| Criteria | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exposition | The essay lacks a clear introduction and does not provide any background information. | The essay has a weak introduction and provides limited background information. | The essay has a basic introduction and provides some background information. | The essay has a clear introduction and provides sufficient background information. | The essay has a strong introduction and provides detailed background information. | The essay has an engaging introduction and provides vivid background information. | The essay has an excellent introduction and provides compelling background information. | The essay has an exceptional introduction and provides captivating background information. |
| Rising Action | The essay lacks a clear progression of events and does not build suspense or tension. | The essay has a weak progression of events and does not effectively build suspense or tension. | The essay has a basic progression of events and attempts to build suspense or tension. | The essay has a clear progression of events and effectively builds suspense or tension. | The essay has a strong progression of events and skillfully builds suspense or tension. | The essay has an engaging progression of events and masterfully builds suspense or tension. | The essay has an excellent progression of events and expertly builds suspense or tension. | The essay has an exceptional progression of events and brilliantly builds suspense or tension. |
| Climax | The essay lacks a clear turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has a weak turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has a basic turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has a clear turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has a strong turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has an engaging turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has an excellent turning point or moment of highest intensity. | The essay has an exceptional turning point or moment of highest intensity. |
| Falling Action | The essay lacks a clear resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has a weak resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has a basic resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has a clear resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has a strong resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has an engaging resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has an excellent resolution or events that follow the climax. | The essay has an exceptional resolution or events that follow the climax. |
| Resolution/Reflection | The essay lacks a clear ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has a weak ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has a basic ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has a clear ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has a strong ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has an engaging ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has an excellent ending or reflection on the events. | The essay has an exceptional ending or reflection on the events. |
| Varied Sentences | The essay lacks sentence variety and uses repetitive sentence structures. | The essay has limited sentence variety and uses some repetitive sentence structures. | The essay has basic sentence variety and uses mostly simple sentence structures. | The essay has some sentence variety and uses a mix of simple and compound sentence structures. | The essay has good sentence variety and uses a mix of simple, compound, and complex sentence structures. | The essay has excellent sentence variety and uses a mix of simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence structures. | The essay has exceptional sentence variety and uses a mix of simple, compound, complex, compound-complex, and varied sentence structures. | The essay has outstanding sentence variety and uses a mix of simple, compound, complex, compound-complex, and varied sentence structures. |
| Sensory Details | The essay lacks sensory details and does not engage the reader’s senses. | The essay has limited sensory details and minimally engages the reader’s senses. | The essay has some sensory details and partially engages the reader’s senses. | The essay has sufficient sensory details and engages the reader’s senses. | The essay has strong sensory details and effectively engages the reader’s senses. | The essay has engaging sensory details and vividly engages the reader’s senses. | The essay has excellent sensory details and masterfully engages the reader’s senses. | The essay has exceptional sensory details and brilliantly engages the reader’s senses. |
| Conventions | The essay has numerous errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has several errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has some errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has few errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has minimal errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has occasional errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has rare errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. | The essay has no errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. |