top of page

Six Traits Paragraph Writing Rubric

*

1

Beginning

2

Emerging

3

Developing

4

Proficient

5

Strong

6

Exemplary

Idea

• main theme

• supporting

details

• Lacks central

idea

• Development is

minimal or nonexistent

• Purpose and

main idea may

be unclear and

cluttered by

irrelevant detail

• May be unclear

because

paragraph has

competing

ideas for thesis

• Main idea may

be cloudy

because

supporting

detail is too

general or even

off-topic

• Evident main

idea with some

support which

may be general

or limited

• A main idea

or topic is clear

• Clear, focused,

interesting idea with appropriate

detail

• Paragraph centered around a significant idea or topic

• Exceptionally

clear, focused,

engaging with

relevant, strong

supporting detail

Organization

• structure

• introduction

• conclusion

• Lack of

coherence;

confusing

• No identifiable

beginning or

ending

• Lack of

structure;

disorganized

and hard to follow

• Appears to

start or stop in

the middle of

something

• Attempts at

organization;

may be a “list”

of items

• Beginning and

ending not clear

• Organization is

appropriate, but

conventional

• Attempt at

introduction

and conclusion

• Strong order

and structure

• Inviting intro

and satisfying

closure

• Effectively

organized in

logical and

creative manner

• Creative and

engaging intro

and conclusion

Voice

• personality

• sense of

audience

• Writing is lifeless

• No hint of the

writer

• Writing tends

to be flat or

stiff

• Stereotypic,

copied tone

and voice

• Voice may be

inappropriate or

non-existent

• Writing may

seem

mechanical

• Evident

commitment to

topic

• Inconsistent or

formulaic

personality

• Appropriate

to audience

and purpose

• Writer behind

the words

comes through

• Expressive,

engaging, sincere

• Strong sense of

audience

• Shows emotion:

humour, honesty,

suspense or life

Word Choice

• precision

• effectiveness

• imagery

• Limited range of

words

• Some

vocabulary

misused

• Monotonous,

often

repetitious,

sometimes

inappropriate

• Words may be

correct but

mundane

• Common words

chosen

• Language is

functional and

appropriate

• Descriptions

may be

overdone at

times

• Descriptive,

broad range of

words

• Word choice

energizes

writing

• Precise, carefully

chosen

• Strong, fresh,

vivid images

Sentence

Fluency

• rhythm, flow

• variety

• Difficult to

follow or read

aloud

• Disjointed,

confusing,

rambling

• Often choppy

• Monotonous

sentence

patterns

• Frequent runon

sentences

• Some sentence

fragments

• Some awkward

constructions

• Common

simple pattern

used

• Several

sentences begin

the same way

• Generally in

control

• Lacks variety in

length and

structure

• Easy flow and

rhythm

• Good variety

in length and

structure

• High degree of

craftsmanship

• Effective variation

in sentence

patterns

Conventions

•age appropriate for spelling, caps

punctuation,

grammar

• Numerous errors

distract the

reader and make

the text difficult

to read

• Errors may be

made more than

one way for the

same pattern or

structure

• Frequent

significant

errors may

impede

readability

• Errors frequent

in common

patterns and

structures

• Limited control

of conventions

• Some errors in

common

patterns or

structures do

not unduly

interfere with

understanding

• Control of most

writing

conventions

• Errors reflect

risks with

unusual or

sophisticated

structures

• Strong control

of conventions

• Errors are few

and minor

• Exceptionally

strong control of

standard

conventions of

writing

• Complex

conventions

attempted

bottom of page