Author: Rhodes, Sally

Ohio’s State Test Argumentation Writing Rubric, Grades 6–12

Ohio’s State Test

English Language Arts ArgumentationWriting Rubrics,
Grades 6–12

UPDATED OCTOBER 2015

Ohio’s State Test Argumentation Writing Rubric, Grades 6-12
(Score points within each domain include most of the characteristics below.)

Score | Purpose, Focus, and Organization (4-points) | Evidence and Elaboration (4-points) | Conventions of Standard English (Begins at score point 2)

4

The response is fully sustained and consistently focused within the purpose, audience, and task; and it has a clear claim and effective organizationalstructurecreatingcoherenceand completeness. The response includes most of the following:
A strongly maintained claim with little or no loosely related material
Clearly addressed alternateor opposing claims*
Skillful use of a variety of transitional strategies to clarify the relationshipsbetween and amongideas
Logical progression of ideas from beginning to end with a satisfying introductionand conclusion
Appropriate style and tone established and maintained

The response provides thorough, convincing, and credible support, citing evidence for the writer’s claim that includesthe effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response includes most of the following:
Smoothly integrated, thorough, and relevant evidence, including precise references to sources
Effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques to support the claim, demonstrating an understanding of the topic and text
Clear and effective expression of ideas, using preciselanguage
Academicand domain-specific vocabulary clearly appropriate for the audienceand purpose
Varied sentence structure, demonstrating languagefacility

3

The response is adequately sustained and generally focused within the purpose, audience, and task; and it has a clear claim and evident organizational structure with a sense of completeness. The response includes most of the following:
A maintained claim, though some loosely related material may  be present
Alternateor opposing claims included but may not be completelyaddressed*
Adequateuse of a variety of transitional strategies to clarify the relationships between and amongideas
Adequateprogression of ideas from beginning to end with a sufficient introductionand conclusion
Appropriate style and toneestablished

The response provides adequatesupport, citing
evidence for the writer’s claim that includes the use of sources, facts, and details. The response includes most of the following:
Generally integrated and relevant evidence from sources, though references may be general or imprecise
Adequateuse of some elaborativetechniques
Adequateexpression of ideas, employing a mix of precise and general language
Domain-specificvocabularygenerallyappropriate for the audience and purpose
Some variation in sentence structure

Score | Purpose, Focus, and Organization (4-points) | Evidence and Elaboration (4-points) | Conventions of Standard English (2-points)

2

The response is somewhat sustained within the purpose, audience, and task but may include loosely related or extraneous material; and it may have a claim with an inconsistentorganizational structure. The response may include the following:
A focused claim but insufficiently sustained or unclear
Insufficiently addressed alternateor opposing claims*
Inconsistentuse of transitionalstrategies with little variety
Uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end with an inadequateintroduction or conclusion

The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the writer’s claim that includes partial use of sources, facts, and details. The response may include the following:
Weakly integrated evidence from sources; erraticor irrelevant referencesor citations
Repetitive or ineffectiveuse of elaborative techniques
Imprecise or simplistic expression of ideas
Some useof inappropriatedomain-specific vocabulary
Most sentences limited to simple constructions

The responsedemonstrates an adequatecommand of basic conventions. The response may include the following:
Some minor errors in usage but no patternsof errors
Adequateuse of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling

1

The response is related to the topic but may demonstrate little or no awareness of the purpose, audience, and task; and it may have no discernible claim and little or no discernible organizational structure. The response may include the following:
An absent, confusing, or ambiguous claim
Missing alternate or opposing claims*
Few or no transitional strategies
Frequent extraneous ideasthat impedeunderstanding
Too brief to demonstrate knowledge of focus or organization

The responseprovides minimalsupport/evidencefor the writer’s claim, including little if any use of sources, facts, and details. The response may include the following:
Minimal, absent, erroneous, or irrelevant evidence or citations from the source material
Expression of ideas that is vague, unclear, or confusing
Limitedand often inappropriatelanguage or domain-specific  vocabulary
Sentences limited to simple constructions

The response demonstratesa partial command of basic conventions. The response may include the following:
Various errors in usage
Inconsistentuse of correct punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling

0 | | | The responsedemonstrates a lack of command ofconventions, with frequent and severe errors often obscuringmeaning.
*Not applicable at grade 6

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