4 This response demonstrates advanced success with the descriptive writing task. The essay:

• focuses consistently on describing a single place
• shows effective spatial organization throughout, with smooth transitions
• offers thoughtful, creative description
• develops the description thoroughly, using precise and vivid sensory details and images
• exhibits mature control of written language

3 This response demonstrates competent success with the persuasive writing task. For the most part, the essay:

• focuses on describing a single place, with minor digressions
• shows effective spatial organization, with minor lapses
• offers mostly thoughtful description
• develops the description adequately, with some sensory details and images
• exhibits general control of written language

2 This response demonstrates limited success with the persuasive writing task. The essay may:

• include some loosely related ideas that distract from the writer’s descriptive focus
• show some spatial organization, with noticeable flaws in the descriptive arrangement
• offer routine, predictable description
• develop the description with uneven use of sensory detail
• exhibit limited control of written language

1 This response demonstrates emerging effort with descriptive writing. For the most part, the essay:

• shows little awareness of the topic and the descriptive purpose
• lacks organization
• offers unclear and confusing description
• uses sensory details in only a minimal way, if at all
• exhibits major problems with control of written language

Unscorable This response is unscorable for one or more of the following reasons. The paper may be:

• so unusual that it cannot be scored by the computer
• off-topic
• a paraphrase of the prompt
• written in a foreign language
• incomprehensible
• too brief to determine whether the student has responded to the task
• a written refusal to write
  

Because your essay cannot be scored by our system, it is not possible to provide more detailed feedback. For ideas that can help you improve your writing, click on Writing Activities.