Synthesis Assignment/ Descriptive Writing Rubric Advanced—10 Proficient—8 Needs Improvement—6 Not Yet—4 Content Lead Strong lead makes the reader want to find out more Good lead but could be altered though the reader still wants to continue Lead is unremarkable and needs some work Lead is unimaginative or too obvious and needs to be rewritten Idea Development Length of paper is appropriate and flows smoothly from one idea to the next A few instances of clutter and/or not enough elaboration, but for the most part flows evenly Good ideas but at times overshadowed by too much and/or too simplistic writing making paper seem choppy Paper is far too long/short and loses focus or is boring because of overwriting and or no elaboration Organization Paper has excellent structure and is well organized Paper has structure and organization though lacks unity because of occasional confusing details Paper has some structure evident but at times is hard to follow or is not well organized Paper’s structure is greatly lacking, interfering with reader’s ability to understand piece Voice Author’s voice is clearly evident and piece is thoughtful and well-written in a sophisticated and unique style Author’s voice and personality is evident and effort was clearly put into the piece making piece enjoyable to read Author’s voice is developing and shows some effort but at times the piece needs more work Author’s voice is not evident and the entire story needs more work Word Choice Paper uses rich and sophisticated word choice and varied language throughout Paper uses good word choice and some varied wording Paper has simplistic word choice and some words are at times repetitive Paper has too simplistic word choice and is far too repetitive Sensory Details Paper is rich in sensory details and shows rather than tells creating a vivid picture without overloading the reader Paper has some strong sensory details making it enjoyable to read but there may be too few or not enough details, at times telling rather than showing Paper has too few sensory details or far too many so the piece mainly tells rather than shows or use clichés causing reader to lose interest Paper is lacking in sensory details and tells rather than shows using empty words and too many clichés Closing The final sentences clinch the piece well leaving the reader completely satisfied The ending is good but does not fully clinch the paper, leaving the reader wanting more The ending is too simple—it doesn’t fit the flow of the story or contains weak language leaving the reader confused There is no real ending leaving the reader unsatisfied Advanced—10 Proficient—8 Needs Improvement—6 Not Yet—4 Mechanics Format Paper has a proper heading and centered title, typed @ 12 point font, double spaced with proper margins. Has most of the proper formatting but wrong font, or spacing, etc. Missing most aspects of formatting but not all. No regard for format. Sentence Structure Verb Tense Paper is well written using a variety of simple and complex sentence structures creating a smooth rhythm to the piece Verb tense remains consistent throughout Papers has a few sentence errors and/or is lacking in variety or complexity Verb tense is mainly consistent, though sometimes moves from past to present Paper is beginning to be difficult to understand as there are many poorly constructed sentences or fragments Verb tenses are inconsistent throughout, affecting reader’s understanding of paper Paper is difficult to read because of too simplistic sentence structure and/or many fragments Verb tenses are so inconsistent, paper is difficult to understand Conventions—spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization Paper is proofread well with only 1 or 2 errors Paper has between 3 to 5 errors Paper has between 6 to 8 errors as proofreading was not done well Paper has more than 9 errors and shows little to no evidence of proofreading Comments: Grade _________