Persuasive Writing Rubric – 9th Grade English

Hilliard Davidson High School English Department

 

Appropriate Organization

 

 

Exemplary

Proficient

Developing

Beginning

rhetorical completeness: introduction, body, conclusion

 

 

 

 

clear thesis, typically placed at end of the introduction

 

 

 

 

may have restated thesis, typically placed beginning of conclusion

 

 

 

 

overall focus, unity, and coherence using effective transitions and other transitional techniques

 

 

 

 

 

Effective Support of Position

 

 

Exemplary

Proficient

Developing

Beginning

is supported with an effective mix of logos, ethos, and pathos

 

 

 

 

is well-developed using an appropriate variety of support types: facts/statistics, examples, anecdotes, authoritative opinions, observations, textual evidence, cause & effect, analogies, deductive/inductive logic

 

 

 

 

excludes irrelevant information

 

 

 

 

uses persuasive language effectively but not unfairly; avoids uncontrolled errors of logic and language

 

 

 

 

fairly and effectively accounts for the opposition to the writer’s position

 

 

 

 

if research based, uses a minimum of five reputable and reliable sources; may use at least three in-house databases.

 

 

 

 

if literature based, uses significant, effective textual evidence that is clearly explained and connected to the paper’s position

is properly documented and formatted in MLA form

 

 

 

 

 

Writing Conventions

 

 

Exemplary

Proficient

Developing

Beginning

proper academic voice – avoids first person

as appropriate

 

 

 

 

sentence variety and style

 

 

 

 

use of parallel structure

 

 

 

 

diction

 

 

 

 

mechanics

 

 

 

 

usage

 

 

 

 

grammar

 

 

 

 

spelling

 

 

 

 

meets length requirement of five paragraphs to three pages