INTRODUCTION and CONCLUSION (Background History/Thesis Statement) There is a well-developed introduction with an attention grabber that grabs the reader’s interest and continues to engage the reader up until the thesis statement. Introduction creates interest. Thesis states the position. Conclusion effectively summarizes the topic. Introduction adequately explains the background, but may lack detail. Thesis states the topic, but key elements are missing Background details are a random, unclear collection of information. Thesis is vague and unclear. Conclusion is not effective and does not summarize main points. MAIN POINTS (Body Paragraphs) Well developed main points/topic sentences that relate directly to the thesis. Supporting examples are concrete and detailed. The analysis is developed with an effective point of view Three or more main points relate to the thesis, but some may lack details. The analysis shows events from the author’s point of view, but could use more descriptive language. Three or more main points are present, but lack details in describing the event. Little descriptive language is used. Less than three ideas/main points are explained and/or they are poorly developed. The story tells; it doesn’t show ORGANIZATION (Structure and Transitions) Logical Progression of ideas with a clear structure that enhances the thesis. Transitions are effective and vary throughout the paragraph, not just in the topic sentences. Logical progression of ideas. Transitions are present throughout the essay, but lacks variety. Organization is clear. Transitions are present at times, but there is very little variety. Writing is not organized. The transitions between ideas are unclear or non-existent. STYLE (Sentence Flow, Variety, Diction) Writing is smooth, skillful, and coherent. Sentences are strong and expressive with varied structure. Diction is consistent and words are well chosen. Writing is clear and sentences have varied structure, Diction is consistent. Writing is clear, but could use a little more sentence variety to make the writing more interesting. Writing is confusing and hard to follow. Contains fragments and/or sentences. MECHANICS (Spelling, Punctuation, Capitalization) Punctuation, spelling, and capitalization are all correct. No errors. Punctuation, spelling, and capitalization are generally correct with few errors (1-2) There are only a few (3- 4) errors in punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. Distracting errors in punctuation, spelling, and capitalization.