literary essay rubric

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7.2: Rubrics

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WHAT IS A RUBRIC?

A rubric communicates expectations and creates consistent criteria and standards by which to evaluate a performance or project. In writing, a rubric allows teachers and students to evaluate an activity which can be complex and subjective. A rubric is aimed at accurate and fair assessment, fostering understanding, and indicating a way to proceed with subsequent learning and teaching. A rubric can also provide a basis for self-evaluation, reflection, and peer review.

WHY ARE RUBRICS IMPORTANT?

Rubrics help to…

• bring objectivity to subjective scoring.
• take away the “guessing game” by providing students with consistent standards the teacher will be using to evaluate their writing.
• teach students to set learning goals and take the responsibility for their learning into their own hands by knowing what skills make up a desired performance so they can strive to achieve it.
• assist students in developing their personal ability to judge excellence, or the lack thereof, in their work and the work of others.
• assure students that there is equality in grading and standardized expectations.
• praise students’ strengths and identify their weaknesses because rubrics provide visual representations of areas of excellence and under-performance allowing easy identification of what areas to work on at a glance.
• provide a clear means for students to monitor their progress on specific criteria over a given period of instruction or time.
• ensure for teachers that they are evaluating student work fairly, clearly and thoroughly.

HOW DO I DO IT?

The English professors at Skyline College have worked together to create a shared rubric so that regardless of English class or instructor, students will be evaluated according to a consistent set of criteria based on a shared understanding of writing fundamentals. All of the materials designed to instruct, evaluate and comment on student writing in this Rhetoric are based on that departmental rubric. Contained here are three different approaches using Skyline College’s English Departmental rubric to evaluate and comment on writing. These rubrics can be used by students to evaluate one another, and they can be used by instructors to evaluate students. This provides further consistency and shared expectations as the students and the instructor use the same evaluating tool.

Composition Essay Rubric with Explanations

How to : Check the appropriate rubric boxes and provide explanations afterwards of the ratings. Using the information : For areas where a writer receives “needs work” or “adequate,” review that area in the Rhetoric associated with that topic and use the advice when revising.

Comments: further explanations behind the scoring choices along with revision advice (for more commenting space, insert electronically or attach additional page)

Literature Essay Rubric with Explanations

Composition essay rubric.

How to : Check the appropriate rubric boxes and provide explanations afterwards of the ratings. Using the information : For areas where a writer receives “needs work” or “adequate,” review that area in the Rhetoric associated with that topic (link below) and use the advice when revising.

Literature Essay Rubric

Composition essay rubric with integrated comments.

How to : Check the appropriate rubric box and provide an explanation of the ratings by answering the questions below. Fill out each section thoroughly to provide thoughtful and comprehensive feedback. Using the information : For areas where a writer receives “needs work” or “adequate,” review that area in the Rhetoric associated with that topic (link below) and use the advice when revising.

Literature Essay Rubric with Integrated Comments

• Generating Ideas
• Drafting and Revision
• Sources and Evidence
• Style and Grammar
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Writing Resources

Grading rubric for an essay in a literature class.

The A Essay makes an interesting, complex—even surprising—argument and is thoroughly well-executed.   It both engages the text closely and sheds light on relevant contexts (historical, theoretical, or critical).

• Thesis and Motive . The major claim of the essay is complex, insightful, and unexpected.   The thesis responds to a true question, tension or problem.   It is stated clearly at the outset and evolves throughout the paper.   The introduction has a clear motive that outlines the stakes of the argument and demonstrates a meaningful context for the author’s claims. Ideally demonstrates familiarity with current critical conversation on relevant issues.
• Evidence & Analysis . The best available evidence is introduced not only to support but also to challenge and complicate the claims and stakes of the essay. It is often drawn from unexpected places, and its nuances are insightfully explored. The argument is sufficiently complex to require an explanation of how the evidence supports the essay’s claims, and evidence, drawn both from close reading and from contextual research, is used to develop new claims.
• Structure . Ideas develop over the course of the essay so that the foundations established early on push the argument toward a more complex conclusion.   The possibility of other ways of approaching the material is explored, and the validity of other arguments about the material is discussed.

Style . The writing is clear and concise, yet sophisticated, demonstrating sentence variety and appropriate vocabulary.   The essay is a pleasure to read.

Revision . The essay does not simply address the comments of the instructor and peer reviewers, but altogether transforms its ideas or use of evidence from the draft.   It is meticulously proofread.

The high B Essay falls into two categories: 1. aims at making an engaging, complex argument but is hindered by a few local problems with structure, analysis, or style (e.g. wide-ranging but not deep; contextual but not textual); 2. has a simpler argument that is thoroughly well-executed (e.g. close reading is present but contexts are lacking, or alternative viewpoints are not engaged). 

Thesis &  Motive . Either the major claim is clear, arguable, and complex but misses opportunities for nuance or subtlety, or else it set out to explore an ambitious idea whose complexity leads to minor errors in articulation.   The introduction suggests some context or stakes for the argument but does not offer strong motivation, or a convincing motive is gestured at but remains implicit. There is limited or no engagement with current scholarship

Evidence & Analysis . All claims are supported with evidence that is integral to the development of the argument, but the link between claim and evidence may be at times unconvincing, unnuanced, or insufficiently explained. The analysis demonstrates several moments of keen insight but also includes arguments that lack subtlety or are insufficiently explained elsewhere in the essay. Only one possible way of approaching the material is fully explored; other perspectives receive limited attention.

Structure . The argument follows a clear logical arc, but small gaps, digressions, or a lack of transitional language interrupt the flow of ideas in a few places.

Style . The writing is mostly clear but may contain a few confusing sentences or mechanical problems. It is mostly engaging.

Revision . The essay has mostly resolved the major concerns of the reviewers, though a few minor issues remain. It has clearly been proofread.

The B Essay addresses the assignment and demonstrates effort to produce a complex argument. However, the essay is hindered by either a lack of nuance in the thesis or by structural, analytical, or stylistic problems in the execution of its ideas.

Thesis & Motive . Either the major claim is clear and arguable but lacks complexity or else sets out to explore an intriguing idea that has not developed into a specific claim. The introduction either unsuccessfully motivates an unexpected claim or weakly and artificially motivates a claim that does not constitute a significant revision of the status quo . No attention is given to alternative ways to approach the material

Evidence & Analysis . Most ideas are supported with well-chosen evidence that is sometimes explored in an insightful way, although nuances are often neglected. The text is treated as a set of unproblematic statements or observations, rather than grappled with as an aesthetic object.   The evidence is often integral to the development of the argument, although there may be gaps in the explanation of how the evidence supports the essay’s claims.

Structure . The argument is interesting and logical, but the structure of the essay is, at times, confusing. The essay’s claims, while complex, are executed in a confusing sequence, or they seem related to the thesis but have a confusing relationship to one another. Transitional language may be present but is unsuccessful or inconsistent. No evidence of engagement with possible alternative ways of approaching material.

Style . The writing is straightforward, mostly clear, and often engaging, but it contains occasional mechanical problems, confusing sentences, or moments of vagueness.

Revision . The essay attempts to address reviewers concerns but only does so in parts of the essay. The changes in the essay are improvements but may not be global changes. There may be a few lapses in proofreading.

The low B Essay demonstrates an effort to address the assignment, but the argument is ultimately too obvious, undeveloped, or obscured by significant structural, analytical, or stylistic problems.

Thesis & Motive . The major claim is logical and would require some evidence to prove, but the stakes are not as high as they should be. The essay’s major claims are somewhat unclear, unspecific or uninteresting. The introduction lacks a clear motive or contains an unspecific or weak motive; it evidences no encounters with any sort of critical interlocutors.

Evidence & Analysis .  Evidence is usually relevant, but the essay often does not consider the most important evidence or will present multiple examples to demonstrate the same idea. The essay makes some effort to explore the subtleties of the evidence and may be occasionally insightful, but it rarely uses evidence to complicate the argument and develop new claims.

Structure .  The argument mostly makes logical sense, but the structure of the essay is confusing—jumping around, missing transitions, or taking on too many ideas at once. Or, the argument itself may be presented simplistically and repetitively, leading to a predictable structure and unnecessary transitional language.

Style .  Though the writing generally makes sense and there may be moments where the diction is appropriate and elegant, it is weak enough in places to obscure the author’s ideas, often as a result of vagueness, verbosity, awkwardness, or a recurrent mechanical problem.

Revision . The essay is either a C paper (or lower) that has been revised to a low B, or it shows no significant revision.

The C Essay has significant problems with argumentation and/or presentation. 

Thesis & Motive . The major claim of the essay is weak—vague, simple, or obvious.   The essay does not respond to a true question, tension, or problem. The introduction usually has no motive.

Evidence & Analysis . Evidence may be lacking or irrelevant.   Instead of using evidence to develop the argument, examples remain undigested and unexplored. The author may simply summarize and simplify evidence, or present it in a confusing or unhelpful way.

Structure . The argument may be too simple and so does not develop over the course of the essay. Or the argument may be incoherent or too broad, without any clear organization or transitions. There is no sense of encounter with other minds and other perspectives to give relevance and engagement to the writing.

Style . The writing is generally confusing, awkward, or too verbose, and probably exhibits numerous mechanical problems.   Its diction may be inappropriate.

Revision . The essay did not change significantly from the first draft to the final draft.   Either the essay does not adequately address the criticism of peers and instructor, or the author missed opportunities for response.

Not Passing . An essay will not pass if it does not meet the minimum page requirement, does not address the assignment, plagiarizes, or does not meet standards for academic writing or argumentation.

Developed at Brandeis University through a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation

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Essay Rubric

About this printout

This rubric delineates specific expectations about an essay assignment to students and provides a means of assessing completed student essays.

Teaching with this printout

More ideas to try.

Grading rubrics can be of great benefit to both you and your students. For you, a rubric saves time and decreases subjectivity. Specific criteria are explicitly stated, facilitating the grading process and increasing your objectivity. For students, the use of grading rubrics helps them to meet or exceed expectations, to view the grading process as being “fair,” and to set goals for future learning. In order to help your students meet or exceed expectations of the assignment, be sure to discuss the rubric with your students when you assign an essay. It is helpful to show them examples of written pieces that meet and do not meet the expectations. As an added benefit, because the criteria are explicitly stated, the use of the rubric decreases the likelihood that students will argue about the grade they receive. The explicitness of the expectations helps students know exactly why they lost points on the assignment and aids them in setting goals for future improvement.

• Routinely have students score peers’ essays using the rubric as the assessment tool. This increases their level of awareness of the traits that distinguish successful essays from those that fail to meet the criteria. Have peer editors use the Reviewer’s Comments section to add any praise, constructive criticism, or questions.
• Alter some expectations or add additional traits on the rubric as needed. Students’ needs may necessitate making more rigorous criteria for advanced learners or less stringent guidelines for younger or special needs students. Furthermore, the content area for which the essay is written may require some alterations to the rubric. In social studies, for example, an essay about geographical landforms and their effect on the culture of a region might necessitate additional criteria about the use of specific terminology.
• After you and your students have used the rubric, have them work in groups to make suggested alterations to the rubric to more precisely match their needs or the parameters of a particular writing assignment.
• Print this resource

Explore Resources by Grade

• Kindergarten K

Barry Mauer; John Venecek; and Emily Smeltz

This page contains the following rubrics:

• Identifying a Problem
• Establishing Relevance
• Evaluating Purpose
• Searching as Strategic Exploration
• Using Evidence for a Research Project
• Interpreting Literary Works
• Creating an Annotated Bibliography
• Creating a Literature Review
• Finding Trustworthy Sources
• Creating a Research Question
• Creating an Abstract
• Relating the Conceptual and Concrete
• Positing a Thesis Statement
• Composing a Title
• Defining Key Terms
• Structuring Your Writing
• Avoiding Plagiarism

Identifying a Problem Rubric (Chapter 2)

Establishing Relevance Rubric (Chapter 2)

Evaluating Purpose Rubric (Chapter 2)

Searching as Strategic Exploration Rubric (Chapter 3)

Using Evidence for a Research Project Rubric (Chapter 4)

Interpreting Literary Works Rubric (Chapter 5)

Creating an Annotated Bibliography Rubric (Chapter 6)

Creating a Literature Review Rubric (Chapter 6)

Finding Trustworthy Sources Rubric (Chapter 9)

Creating a Research Question Rubric (Chapter 10)

Creating an Abstract Rubric (Chapter 10)

Relating the Conceptual and Concrete Rubric (Chapter 11)

Positing a Thesis Statement Rubric (Chapter 12)

Composing a Title Rubric (Chapter 12)

* Note: Titles that reference thesis statements and arguments may be OPTIONAL. Please check with your instructor.

Defining Key Terms Rubric (Chapter 12)

Structuring Your Writing Rubric (Chapter 13)

Avoiding Plagiarism Rubric (Chapter 14)

Rubrics Copyright © 2021 by Barry Mauer; John Venecek; and Emily Smeltz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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