| Criteria / Topics | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | The essay has a creative and engaging title that accurately reflects the content. | The essay has a title that somewhat reflects the content. | The essay has a title, but it does not reflect the content. | The essay does not have a title. |
| Author | The essay correctly identifies the author of the story. | The essay identifies the author, but with some errors. | The essay incorrectly identifies the author. | The essay does not mention the author. |
| Genre | The essay correctly identifies the genre of the story. | The essay identifies the genre, but with some errors. | The essay incorrectly identifies the genre. | The essay does not mention the genre. |
| Story Summary | The essay provides a detailed and accurate summary of the story. | The essay provides a summary of the story, but with some inaccuracies or lack of detail. | The essay provides a vague or incomplete summary of the story. | The essay does not provide a summary of the story. |
| Claim | The essay clearly states a strong and compelling claim about Squeak’s character. | The essay states a claim about Squeak’s character, but it may lack clarity or strength. | The essay states a weak or unclear claim about Squeak’s character. | The essay does not state a claim about Squeak’s character. |
| Transitions | The essay uses smooth and effective transitions between ideas and paragraphs. | The essay uses transitions, but they may be somewhat choppy or ineffective. | The essay lacks transitions or they are confusing and disrupt the flow of ideas. | The essay does not use any transitions. |
| Premises | The essay provides clear and logical premises to support the claim. | The essay provides premises to support the claim, but they may lack clarity or logical connection. | The essay provides weak or unclear premises to support the claim. | The essay does not provide any premises to support the claim. |
| Compelling Evidence | The essay provides strong and relevant evidence to support the claim. | The essay provides evidence to support the claim, but it may be somewhat weak or irrelevant. | The essay provides weak or irrelevant evidence to support the claim. | The essay does not provide any evidence to support the claim. |
| Justification | The essay effectively justifies the claim using evidence and reasoning. | The essay attempts to justify the claim, but the justification may be weak or lack coherence. | The essay provides weak or insufficient justification for the claim. | The essay does not provide any justification for the claim. |
| Mic Drop | The essay ends with a strong and memorable concluding statement. | The essay ends with a concluding statement, but it may lack strength or memorability. | The essay ends with a weak or ineffective concluding statement. | The essay does not have a concluding statement. |
| Spelling | The essay has no spelling errors. | The essay has a few minor spelling errors that do not hinder understanding. | The essay has several spelling errors that occasionally hinder understanding. | The essay has numerous spelling errors that significantly hinder understanding. |
| Punctuation | The essay demonstrates consistent and accurate use of punctuation. | The essay demonstrates mostly accurate use of punctuation, with a few minor errors. | The essay demonstrates inconsistent or incorrect use of punctuation that occasionally hinders understanding. | The essay demonstrates frequent and significant errors in punctuation that hinder understanding. |