NJSLA-A Grades 6–8 Argumentative Rubric
The NJ NJSLA-A Grades 6–8 Argumentative Rubric scored out of 15 points across 3 criteria, for argumentative writing at grades 6-8. Published by New Jersey Department of Education.
3 pages, US Letter, black and white. Free, no account, no email. Includes every performance level and a blank scoring sheet.
How it is scored
- Ideas and Focus5 pts · 5 levels
- Organization5 pts · 5 levels
- Expression and Word Choice5 pts · 5 levels
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The full rubric
Ideas and Focus · 5 points
5 points
Focused response, clear understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a claim that clearly introduces a topic or issue; relevant and accurate data and evidence that clearly support the claim; logical reasoning that clearly demonstrates understanding of the topic or text; (G7 only) clearly acknowledges an alternate or opposing claim; (G8 only) clearly acknowledges and distinguishes an alternate or opposing claim.
4 points
Mostly focused response, general understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a claim that generally introduces a topic or issue; accurate data and evidence that generally support the claim; logical reasoning that generally demonstrates understanding of the topic or text; (G7 only) generally acknowledges an alternate or opposing claim; (G8 only) generally acknowledges and distinguishes an alternate or opposing claim.
3 points
Basic response, some understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a claim that somewhat introduces a topic or issue; data and evidence that somewhat support the claim (information may be general); reasoning that somewhat demonstrates understanding of the topic or text; (G7 only) somewhat acknowledges an alternate or opposing claim; (G8 only) somewhat acknowledges or distinguishes an alternate or opposing claim.
2 points
Limited response, partial understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a claim that attempts to introduce a topic or issue; limited evidence related to the claim (information may be general); limited or attempted reasoning related to the topic or text; (G7 and G8 only) attempts to acknowledge an alternate or opposing claim.
1 point
Minimally written response, minimal understanding of task and purpose. Characteristics: a minimal, missing, or unclear claim; minimal, missing, or unclear supporting evidence; minimal, missing, or unclear demonstration of reasoning; (G7 and G8 only) minimal, missing, or unclear acknowledgement of an alternate or opposing claim.
Organization · 5 points
5 points
Focused response. Characteristics: a clear introduction that contains clear reasons and relevant evidence to support a claim; a clear organizational structure that presents reasons and evidence logically; a concluding statement or section that clearly follows from the argument presented; (G7 and G8) a conclusion that also clearly supports the argument presented.
4 points
Mostly focused response. Characteristics: a general introduction that contains reasons and relevant evidence to support a claim; an organizational structure that generally presents reasons and evidence logically; a concluding statement or section that generally follows from the argument presented; (G7 and G8) a conclusion that also generally supports the argument presented.
3 points
Basic response. Characteristics: a basic introduction that contains some reasoning and evidence to support a claim; a basic organizational structure that somewhat presents reasons or evidence; a concluding statement or section that somewhat follows from the argument presented; (G7 and G8) a conclusion that also somewhat supports the argument presented.
2 points
Limited response. Characteristics: a limited or attempted introduction to support a claim; a limited or attempted organizational structure that attempts to present reasons or evidence; a concluding statement or section that attempts to relate to the argument presented.
1 point
Minimally written response. Characteristics: a missing or unclear introduction; a minimal or unclear organizational structure; a missing or unclear concluding statement or section.
Expression and Word Choice · 5 points
5 points
Focused response. Characteristics: (G6 only) words, phrases, and clauses that clearly link and clarify relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence; (G7 only) clearly create cohesion and clarify relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence; (G8 only) clearly create cohesion and clarify relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence; establishes and maintains a formal/academic style, approach, and form.
4 points
Mostly focused response. Characteristics: (G6 only) words, phrases, and clauses that generally link and clarify relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence; (G7 only) generally create cohesion and clarify relationships among claim(s), reasons, and evidence; (G8 only) generally create cohesion and clarify relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence; generally establishes and maintains a formal/academic style, approach, and form.
3 points
Basic response. Characteristics: (G6 only) words, phrases, and clauses that somewhat link or clarify relationships among claim(s), reasons, or evidence; (G7 only) somewhat create cohesion or clarify relationships among claim(s), reasons, or evidence; (G8 only) somewhat create cohesion or clarify relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, or evidence; somewhat establishes a formal/academic style, approach, or form.
2 points
Limited response. Characteristics: (G6 only) words, phrases, or clauses that attempt to link claim(s), reasons, or evidence; (G7 and G8 only) words, phrases, or clauses that attempt to relate claim(s), reasons, or evidence; attempts a formal/academic style, approach, or form.
1 point
Minimally written response. Characteristics: minimal or unclear use of words, phrases, or clauses to link claim(s) or reasons; minimal or missing formal/academic style, approach, or form.
This rubric applied to a real essay
Below is a sample essay scored against the rubric above, shown the way it looks inside the grader. The marks, the scores and every comment are the grader’s own output, not written by hand for this page. It scored 9 out of 15.
The essay is written for this page, at roughly a B grade so both the strengths and the weaknesses are worth seeing. It is not a real student’s work.
The prompt
Some districts have moved their middle school start times later in the morning. Write an essay arguing whether middle schools should start later. Support your position with specific reasons and examples.
My middle school starts at 7:40 in the morning, which means my alarm goes off at 6:05. Middle schools should push their start time back to at least 8:301, because students are not actually awake for first period, because the schedule works against how our bodies are built, and because it would help attendance.
The clearest problem is that first period is wasted.2 My first class is science, which is the hardest class I have, and I spend most of it trying to keep my eyes open. Last month our teacher gave the same review quiz to our 7:40 class and to her fifth period class. Our class average was eleven points lower on the exact same quiz.3 That is not because we are worse at science. It is because we took it before our brains had started.4
Sleep is also just important in general. Everybody knows that teenagers need5 more sleep than they get. Our school has a really nice new gym that they built two years ago.6
Middle schools should start at 8:30, the research supports it and the test scores support it.8
Your whole class, marked like this
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How it scored, criterion by criterion
The essay opens with a clear, specific claim and offers one concrete piece of evidence — the quiz score comparison — that genuinely supports the argument. However, the second body paragraph dissolves into an irrelevant sentence about a gym, leaving the 'sleep is important' reason completely unsupported by any data or reasoning. The counterclaim (buses) is acknowledged in a single sentence that immediately concedes it without any engagement or rebuttal, which only partly meets the criterion. Overall the essay shows some understanding of argumentative task but the gaps in evidence and reasoning keep it at a basic level.
The essay has a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, a nod to a counterclaim, and a concluding sentence, so the overall skeleton is present. However, one body paragraph collapses midway (the gym sentence breaks the logic entirely), the counterclaim paragraph is only two sentences and does not develop into a coherent section, and the conclusion restates the claim but refers vaguely to 'research' that was never cited in the body. The organizational structure is basic — functional but uneven.
The writing is generally clear and readable, and transitional phrases like 'The clearest problem is' and 'Sleep is also just' attempt to link sections together. The style, however, drifts noticeably toward informal and conversational ('just important in general,' 'Everybody knows,' 'really nice new gym'), which undermines the formal/academic register the rubric requires. Word choice is plain but functional; there is little use of precise academic vocabulary or sophisticated connective language to clarify relationships between the claim, reasons, and evidence.
What the student was told to fix
- Replace the irrelevant gym sentence with a specific fact or statistic about teen sleep needs
- Develop the counterclaim paragraph — explain why the bus problem can be solved or why the benefits outweigh the difficulty
- Maintain a formal/academic style throughout — avoid 'everybody knows,' 'just,' and conversational hedges
- Ensure the conclusion only references evidence that actually appears in the body of the essay
Graded on 2026-08-09. A teacher can change any score before it goes back to the student.
Source
New Jersey Department of Education. Official document. Rubrics are revised periodically, so check the source before using this for a graded assessment.
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