Genre Fiction – Plot Focused Rubric

The short story will:

Exceptional / Good / Needs Improvement
Have a Logical Flow / Easy to follow; flashbacks and foreshadowing make sense; key events are logical and well – explained; story starts crisply, builds to a climax & ends powerfully / Still easy to follow; flashbacks and foreshadowing make sense with maybe a few points of confusion; key events are logical and adequately explained; story starts crisply, builds to a climax & ends well / Hard to follow in spots; flashbacks and foreshadowing cause unnecessary confusion; key events may seem illogical or inadequately explained; story may start too slowly, fail to build to a satisfying climax &/or ends weakly
Reveal a “good” theme / Very meaningful; well-developed throughout the story; not too obvious but discernable to the intelligent reader / Satisfactorily meaningful; consistently developed throughout the story; may be a bit too obvious or not entirely discernable to the intelligent reader / Somewhat meaningful but perhaps a bit too sophomoric; may be inconsistently developed throughout the story; likely a bit too obvious or not entirely discernable to the intelligent reader
Build suspense with unresolved questions / Compels the reader want to read on; fascination level is high – reader is intrigued / Invites the reader want to read on; fascination level is satisfying – reader is interested / Discourages the reader from reading on; fascination level is low – reader loses interest
Create empathy with character(s) / Character(s) is powerfully empathetic; we care about what happens to him/her; he/she seems real to us / Character(s) is generally empathetic; we care about what happens to him/her; he/she seems fairly real to us / Character(s) has limited empathetic qualities; we don’t care much about what happens to him/her; he/she seems cardboard, stereotyped, or uninteresting
Fit the genre satisfactorily / Short story clearly and deftly fits into its genre in terms of plot, setting, tone, vocabulary, imagery, etc. / Short story clearly fits into its genre in terms of plot, setting, tone, vocabulary, imagery, etc. / Short story seems general with limited attention paid to its genre’s plot, setting, tone, vocabulary, imagery, etc.
Mechanically sound, especially in avoiding verb tense shifts / Very few common errors, esp. unneeded tense shifts. / Very few common errors, esp. unneeded tense shifts / Noticeable common errors, esp. unneeded tense shifts
May have any of the following; “A” stories will certainly have at least 3 of these: / *Irony *Action/adventure *Unexpected twists
*Vivid, varied imagery *Precise, Vivid Diction (Vocabulary)
*Avoids inappropriate point of view shifts *Strong dialogue
*Avoids wordiness & unnecessary detail

Overall Grade:______of 100

Genre Fiction – Plot Focused Peer Reading Guide

*To receive full credit, the peer reader must support their opinion, both positive and negative.

Author:______

Peer Reader:______

1. Logical Flow (Plot)

a. Is the story easy to follow?

b. Do any flashbacks and foreshadowing make sense?

c. Are the key events logical and well–explained?

d. Does the story start crisply, builds to a climax, & end powerfully?

2. Theme Revelation

a. Is the theme meaningful?

b. Is the theme well-developed throughout the story?

c. Is the theme discernable to the intelligent reader but not too obvious?

3. Suspense Building

a. Does the story compels the reader want to read on?

b. Is the fascination level high? Is the reader intrigued?

4. Character Empathy

a. Is the reader able to empathize with the character(s)? Do you care about what happens to him/her?

b. Does the character seem real to you?

5. Genre Authenticity

Does the story fit into its genre in terms of plot, setting, tone, vocabulary, imagery, etc?

6. Mechanical Accuracy and Precision

a. Circle any errors you find in the story. List the types of errors here.

b. Double check the story for verb tense shifts – be sure to clearly mark them on the writing itself.

7. Value Added Qualities

Use the checklist below to tell the author what exceptional qualities you find in his/her story. Use the space to the right to give them additional advice or comments

_____ *Irony

_____ *Action/adventure

_____ *Unexpected twists

_____ *Vivid, varied imagery

_____ *Precise, Vivid Diction (Vocabulary)

_____ *Strong dialogue

_____ * Avoids wordiness & unnecessary detail

_____ * Avoids inappropriate point of view shifts