6 This response demonstrates advanced success with the text-based writing task. The essay:

• offers a clear thesis, with consistent focus on the assigned task
• shows effective organization throughout, with smooth transitions
• offers thoughtful, creative ideas and an insightful, comprehensive grasp of the assigned text
• develops ideas thoroughly, using relevant, well-elaborated information, examples, and details from the assigned text
• exhibits mature control of written language

5 This response demonstrates proficient success with the text-based writing task. For the most part, the essay:

• offers a clear thesis, with focus on the assigned task
• shows effective organization, with transitions
• offers thoughtful ideas and a sound grasp of the assigned task
• develops ideas well, using relevant information, examples and details from the assigned text

4 This response demonstrates competent success with the text-based writing task. For the most part, the essay:

• offers a clear thesis and focuses on the assigned task, with minor distractions
• shows effective organization, with minor lapses
• offers mostly thoughtful ideas and a general grasp of the assigned text
• develops ideas adequately, with mostly relevant information, examples, and details from the assigned text
• exhibits general control of written language

3 This response demonstrates limited success with the text-based writing task. The essay may:

• include some loosely related ideas that distract from the writer’s text-based focus
• show some organization, with noticeable gaps in the logical flow of ideas
• develop ideas with uneven use of information, examples, and details from the assigned text
• exhibit limited control of written language

2 This response demonstrates basic success with the text based writing task. For the most part, the essay:

• includes loosely related ideas that seriously distract from the writer's text-based focus
• shows minimal organization, with major gaps in the logical flow of ideas
• offers ideas that merely skim the surface, with a weak grasp of the assigned text
• develops ideas with inadequate elaboration, using insufficient material from the assigned text
• exhibits significant problems with control of written language

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

• shows little awareness of the topic and purpose for writing
• lacks organization
• offers unclear, confusing ideas and little or no grasp of the assigned text
• develops ideas in only a minimal way, if at all–with little or no material from the assigned text
• 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