| Criteria / Topics | Excellent (5) | Good (4) | Average (3) | Needs Work (2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary of the articles (x2) | Your summary includes the main idea of the article. You mentioned specific challenges that people faced. | Your summary includes the main idea of the article. You mentioned specific challenges that people faced. | Your summary mentions vague challenges that people faced. | Your summary is not specific or thorough. |
| Summary of the novel you read | Your summary introduces the main character(s) and shares key details about him/her. You mentioned what stood out to you and why. | Your summary introduces the main character(s) and shares some details about him/her. You mentioned what stood out to you and why. | Your summary might mention some vague challenge that the characters faced. | Your summary is not specific or thorough. |
| Compare & Contrast the news article and the novel (x2) | You found and wrote about similarities between the novel and BOTH articles. You found and wrote about differences between the novel and BOTH articles. | You found and wrote about similarities between the novel and BOTH articles. You found and wrote about differences between the novel and BOTH articles. | You found and wrote about similarities between the novel and the articles. You found and wrote about differences between the novel and the articles. | One or more of the requirements is missing from this section. Your writing is not clear or thorough. |
| Conflicts & Solutions
(x2) |
You cite TWO conflicts that the fictional character faced in the novel. You identify the types of conflict (Person vs ?) | You cite TWO conflicts that the fictional character faced in the novel. You identify the types of conflict (Person vs ?) | You found at least one conflict the character faced in the novel. You may have identified the type of conflict. | One or more of the requirements is missing from this section. Your writing is not clear or thorough. |
| Social Issues | You accurately identified a social issue that affects the people in the news articles and the characters in your novel. You explained how and why this issue affects certain groups of people, and why it matters. | You accurately identified a social issue that affects the people in the news articles and the characters in your novel. You explained how this issue affects certain groups of people. | You may not have accurately identified the social issue in the articles and the novel. You explained how this issue affects people. | One or more of the requirements is missing from this section. Your writing is not clear or thorough. |
| Citations | In each paragraph, you remembered to put the document and paragraph where you found the evidence. Direct quotes from the text have quotation marks around them. | Most of your evidence is cited correctly. You may have forgotten to use quotation marks in some places. | You did not use exact quotes, or did not cite the document where you found the evidence. | You do not have any citations. |
| Writing Style | You used descriptive language in each of your explanations to draw the readers in. Your sentences flow and are easy to read. | You may not have put forth effort in your description and explanations, or only did so in one or two paragraphs. Your sentences might not flow easily. | You did not use detailed description or your sentences don’t make sense. | You did not separate your paragraphs or use punctuation to make your writing legible. |
| Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation | There are 4 or less errors. | There are 5-10 errors. | There are more than 10 errors. |