| Criteria | 1 – Not Meeting Expectations | 2 – Approaching | 3 – Meeting | 4 – Exceeding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orients readers skillfully by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters. | Does not establish a situation for readers; narrator and/or characters are lacking or undefined. | Partially orients readers by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters in an unclear way. | Orients readers by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters. | Orients readers skillfully by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters. |
| Organizes a clear event sequence that unfolds naturally. | Events unfold in a random or confusing manner so that reader cannot follow a sequence. | Organizes an event sequence that may be occasionally confusing or have logical gaps. | Organizes an event sequence that unfolds naturally. | Organizes a clear event sequence that unfolds naturally. |
| Provides a conclusion that follows from and brings resolution to the narration. | Does not provide a conclusion. | Provides a conclusion that is incomplete or does not follow from the narrated experiences or events. | Provides a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events. | Provides a conclusion that follows from and brings resolution to the narration. |
| Skillfully uses a variety of transitions to manage sequence of events. | Does not use transitions to sequence events. | Inconsistently or inappropriately uses transitions to manage sequence of events. | Uses a variety of transitions to manage sequence of events. | Skillfully uses a variety of transitions to manage sequence of events. |
| Responds to all elements of prompt. | Does not respond to prompt; off-topic. | Responds to some elements of prompt. | Responds to some elements of prompt. | Responds to all elements of prompt. |
| Uses dialogue, description, and pacing to effectively and thoroughly develop events and characters. | Does not use dialogue or description to develop events and characters. | Uses occasional or brief dialogue and description to develop events and characters. | Uses dialogue and description to effectively develop events and characters. | Uses dialogue, description, and pacing to effectively and thoroughly develop events and characters. |
| Uses sensory details to convey events precisely and vividly. | Includes few or no sensory details. | Uses some sensory details to convey events. | Uses sensory details to convey events precisely. | Uses sensory details to convey events precisely and vividly. |
| Varies sentence patterns for clarity, interest, style. | Sentence patterns are basic and repetitive. | Varies sentence patterns occasionally. | Varies sentence patterns. | Varies sentence patterns for clarity, interest, style. |
| Uses concrete words and phrases to convey events precisely and vividly. | Includes few or no concrete words and phrases. | Uses some concrete words and phrases to convey events. | Uses concrete words and phrases to convey events precisely. | Uses concrete words and phrases to convey events precisely and vividly. |
| Shows strong command of grammar, mechanics, spelling, and usage; errors are few. | Does not show command of grammar, mechanics, spelling, and usage; errors significantly interfere with overall meaning and writing is difficult to follow. | Shows inconsistent command of grammar, mechanics, spelling, and usage; some errors interfere with meaning. | Shows consistent command of grammar, mechanics, spelling, and usage; occasional errors do not significantly interfere with meaning. | Shows strong command of grammar, mechanics, spelling, and usage; errors are few. |