Rubrics are often used to assess students' work in a given 
area. Below is a generic writing rubric that may help clarify the 
format that is used for scoring. Rubrics are typically given to 
children before instruction begins in order for students to know what 
they will learn in the unit of study and be held accountable for. 

Generic Writing Rubric 

SCORE POINT 0

These papers are not scoreable because they are blank or fail in 
other ways to respond to the assignment. They include:

�	papers that do not respond to the required task
�	papers in which the student has merely written a word or a 
brief phrase with no indication of an attempt to attend to the task
�	papers that are incoherent
�	papers that reply, "I don't know"
�	papers that merely copy or paraphrase the assignment
�	papers that are illegible
�	papers that are written entirely in a language other than 
English 
�	black papers
�	papers which copy a known fairy tale or rhyme
�	papers that copy a definition of some part of the stimulus 
from a dictionary or other reference source

SCORE POINT 1

These papers attempt to address the topic but are not successful. 
The following kinds of papers fall into this category:

	papers that respond to the stimulus in a skeletal and brief 
way
	papers that contain a sequence of events but are too sparse 
to be minimally successful
	papers that attend very briefly to the task but do not 
remain on the topic
	papers that are poorly organized or contain major gaps
	papers that do not include a sequence of events
	papers that exhibit a lack of control of written language, 
i.e., confused syntax, extensive misspellings of basic words, or 
confused thoughts, so that communication is impaired

SCORE POINT 2

These papers respond minimally to the task with expressive writing 
presented in the narrative mode. The following types of papers fall 
into this category:
	papers that contain a somewhat elaborated sequence of events
	papers that contain a bare, tightly controlled, linked 
sequence of events
	papers characterized by limited control of written language, 
i.e., word choice may be limited, syntax may be awkward or 
simplistic, or errors in usage may occur

 
SCORE 3

These papers represent good attempts at telling a story. There is no 
difficulty following the story line. The elaboration contained in 
these responses is controlled, adding substance to the story line. 
The following types of papers fall into this category:

	papers that present a moderately well-elaborated sequence of 
events
	papers which incorporate an organizational strategy, 
although brief digressions or lapses may occur
	papers that exhibit a control of written language 
characterized by clarity of expression and effective word choice (If 
on the other hand, the author works so hard at being different that 
he/she sounds like a talking dictionary, then he or she, also, 
merits this rating.)
	papers that seldom include personal details, examples or 
comments (While the piece may be correct, it lacks the personal 
touch. The voice seems bland, careful, a little flat, and not very 
interesting.)

SCORE 4

These papers are consistent, organized, and elaborated narratives. 
These responses are unified and easy to read. The few 
inconsistencies that may occur are overwhelmed by the quality of the 
response. These papers are characterized by most of the following:

	papers that have a clear sense of beginning and ending with 
clear and consistent situations
	papers which follow a narrative progression and are 
consistent in organizational strategy
	papers that indicate explicitly the writer's attitudes and 
feelings (Expressing personal experiences, the writer come through 
as an individual, and his/her work seems like his/hers and his/hers 
alone. The voice in the piece really interests us.)
	ideas may be insightful, creative and original, or rational 
and logical, but are always expressed with clarity

Sources:	Scoring Criteria for Written Composition, Texas 
Education Agency The Writing Report Card, 1985-88 prepared by 
Educational Testing Service, Office of Educational Research and 
Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
Evaluating Writing: Describing, Measuring, Judging by Charles Cooper 
and Lee Odell