Grade 8, Unit 2

Embedded Assessment 1: Writing an Expository Essay

Scoring Guide
60
points
_______/60

possible

Scoring Exemplary
Criteria
20 points

Proficient

Emerging

Incomplete

15 points

10 points

5 points

Ideas

The essay

The essay

The essay

20
points
possibl
e

The essay

maintains a
focused thesis
in response to
one of the
prompts
develops
ideas
thoroughly
with relevant
supporting
details, facts,
and evidence
provides
insightful
commentary
and deep
analysis.

responds to
one of the
prompts with
a clear thesis

develops
ideas
adequately
with
supporting
details, facts,
and evidence

provides
sufficient
commentary
to
demonstrate
understanding
.

has an unclear
or unrelated
thesis

has no
obvious
thesis

develops
ideas
unevenly or
with
inadequate
supporting
details, facts,
or evidence

provides
minimal
supporting
details,
facts, or
evidence

lacks
commenta
ry.

provides
insufficient
commentary
to
demonstrate
understanding
.

Structu The essay

The essay
The essay
The essay
re
has an
has a
has a weak or
lacks an
20
engaging
complete
partial
introducti
points
introduction
introduction
introduction
on
possibl
e
uses an
uses an
uses an
has little
effective
appropriate
inconsistent
or no
organizational
organizational
organizational
obvious
structure for a
structure for a
structure for a
organizati
multimultimultional
paragraph
paragraph
paragraph

essay

uses a variety
of transitional
strategies to
create
cohesion and
unity among
ideas
provides an
insightful
conclusion.

essay

essay

uses
transitional
strategies to
link, compare,
and contrast
ideas

uses
transitional
strategies
ineffectively
or
inconsistently

provides a
conclusion
that supports
the thesis.

provides a
weak or
unrelated
conclusion.

structure

uses few
or no
transitiona
l
strategies

provides
no
conclusion
.

Use of The essay

The essay
The essay
The essay
Langua
ge
conveys a
conveys an
uses
uses
consistent
academic
insufficient
limited or
20
academic
voice by using
language and
vague
points
voice by using
some literary
vocabulary to
language
possibl
a variety of
terms and
convey an
e
literary terms
precise
academic
lacks
and precise
language
voice
quotations
language
embeds
embeds
lacks
embeds
quotations
quotations
command
quotations
correctly
incorrectly or
of the
effectively
unevenly
conventio
demonstrates
ns of
demonstrates
demonstrates
adequate
standard
command of
command of
partial or
English
the
the
inconsistent
capitalizat
conventions of
conventions of
command of
ion,
standard
standard
the
punctuatio
English
English
conventions of
n,
capitalization,
capitalization,
standard
spelling,
punctuation,
punctuation,
English
grammar,
spelling,
spelling,
capitalization,
and
grammar, and
grammar, and
punctuation,
usage;
usage
usage
spelling,
frequent
(including a
(including a
grammar, and
errors

variety of
syntax).

variety of
syntax).

usage.

obscure
meaning.