IDEAS and CONTENT-clear, focused, interesting writing; holds attention; main ideas are apparent, developed and supported dependent upon the purpose and the audience.

ORGANIZATION-"The organization enhances the central idea(s) and its development. The order and structure are compelling and move the reader through the text easily. The writing is characterized by effective, perhaps creative, sequencing; the organizational structure fits the topic, and the writing is easy to follow.The writing is a strong, inviting beginning that draws the reader in and a strong satisfying sense of resolution or closure.The writing is smooth, effective transitions among all elements (sentences, paragraphs, ideas). The writing is details that fit where placed."

VOICE-"The writer has chosen a voice appropriate for the topic, purpose and audience. The writer seems deeply committed to the topic, and there is an exceptional sense of writing to be read. The writing is expressive, engaging, or sincere. The writing is characterized by an effective level of closeness to or distance from the audience (e.g., a narrative should have a strong personal voice, while an expository piece may require extensive use of outside resources and a more academic voice; nevertheless, both should be engaging, lively, or interesting. Technical writing may require greater distance.). The writing is characterized by an exceptionally strong sense of audience; the writer seems to be aware of the reader and of how to communicate the message most effectively. The reader may discern the writer behind the words and feel a sense of interaction. The writing is characterized by a sense that the topic has come to life; when appropriate, the writing may show originality, liveliness, honesty, conviction, excitement, humor, or suspense."

WORD CHOICE "Words convey the intended message in an exceptionally interesting, precise, and natural way appropriate to audience and purpose. The writer employs a rich, broad range of words which have been carefully chosen and thoughtfully placed for impact. The writing is characterized by accurate, strong, specific words; powerful words energize the writing. The writing is characterized by fresh, original expression; slang, if used seems purposeful and is effective. The writing is characterized by vocabulary that is striking and varied, but that is natural and not overdone. The writing is characterized by ordinary words used in an unusual way.
The writing is characterized by words that evoke strong images; figurative language may be used."

SENTENCE FLUENCY-correct sentence structure with creative flow of words which convey the key ideas and detail in an easy to read form; varied sentence patterns; use of language to provide vision; natural dialogue if used.

CONVENTIONS -punctuation, spelling, capitalization, paragraph breaks, grammar and usage

Official Scoring Guide: Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards

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