iRubric: Autobiographical Essay Peer Evaluation rubric

The writer has successfully used sensory details to "show" rather than "tell" the physical world of the story; at least 3 of the 5 senses are engaged! Because of creative, correct word choices, the writer has created characters which seem to leap off the page. The characters are fully realized, three-dimensional characters, man! If dialogue is used, it enhances the reader's impression of the character and moves the story along. (It shows rather than tells.)

The writer has used some sensory details to "show" rather than "tell" the physical world of the story; 2 of the 5 senses are engaged. The writer has included characters in the essay, but because of word choices made, the reader gets an impression of the characters, but not a clear picture. Dialogue may be present, but it neither enhances the reader's impression of the character nor moves the story along.

The writer has used very little sensory details to "show" rather than "tell" the physical world of the story; 1 of the 5 senses is engaged. The writer has told us about the other people involved in the incident, but they do not have a voice. No dialogue has been used, OR, if dialogue HAS been used, it doesn't sound authentic. There is much more telling than showing.

The writer has not used sensory language. The writer "tells" more than he or she "shows." Characters are talked about, but not described. There has been no attempt to create dialogue.

All sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud. Each sentence is clear and has an obvious subject or emphasis. There are very few simple, subject-verb type sentences. There are no sentence fragments, comma splices or run-on sentences.

Almost all sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but 1 or 2 are still and awkward sounding or are dificult to understand. There may be 1 or 2 fragments, comma splices or run-on sentences.

Most sentences sound natural and are easy-on-the-ear when read aloud, but several are stiff and awkward or are difficult to understand. There are 3-4 fragments, comma splices, or run-on sentences.

The sentences are difficult to read aloud because they sound awkward, are distractingly repetitive, simple in structure, or are difficult to understand. There are more than 4 fragments, comma splices, or run-on sentences.