Scoring Guide Please score only the sections you’re being asked to score!

Score for Fluency Read the letter aloud. Hold up a finger every time you come across something that is hard to read, cofussing to read, leaves out word, and/or has a a duplicate word. Start with the address. 4 = I found 0 to 3 errors. 3 = I found 4 to 6 errors. 2 = I found 7-10 errors. 1 = I found more than 10 errors.

Score for Organization 4 = The heading and the closing (i.e. “Sincerely,” are both on the middle seam of the paper; the paragraphs are indented a full thumb-space; the greeting (Dear So-and-so) is against the pink margin line and is followed by a comma; the writer skipped a line between paragraphs; the letter has one-inch margins on all sides. 3 = One of the above criteria is missing. 2 = Some of the above criteria are missing, but it still looks like a letter. 1 = It doesn’t look like a letter.

Score for Word Choice 4 = The person who chose the words in this letter has a very good vocabulary, and he/she obviously used both a dictionary and thesaurus to choose fancy words. 3 = The person who wrote this letter tried to use big words, but he/she probably didn’t use a thesaurus and/or dictionary to do so. 2 = This letter is written in typical high-school language, but there’s no slang. OR this person didn’t use his/her vocabulary words in the correct context. 1 = This letter uses slang, texting, symbols, and/or abbreviations, and/or sometimes it’s hard to understand because of poor wording.

Score for Conventions Part 1 Compare the letter’s highlighted words to the vocabulary list stapled to the back of the letter. Mark each misspelled word with “SP” over the top of the word.. If the writer used the vocabulary in a meaningless list, mark each of these with a “WC” over the top of the word. Mark any missing punctuation as a proofreading symbol. If you find other mistakes (capitalization, spelling, or grammar errors) mark these using the appropriate proofreading symbols.

Score for Conventions Part 2 4 = There were no spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors at all. 3 = My partner found one or two errors in spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar. 2 = My partner found 3-10 errors. 1 = My partner found more than 10 errors.

Score for Voice 4 = When a sophomore reads this letter, he/she will laugh out loud, cry, or gasp in awe, because it’s so filled with fascinating and wonderful information. He/she may even walk up to the author in the hall during school and thank him/her for this valuable information. 3 = This letter was written with information that’s important to the intended audience (a sophomore), but it won’t make him/her laugh or cry or gasp in awe, and he/she probably won’t thank the author, personally. 2 = The letter lacks information that’s relevant to the audience, or it’s written like it’s meant for a different audience (like a student doing a homework assignment meant only for his/her teacher to read). 1 = The letter is written in a language the audience can’t read or it’s unfinished.

Score for Ideas 4 = This letter’s topic is unlike anyone else’s. It’s completely original. 3 = This letter’s theme is pretty much like everyone else’s, but it has kind of a creative approach to the same topic. 2 = This letter’s theme is exactly like everyone else’s. The writer probably copied one of the teacher’s examples for their topic. 1 = This letter is not on the assigned topic. For example, the topic of the letter may be friendly and conversational, but it’s not about what sophomores can expect in Junior English.