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Nevada
Writing Assessment Holistic Rubric *
Six-trait Analytical Writing Assessment
Model
NWAHR
Nevada Writing Assessment
Holistic Rubric
Score Six
A six paper is
superior. It does ALL OR MOST of the following:
-
Focuses and develops ideas in a sustained
and compelling manner, showing creativity and insight.
-
Clarifies and defends or persuades with
precise and relevant evidence; clearly defines and
frames issues.
-
Effectively organizes ideas in a clear,
logical, detailed, and coherent manner using appropriate
structures to enhance the central idea or theme.
-
Demonstrates involvement with the text
and speaks purposefully to the audience in an
appropriate, individualistic, and engaging manner.
-
Uses multiple sentence structures and
word choices effectively and with a sense of control for
stylistic effect.
-
Commits few, if any, errors in standard
English rules for grammar/usage and mechanics.
Score Five
A five paper is
distinctly above average. It does ALL OR MOST of the
following:
-
Focuses and develops ideas in an
effective and detailed manner.
-
Defends and/or persuades with important
and relevant evidence; defines and frames issues.
-
Organizes ideas clearly and coherently
using structures appropriate to purposes.
-
Communicates a sense of commitment to the
topic and to the audience's involvement.
-
Uses varied sentence structure and word
choice effectively.
-
Commits few errors in standard English
grammar/usage and mechanics.
Score Four
A four paper is
adequate. It exhibits ALL OR MOST of the following
characteristics:
-
Adequately focuses and develops ideas
with detail.
-
Defends and/or persuades with support and
clarity, using relevant evidence.
-
Organizes ideas in a satisfactory manner
with adequate coherence and logic.
-
Uses a voice that is appropriate to
audience and purpose.
-
Uses a variety of sentence structures and
word choice, but occasionally displays some wordiness or
ineffective diction; sentences may be predictable.
-
Commits some errors in standard English
grammar/usage and mechanics that do not impede meaning;
indicates basic understanding of conventions.
Score Three
A three paper is
inadequate. It is clearly flawed in SOME OR ALL of the
following ways:
-
Focuses, but may not display mature or
well-developed content.
-
Attempts defense or persuasive stance but
position is unclear and/or evidence is brief, tangential
or based solely on personal opinion.
-
Displays minimal organization; contains
irrelevancies, digresses, rambles, or lacks logic.
-
Lacks sincerity of purpose in the writers
attempt to involve the audience appropriately.
-
Uses sentence structure and word choice
that are somewhat limited, simplistic, mundane, or
otherwise inappropriate.
-
Contains flaws in Standard English rules
of grammar/usage and mechanics that do not impede
meaning; indicates some consistent misunderstanding of
the conventions.
Score Two
A two paper is very
weak. It reveals serious and persistent problems in
communications. It compounds the weaknesses of the 3 paper
in SOME OR ALL of the following ways:
-
Lacks focus and development; may list
items with little or no supporting detail.
-
Defense or persuasive stance is unclear
or absent; evidence is vague or missing.
-
Contains serious flaws in structure,
organization and coherence.
-
Attempts, but fails in the writers
attempt to involve the audience appropriately.
-
Uses sentence structure and word choice
that are highly limited, simplistic, or otherwise
inappropriate.
-
Displays consistent violations in
Standard English rules of grammar/usage and mechanics
that impede understanding.
Score One
A one paper is
extremely weak. It has few redeeming qualities. It at least
mentions the topic, but generally fails to communicate with
the reader. It does SOME OR ALL of the following:
-
Simply repeats the topic or fails to
provide adequate development.
-
Fails to establish a position and/or
develop persuasive view; evidence is not apparent.
-
Shows almost no structure, organization
or coherence.
-
Does not address the audience
appropriately.
-
Uses limited and/or immature sentence
structure and word choice.
-
Overwhelms the reader with serious
violations of Standard English rules grammar/usage and
mechanics.
Annotated samples are provided below for the
HSPE Writing Proficiency Exam
Six-Trait Analytical Writing
Assessment Model
Nevada teachers teach to six
traits and assess four of those six: Ideas and Content,
Organization, Voice, and Conventions. Word choice and
sentence fluency are embedded within the scoring guides for
the four traits assessed.
Ideas & Content
Organization
Organization is the internal
structure of the piece. It is both skeleton and glue. Strong
organization begins with a purposeful, engaging lead and
wraps up with a thought-provoking close. In between, the
writer takes care to link each detail or new development to
a larger picture, building to a turning point or key
revelation and always including strong transitions that form
a kind of safety net for the reader, who never feels lost.
Voice
Voice is the presence of the
writer on the page. When the writer's passion for the topic
and concern for the audience are strong, the text virtually
comes alive with energy, and the reader feels a strong
connection to both writing and writer.
Conventions
Almost anything a copy editor
would attend to falls under the heading of conventions. This
includes punctuation, spelling, grammar and usage,
capitalization, and paragraphing; the spit-and-polish phase
of preparing a document for publication.
Word Choice
Word choice is the use of
rich, colorful, precise language that communicates not just
in a functional way, but in a way that moves and enlightens
the reader.
Sentence Fluency
Sentence fluency is the
rhythm and flow of the language, the sound of word patterns,
the way in which the writing plays to the ear, not just the
eye.
Annotated samples for Grades
4, 5, and 8 are provided below:
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