Rubric

RUBRIC FOR GRADING THE EXPOSITORY ESSAY
STANDARDS || MEETS STANDARDS || APPROACHING STANDARDS || BELOW STANDARDS || paragraph has a strong attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. It starts with a large idea and is slowly brought to a  concise idea, which is  the topic of the paper. || The introductory paragraph has an attention grabber, but it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience. It starts out with a large idea, but does not smoothly transition to a smaller idea. || The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear || The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not relevant to the topic. || states the topic of the essay and outlines the main points to be discussed (a minimum  of three). || The thesis statement names the topic of the essay, but does not elaborate into the main points discussed in the paper. || The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be discussed but does not state the topic. || The thesis statement does not state the topic AND does not reveal what will be discussed. || support the position statement. The writer anticipates the reader's biases or arguments and the evidence is well-developed. || Includes evidence that supports the position statement, but the position of the writer is unclear and the topics are not as developed as they should be. || Includes little evidence that supports the position statement. The topics are underdeveloped and the position of the writer is unclear. || Does not include evidence supporting the topic and the writer’s position is not stated. || EXAMPLES || All of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the writer's position. || Most of the evidence and examples are specific, relevant and explanations are given that show how each piece of evidence supports the writer's position. || At least one of the pieces of evidence and examples is  relevant and has an explanation that shows how that piece of evidence supports the writer's  position. || Evidence and examples are not relevant and/or are not explained. || strong and leaves the reader solidly understanding the writer's position. Effective restatement of the position statement begins the closing paragraph. || The conclusion is recognizable. The writer's position is restated within the first two sentences of the closing paragraph. || The writer's position is restated within the closing paragraph, but not near the beginning. || There is no conclusion, and the paper ends. || SPELLING || Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. || Writer makes few errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. || Author makes a significant amount of errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. || Author makes numerous errors in grammar or spelling that are extremely distracting from the content of the paper. ||
 * CATEGORY || ABOVE
 * INTRODUCTION || The introductory
 * THESIS || The thesis statement
 * SUPPORT || Includes evidence that
 * EVIDENCE AND
 * CONCLUSION || The conclusion is
 * GRAMMAR &