Focus & Organization: The student develops a focused, polished thesis supported by a unified, convincing, logical argument about a literary text, using effective organizational cues such as title, thesis statement, transitions, & topic sentences to aid coherence.

5 (advanced)

4

3 (average)

2

1

(deficient)

Literary Analysis: The student demonstrates skill in analyzing literary texts and uses well-chosen, persuasive, and thorough textual support. The student identifies a primary theme of a literary text, discussing at least one literary element (such as characterization, symbolism, setting, plot, tone, and poetic conventions), and places the text into some type of societal or philosophical context.

5

4

3

2

1

Reading Comprehension: The student demonstrates familiarity with the vocabulary, sentence structure, and stylistic features of a literary text and can effectively discuss them. The student demonstrates knowledge of plot details and/or textual details, and the student articulates an accurate understanding of the meaning of the text.

5

4

3

2

1

Use of Source(s) & MLA format: The student smoothly integrates the primary literary source and any secondary sources, using author tag phrases and a proper balance of summaries, paraphrases, & quotations. MLA documentation & paper format are used correctly.

5

4

3

2

1

Style/Grammar: The student’s writing contains clear sentences and uses polished & precise word choice. The writing is concise, not wordy.  The student has an authoritative, objective, academic voice, and the essay is free of errors in the conventions of the English language (punctuation, agreement, run-ons, etc.).

5

4

3

2

1