| Claim |
Claim is clear, focused, and directly addresses the mood of the story. |
Claim is clear and mostly focused, addressing the mood of the story. |
Claim is clear but lacks full focus on the mood of the story. |
Claim is somewhat clear but lacks focus on the mood of the story. |
Claim is off topic or does not state a clear focus for the paragraph. |
No claim is present. |
| Evidence |
Clear and appropriate evidence is used to support the claim, with specific examples from the text. |
Clear evidence is used to support the claim, with some specific examples from the text. |
Evidence is used to support the claim, but lacks specificity. |
Some evidence is used, but it is unrelated or weakly supports the claim. |
Evidence is unrelated to the claim. |
No evidence is used. |
| Reasoning |
Clear and appropriate reasoning is used to support the claim. The paragraph thoroughly explains how and why the evidence proves the claim. |
Clear reasoning is used to support the claim. The paragraph explains how and why the evidence proves the claim, but not thoroughly. |
Reasoning is used to support the claim. The paragraph needs more explanation for how and why the evidence proves the claim. |
Reasoning is weak and does not clearly connect the evidence to the claim. |
The paragraph lacks the reasoning needed to make a clear connection between the evidence and the claim. |
No attempt at reasoning. |
| Grammar and Mechanics |
Demonstrates excellent grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure, including accurate attribution, citation, and objective tone. Few to no errors. |
Demonstrates good grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure, with minor errors that do not impede understanding. |
Demonstrates satisfactory grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure, with errors that slightly impede understanding. |
Demonstrates acceptable grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure, but errors begin to impede understanding. |
Includes many grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure errors that impede understanding. |
Errors in grammar, mechanics, and sentence structure severely impede understanding. |
