As an ELA teacher, there are very few things more overwhelming than grading essay assignments. It is important work, but it requires an incredible amount of grading time to do it properly.
One way I've found to make the process more efficient is to simplify the essay rubric. Creating a broader rubric template that is fair to all levels of learners and allows time for individual feedback has helped me to become more efficient and, hopefully, more attentive to the specific needs of my young writers.
My goal with essay writing is to teach students how to clearly state and organize their thoughts. Yes, spelling and grammar are important as well, but the goal and structure of their arguments are the most important parts of essay units. While spelling mistakes are becoming more rare in this era of Chromebooks, spelling and grammar check tools won't fix a poorly structured argument or opinion essay.
I divide point scoring into the three categories of content, conventions, and presentation. For a 5-paragraph essay assignment, a perfect score across all three categories requires the following:
Essay Content: Student writing includes 5 complete paragraphs, including an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a closing. The student has three clear resolutions explained. The student included a topic sentence, specific details, and a closing sentence for each paragraph. Student writing is thorough, organized, and on-topic.
Conventions: The student spelled all words correctly. The student used perfect grammar with no errors. The student capitalized and punctuated with no errors.
Presentation: The first word of each paragraph is indented, and words are spaced correctly. It is evident the student proofread the essay, and the completed work looks professional.
This format is simple for students to understand and makes grading easier to navigate. Best of all, it allows time to include personalized feedback on each paper. I also appreciate that the scale is easy to memorize and communicate during our learning lessons.
Free PDF Download: 4 Essay Writing Rubrics for Grades 4-6
No matter how you structure a writing rubric, your students must be able to understand the requirements. Point scales that are confusing or difficult to read will ultimately make grading more difficult since students won't be able to follow the guidelines. This is why I recommend sharing your rubric with students in advance.
You can see in the image above how I align my writing lesson plans to the learning goal for each assignment. We teach in progressive steps, but the goal is for students to develop a new skill once they successfully finish their essay.
Essay Writing Resource for ELA Teachers
If you are looking for a new way to teach the essay writing process, then check out my Writing Rules PDF resource featured below.
This resource features lesson plans, writing prompts, and, of course, rubrics for the following writing units:
- Argument/Opinion Writing Unit
- Informative/Explanatory Writing Unit
- Narrative Writing Unit
- Editing and Revising Work
- Technology and Writing Work
- Research Writing Unit
I created these units while teaching 5th grade, so they are best suited for 4th grade through 6th grade. It also works well as a “refresher” for older kids who have not yet demonstrated a mastery of the essay writing process. Click here to learn more!
