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iRubric: Common App Essay rubric

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Common App Essay Common App Essay An essay answering 1 of the 5 prompts on the Common App, this must have a brisk opening that puts me into the middle of a story, memorable and concrete details (Twix bars, greasy pizza, 54-12 score at the basketball game), an aha moment, revealed strengths/lessons, how strengths/lessons will influence college/career choices, spotlight on YOU (reader knows you well after essay), concise (no wordiness), consistent verb tense (past or present; be consistent) Rubric Code: SXB69W6 By MrsDowling Ready to use Public Rubric Subject: English Type: Writing Grade Levels: 9-12

Common App Essay
	Poor 1 pts	Fair 2 pts	Good 3 pts	Excellent (N/A)
Captivating Opening	Poor Opens in vague, general way Explicitly states "I learned that...." or equally formulaic statement Does NOT put reader into story or scene Does not capture attention	Fair Opening may or may not involve a story Average level of interest aroused, not particularly strong Moves at average pace, not particularly brisk	Good Opens in media res, in middle of a story Opens quickly, establishes fairly brisk pace Concrete imagery	Excellent Opens in media res, in middle of story Captures reader's attention immediately Captivating
Pace	Poor Sluggish, wastes valuable space, caught up in uninteresting or irrelevant details Wanders without aim	Fair Average pace, some noticeable examples of sluggishness or pointless turns	Good Above average pace Writing moves along fairly quickly and gets to its point	Excellent Fast paced Each sentence serves a purpose, getting to the aha quickly, efficiently
Story/Stories	Poor No stories provided Deals in generalities Vague, abstract	Fair Story/stories may or may not be present but are not especially memorable Lacking in action and/or dialogue	Good Story or stories attached to the lesson/aha moment/ revealed strengths	Excellent Memorable, captivating story/stories with action and/or dialogue Clearly and convincingly attached to lesson, aha moment, revealed strengths
Concrete Details	Poor Examples are vague, general No or barely any concrete images to appeal to senses (one cannot see, touch, hear, smell, or taste the examples)	Fair Some concrete examples but more general, vague, abstract examples	Good Several concrete examples that appeal to some senses	Excellent Essay filled with concrete examples that appeal to the 5 senses Crisp, unforgettable details
Aha Moment	Poor Reveals no clear lesson about life or self No change perceived	Fair May reveal lesson about life or self, but states in cliched way, "That's when I learned..." or "This experience showed me that..."	Good Reveals lesson about life or self; growth is revealed	Excellent You grow in a clear, obvious way Does not explicitly state what you learned; lesson or aha is obvious through the story/stories
YOU Are Revealed	Poor Reader knows about someone or something other than you at end of essay	Fair You reveal something about yourself, but essay isn't the showcase it could be for your personality	Good Your change is evident by end of essay and this is mostly clear	Excellent Reader knows you by end of essay; stories told to reveal something about YOU
Going Forward	Poor No college/personal/future goals laid out Purpose of essay not tied to larger meaning for writer	Fair Implicit connection to writer's life/purpose, but not clearly drawn	Good Essay's purpose tied in some way to future/personal/career goals	Excellent Clearly connects lesson/aha/ strengths revealed to college/personal/future goals
Concise (NOT WORDY)	Poor Filled with smothered verbs, passive voice, catch-all terms, who-which-that clauses, other "sins" of wordiness	Fair Average wordiness, noticeable but not horrendous wastefulness	Good A bit of wordiness but overall concise, lean writing	Excellent Concise, lean, muscular writing Hardly any sins of wordiness
Grammar, Spelling, Mechanics	Poor Many errors in one or more categories; some of these errors are egregious. Reading the essay for meaning is difficult of the numerous lapses in one or more categories.	Fair Several errors in one or more categories; these errors are distracting.	Good A few errors in one or more categories; these are not distracting.	Excellent Nearly perfect in all categories.

Subjects:

English

Types:

Writing

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