within TAP*, but may include loosely related or extraneous material; and it may have controlling idea with inconsistent organizational structure.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Focused controlling idea but insufficiently sustained or unclear
  • Inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety
  • Uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end with inadequate introduction and conclusion
/ Response is related to topic but may show little/no awareness of TAP*; and it may have little or no controlling idea or discernible organizational structure.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Confusing or ambiguous ideas
  • Inappropriate/Few/No transitional strategies
  • Frequent extraneous ideas impeding understanding
  • Too brief to demonstrate knowledge of focus or organization

Evidence and Elaboration / Response provides thorough and convincing support, citing evidence for the controlling idea that includes effective use of sources, facts, and details.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Smoothly integrated, thorough, and relevant evidence, including precise references to sources
  • Effective use of various elaboration techniques that demonstrates understanding of topic and text (ex. quotations, definitions, examples)
  • Clear, effective expression of ideas, using precise language
  • Academic and domain-specific language clearly appropriate
  • Variety of sentence structures
/ Response provides adequate support, citing evidence for the controlling idea that includes use of sources, facts, and details.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Generally integrated and relevant evidence from sources, thoughreferences may be general or imprecise
  • Adequate use of some elaboration techniques
  • Adequate expression of ideas with mix of precise/general language
  • Domain-specific vocabulary appropriate for audience and purpose
  • Some variation in sentence structures
/ Response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for controlling idea that includes partial use of sources, facts, and details.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Weakly integrated evidence from sources, facts, and details; erratic or irrelevant
  • Repetitive or ineffective use of elaboration techniques
  • Imprecise or simplistic expression of ideas
  • Some use of inappropriate domain-specific vocabulary
  • Limited variation in sentence structures
/ Response provides minimalsupport/evidence for controlling idea, including little, if any, use of sources, facts, and details.
The response includes most of the following:
  • Minimal, absent, erroneous, or irrelevant evidence or citations from source material
  • Expression of ideas is vague, unclear, or confusing
  • Limited, often inappropriate, language or domain-specific vocabulary
  • Simple sentence structures

Conventions of Standard English / Response demonstrates adequate command of basic conventions. *Response may include the following:
  • Some minor errors in usage but no patterns of errors
  • Adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, sentences and spelling
/ Response demonstrates a partial command of basic conventions. *Response may include the following:
  • Various errors in usage
Inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, sentences, and spelling / Response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions.
  • Frequent and severe errors
  • Errors impede understanding

*TAP = Topic, Audience, Purpose / Introductions and conclusions do not have to be paragraphs. ~This one-page rubric has the essence of the FSA rubric. Refer to FSA rubric for exact wording. ~ Across each row, select appropriate score description for that domain. Add scores together for PM score. Please provide feedback by domain to students.

K-12 Academic ServicesMarion County Public Schools November 2014