New York State Grades 6-8 Writing Evaluation Rubric (4-Credit Constructed-Response / Writing from Sources)
The NY New York State Grades 6-8 Writing Evaluation Rubric (4-Credit Constructed-Response / Writing from Sources) scored out of 4 points across 4 criteria, for writing from sources, expository, argumentative writing at grades 6-8. Published by New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of State Assessment.
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
- Content and Analysis4 pts · 5 levels
- Command of Evidence4 pts · 5 levels
- Coherence, Organization, and Style4 pts · 5 levels
- Control of Conventions4 pts · 5 levels
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The full rubric
Content and Analysis · 4 points
4 points
Essays at this level: clearly introduce a topic in a manner that is compelling and follows logically from the task and purpose; demonstrate insightful analysis of the text(s).
3 points
Essays at this level: clearly introduce a topic in a manner that follows from the task and purpose; demonstrate grade-appropriate analysis of the text(s).
2 points
Essays at this level: introduce a topic in a manner that follows generally from the task and purpose; demonstrate a literal comprehension of the text(s).
1 point
Essays at this level: introduce a topic in a manner that does not logically follow from the task and purpose; demonstrate little understanding of the text(s).
0 points
Essays at this level: demonstrate a lack of comprehension of the text(s) or task.
Command of Evidence · 4 points
4 points
Essays at this level: develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples from the text(s); sustain the use of varied, relevant evidence.
3 points
Essays at this level: develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, quotations, or other information and examples from the text(s); sustain the use of relevant evidence, with some lack of variety.
2 points
Essays at this level: partially develop the topic of the essay with the use of some textual evidence, some of which may be irrelevant; use relevant evidence with inconsistency.
1 point
Essays at this level: demonstrate an attempt to use evidence, but only develop ideas with minimal, occasional evidence which is generally invalid or irrelevant.
0 points
Essays at this level: provide no evidence or provide evidence that is completely irrelevant.
Coherence, Organization, and Style · 4 points
4 points
Essays at this level: exhibit clear organization, with the skillful use of appropriate and varied transitions to create a unified whole and enhance meaning; establish and maintain a formal style, using grade-appropriate, stylistically sophisticated language and domain-specific vocabulary with a notable sense of voice; provide a concluding statement or section that is compelling and follows clearly from the topic and information presented.
3 points
Essays at this level: exhibit clear organization, with the use of appropriate transitions to create a unified whole; establish and maintain a formal style using precise language and domain-specific vocabulary; provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the topic and information presented.
2 points
Essays at this level: exhibit some attempt at organization, with inconsistent use of transitions; establish but fail to maintain a formal style, with inconsistent use of language and domain-specific vocabulary; provide a concluding statement or section that follows generally from the topic and information presented.
1 point
Essays at this level: exhibit little attempt at organization, or attempts to organize are irrelevant to the task; lack a formal style, using language that is imprecise or inappropriate for the text(s) and task; provide a concluding statement or section that is illogical or unrelated to the topic and information presented.
0 points
Essays at this level: exhibit no evidence of organization; use language that is predominantly incoherent or copied directly from the text(s); do not provide a concluding statement or section.
Control of Conventions · 4 points
4 points
Essays at this level: demonstrate grade-appropriate command of conventions, with few errors.
3 points
Essays at this level: demonstrate grade-appropriate command of conventions, with occasional errors that do not hinder comprehension.
2 points
Essays at this level: demonstrate emerging command of conventions, with some errors that may hinder comprehension.
1 point
Essays at this level: demonstrate a lack of command of conventions, with frequent errors that hinder comprehension.
0 points
Essays at this level: are minimal, making assessment of conventions unreliable.
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 16.
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
Write an essay explaining how a weekly farmers market affects the town around it. Use specific examples to develop your explanation.
Every Saturday morning from May to October, two blocks of Main Street close to cars and the farmers market sets up1. Most people think of it as a place to buy tomatoes, but it changes the town in other ways too2.
The clearest effect is on the small farms outside town. When a farm sells to a grocery distributor, it gets paid a wholesale price and the distributor keeps the rest.3 At the market, the farm keeps the whole price. Mr. Deitrich, who sells eggs and squash near the bank, told our class that a Saturday at the market brings in about the same as three days of wholesale orders4.
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How it scored, criterion by criterion
The essay introduces the farmers market topic and identifies two real effects (farm income and downtown foot traffic), which follows generally from the task. However, the analysis stays at a surface level — the student states effects without explaining mechanisms or significance. The third body paragraph ('The market also brings people downtown') is underdeveloped, and the fourth paragraph ('The market is good for the town too. It helps a lot of people.') adds no new analysis at all, keeping the essay at literal comprehension rather than grade-appropriate analysis.
The essay contains one strong, specific piece of evidence — the Mr. Deitrich quotation/detail about farm income — but the rest of the essay relies on vague generalizations ('Some stores open earlier,' 'The coffee shop is busy,' 'It helps a lot of people'). Evidence is used inconsistently: one paragraph is well-supported while the others offer little to none, which matches the level-2 descriptor of partial development with inconsistent use of relevant evidence.
The essay has a recognizable structure (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion) and uses some transitions ('also,' 'too'), showing an attempt at organization. However, the style breaks down in the fourth paragraph, which lapses into informal, imprecise language ('It helps a lot of people. Everyone likes it') that is inconsistent with the more formal tone of the earlier paragraphs. The concluding sentence follows generally from the topic but is generic rather than substantive.
The essay is largely free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. There is a minor comma-splice issue in the final sentence ('A market is not only a place to shop, it does a lot of good things') and 'farmers market' is missing its apostrophe, but neither error hinders comprehension. Overall, conventions are handled at a grade-appropriate level with only occasional, minor slips.
What the student was told to fix
- Develop every body paragraph with at least one specific detail, name, or number — not just a general claim
- Cut or replace the vague fourth paragraph ('It helps a lot of people') with a new, evidence-backed effect
- Strengthen the conclusion by moving beyond restating the topic — add a 'so what?' thought
- Fix the comma splice in the final sentence and add the apostrophe to 'farmers' market'
Graded on 2026-08-12. A teacher can change any score before it goes back to the student.
Source
New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of State Assessment. Official document. Rubrics are revised periodically, so check the source before using this for a graded assessment.
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