Scoring Rubric for Essay Tests of Literary Works: Junior English Course Competencies One and Four

A

Essay “demonstrates clear and consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors” (SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide), of the following:

B

Essay “demonstrates a reasonably consistent mastery, although it may have occasional errors or lapses in quality” (SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide), of the following:

C

Essay “demonstrates adequate mastery, although it will  have lapses in quality” (SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide), of the following:

D

Essay demonstrates consistent flaws in one or more of the following:

F

Essay  fails to show mastery of any of the following:

• Well developed thesis that clearly answers question/prompt
• Reveals strong use of organization
• An in-depth and sophisticated understanding of the literary work(s) as a whole
• Introduces, fully places in context and cites the appropriate number of passages for support (using MLA citation guidelines). 
• Demonstrates outstanding critical thinking by revealing precisely how and why passages used as evidence provide support
• “Demonstrates a good grasp of standard writing conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, paragraphing) and uses conventions effectively to enhance readability” (6+ 1 Trait ® Writing: Scoring Continuum).

Note: Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.

Works Cited

“SAT Writing Section: Scoring Guide.” CollegeBoard.com. 2007. CollegeBoard.com Inc. 20 June 2007                http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about/sat/essay_scoring.html.