iRubric: Middle School Writing Rubric

The writing lacks a central idea or purpose.

Main ideas and purpose are somewhat unclear or development is attempted but minimal.

The reader can understand the main ideas, although they may be overly broad or simplistic. Supporting detail is often limited, insubstantial, overly general, or occasionally slightly off- topic.

The writing is clear and focused. The reader can easily understand the main ideas. Support is present, although it may be limited or rather general.

The writing seems to lack a sense of involvement or commitment.

The writing provides little sense of involvement or commitment. There is no evidence that the writer has chosen a suitable voice.

The writer’s commitment to the topic seems inconsistent. The voice is either inappropriately personal or inappropriately impersonal.

A voice is present. The writer seems committed to the topic. In places, the writing is expressive, engaging, or sincere.

The writing is difficult to follow or to read aloud. Sentences tend to be incomplete, rambling, or very awkward.

The writing tends to be either choppy or rambling. Awkward constructions often force the reader to slow down or reread.

The writing tends to be mechanical rather than fluid. Occasional awkward constructions may force the reader to slow down or reread.

The writing flows; however, connections between phrases or sentences may be less than fluid. Sentence patterns are somewhat varied, contributing to ease in oral reading.

The writing demonstrates disregard for the conventions of research writing. Lack of proper documentation results in plagiarism and does not enable the reader to check the source. The writing demonstrates a lack of understanding of MLA formatting.

Frequent errors in documentation result in instances of plagiarism and often do not enable the reader to check the source. MLA formatting has multiple errors.

Documentation is sometimes used to avoid plagiarism and to enable the reader to judge how believable or important a piece of information is by checking the source. Errors begin to violate the rules of citation. MLA formatting is spotty at best.

Documentation is used to avoid plagiarism and to enable the reader to judge how believable or important a piece of information is by checking the source. Minor errors do not blatantly violate the rules of citation. MLA formatting is generally followed.