Guide to Responding for Paragraph Writing Assignments
Grading rubric for the following:
- Main Idea Paragraph Writing Quiz;
- Relationships Between Ideas Paragraph Writing Quiz
Use the rubric below to assess your Paragraphs. Give yourself an honest assessment, so you can improve as you progress through the course. For each category (Topic Sentence, Supporting Sentences, and so on), decide whether your work meets the standard, partially meets the standard, or does not meet the standard. Give yourself the number of points indicated for each of the nine required categories to determine your grade.
As you complete the various paragraph writing quizzes, and check your work, make notes on any components you could improve upon for the next paragraph practice. This rubric will be the same for each paragraph writing assignment; only the specific paragraph requirements will change.
Here is an example paragraph that meets the standards for every category and follows the directions for the "Main Idea" paragraph quiz:
I began writing poetry at a young age. My mother noticed my interest, so she bought a rhyming dictionary for me as a gift. I used to thumb through the pages searching for the perfect rhyming words. Of course, I did not know what many of the words meant, so I had a regular dictionary nearby as well. Easy rhyming words like "happy" and "sappy" would never do, so I usually tried to find something to rhyme with fancier words such as "elated" or "sentimental". I think that was part of the fun. I thought the bigger words made me sound intelligent, but reading those poems as an adult makes me laugh. I still enjoy writing poetry today, yet sometimes I find that "happy" and "sappy" are the perfect words.
Grading Key:
- A= 41 - 45 points
- B= 36 - 40 points
- C= 31 - 35 points
- D= 26 - 30 points
- F= < 25 points
