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1
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2
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3
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4
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Covers mature, thought-provoking topic; illustrates author's life experiences and beliefs; details and relates events, beliefs, and personal characteristic(s)
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Is shallow or elementary; does not leave reader with a probing question or intriguing idea; fails to relate events, details, and/or beliefs, but is vague
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Is specific; attempts to cover a topic or question, but does not succeed in thoroughly addressing it; vaguely or weakly relates events, details, and beliefs
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Is cliche, predictable; may relate specific events, details, beliefs, but does not present them convincingly; does not address intriguing question or topic that will stay with the reader
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Includes specific details, events, beliefs and relates how these inform a personal characteristic; leads reader to contemplate or appreciate topic; is intriguing
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Is well-organized and coherent; does not need to be linear, but components should connect logically and relate clearly to each other
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Is not organized or coherent; fails to connect ideas; may be sporadic, random, or poorly structured/organized; difficult to read and/or understand
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Is somewhat connected, but may be formulaic or predictable; needs to improve transitions and connections between parts; sections are weakly related or tied together
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Linear or non-liner connections; organized, but could use minor improvements; may be difficult to follow at 1 point, but is clearly organized overall
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Connection not necessarily linear, but piece is fused together; components of piece depend on one another for it to make sense; clear relation between parts
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Draws abstract comparisons between specific incidents and abstract concepts; maintains balance between describing specific incidents and relating them to broader, more general ideas and personal beliefs
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Fails to connect abstract to concrete; may exclude abstract altogether; describes incidents, but lacks specificity; doesn't present personal belief or general idea
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Attempts to connect abstract and concrete, but result is weak; does not include all of the following: specific incidents, abstract general idea; isn't convincing
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Connects abstract and concrete, but relation is not original or striking; presents individual's idea/point clearly, but doesn't support it well; describes specific incidents
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Elevates main idea by juxtaposing it against a novel, interesting idea/item; connection between abstract and concrete is strong, understandable; presents individual's belief/idea persuasively/convincingly
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Uses precise language, action verbs, sensory details, colorful modifiers, and style as appropriate to audience throughout the piece; contains varied sentence structures, mature word choice
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Has weak or absent voice, feels impersonal or forces; includes poor word choices; repetitive, predictable structure or sentences; includes vague details, if any; too much or too little description
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Demonstrates attempt at voice, but does not attain it; can see student in work, but not consistently; minimally varies word choice and sentence structure; repetitive wording
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Projects moderate to strong voice; feels personal; is fairly enjoyable to read, but not riveting or memorable; moderate variation of words; strong descriptions; may/may not use concrete details
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Has strong voice that is enjoyable to read; uses concrete details; sprinkles adjectives and adverbs moderately and appropriately; diverse sentence structures manifest themselves in the work
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Includes quality printed/written evidence of student's organizational and pre-writing strategies; Exhibits correct grammar and mechanics
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Does not include any evidence of pre-writing or organization; makes 7+ mechanical errors
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Presents 1 page to evidence her planning strategies; makes 5-7 mechanical errors
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Includes 2 pages of pre-writing notes; makes 3-5 mechanical errors
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Presents essay with at least 2 pages that evidence brainstorming, organization, and/or revision; 0-2 mechanical errors are present in the work
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Total---->
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