Literary

Essay Rubric
Criteria

Exceeds Expectations

Adequately Achieves
Expectations

Approaching Adequacy

Inadequate

Fluency

The essay includes at least

five, well-developed
paragraphs. The
sentences are easy to
follow and help to make
the essay understandable.

The essay includes five

paragraphs, but they are
not well-developed or
the language is choppy.

The essay does not

include five paragraphs
or the choppiness of the
language distracts from
the meaning.

The essay is not five

paragraphs and is unclear
and unrelatable.

Development

The essay includes a claim

and at least 3 reasons
that closely connect the
claim and the evidence. It
includes specific, well-
chosen evidence from the
text that supports that
claim. All the
interpretation makes
sense and clearly
supports the claim.

The essay includes a

relatively clear claim and
logical reasons. Most
pieces of evidence
support the claim. Most
of the interpretation
makes sense and
supports the claim.

The essay lacks a clear

claim or the reasons do
not seem to connect the
claim and the evidence.
Some pieces of evidence
support the claim. Some
of the interpretation
does not make sense or
does not support the
claim.

The essay lacks a clear

claim or the reasons do
not seem to connect the
claim and the evidence. It
lacks evidence or does not
support the claim at all.
The interpretation does
not make sense and does
not support the claim.

Organization
Required for Intro Paragraph
- Lead
- Author & Title
- Background information
- Thesis that includes 3 satire
devices and that answers the so
what question
Required for Body Paragraphs
- Topic Sentence
- 3 examples per each satire
device
- Evidence: summary,
paraphrase, and quotes
- Explain the connection for each
- Transitional sentence
Required for Conclusion
Paragraph
- Thesis restated
- Summarize the main points
- A statement regarding
relevance today

The essay includes body

paragraphs in the most
appropriate order to
support the claim and
reasons. The transitions
between examples and
paragraphs make for
smooth reading.

The essay includes

paragraphs and is
organized in a reasonable
order to support the
claim and reasons. Some
transitions are evident
that make the essay
easier to read.

The essay does not

include organized body
paragraphs in a particular
order to provide clear
support for the claim and
reasons. The transitions
between examples and
between paragraphs are
choppy or missing and
may distract from the
meaning.

The essay is disorganized.

It may be missing
indented paragraphs. It
may be missing an
introduction and/or a
conclusion.

Editing/Correctness

The essay is essentially

error free. There is a
sense of careful editing.
Appropriate MLA format
for literary essay is used.
No redundancy.

The essay includes

occasional errors. Some
sense of editing is
obvious. Some errors in
MLA formatting a literary
essay are present. Some
redundancy might be
present.

The essay includes

multiple errors. Little or
no sense of editing is
present. Rules for MLA
formatting a literary
essay are not followed.
Multiple redundancies
may be present.

The essay includes many

errors in spelling,
capitalization, and
punctuation that often
interfere with meaning.
Not MLA formatting.

Name __________________________________________________________________________________________ Score____________________