Category Required lines Advanced 4 Proficient 3 Basic 2 Below Basic 1 Includes all 5 lines Lines fit seamlessly into surrounding sentences Lines fit fluently into plot; they connect well to the events ALL lines are highlighted in final copy Includes most or all lines Lines are awkward with or in surrounding sentences Lines are a part of the plot but seem a bit random Lines are included but missing some highlighting Has a clear and developed voice Uses descriptive or figurative language Includes all 5 lines Lines fit into sentences with minor grammatical awkwardness Lines fit coherently into plot but with some discrepancy ALL lines are highlighted in final copy Approaching a strong sense of voice Includes sufficient description Approaching a sense of voice, sounds a bit robotic or contrived Attempts to include description There is a clear and welldeveloped exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution There is an exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, but may be underdeveloped or vague in certain areas Plot is apparent, but is either a vague outline or missing certain parts Plot is not developed or cohesive A minimum of 3 characters Characters are developed and follow characterization conventions Fewer than 3 characters Characters barely follow the characterization conventions and are underdeveloped 3-5 pages/double spaced/Times New Roman size 12 font MLA Format No spelling or grammatical errors A minimum of 3 characters Characters mostly follow the characterization conventions and are mostly developed 3-5 pages/ follows most of the prescribed page conventions Inconsistencies in MLA Format Few spelling or grammatical errors Barely meets 3-page minimum Needs to review MLA Format Spelling/grammatical errors begin to interfere with reader’s understanding Style Plot Characters Conventions Lacking lines or makes no effort to include required lines Lines do not fit in with surrounding sentences or plot Lines are missing some or all highlighting Lacking a clear voice or sounds robotic Does not try to use description Makes no attempt at meeting plot points or only includes 1-3 sections of the plot No obvious exposition or resolution Makes no attempt of including multiple characters Characterization is inconsistent and not developed Fewer than 3 pages Does not follow MLA format Spelling/grammatical errors interfere with reader’s understanding 17/20 points x 3 = 51/60 points. Score yourself! Directions: 1. Highlight the bullet points you feel like your paper currently is at. 2. Multiply: after you highlight, add the total points you got from each section (each section is worth 4 points and there are 5 sections total). Multiply this number by 3 to get the score out of 60). Example in the picture: It looks like I scored myself a 4 for lines, 3 for style, 3 for plot, 4 for characters, and 4 for conventions: 18 total. 18x3= 54. 54/60= 90! Or just divide by 20: 18/20=90. 3. On this page, explain why you gave yourself the grade you did, and not just “I did well” or “I was bad at writing” you need to have a reason! Example: I gave myself a 4 under Required Lines because all lines are included and I made sure they fit well with the surrounding text and make sense in the greater scheme of the plot. Your response here: Required Lines: While I included all the lines and highlighted them all, I feel I could have fit the “it’s a unicorn” line into the story better. Style: I think my writing is too passive but when I write actively it becomes too wordy. Plot: I think it is a bit confusing as to where the climax is, whether it is before or during her second panic attack Characters: I have 4 characters (if you count her brother who is only mentioned) and think the main 3 (Misty, Wings and Brian) are well developed Conventions: It fits MLA format as is clean from errors! The First Attack – A 5 Liner Story Misty clutched her chest as she scrambled down the narrow hallway of the apartment. She felt like she was dying! Tears streamed from her eyes, a mix of pure fear and pain. She couldn’t remember a time she had felt like this, so close to dying for no apparent reason. The apartment was dark and quiet, yet Misty still felt trapped. The paper-thin walls seemed to lean in, intent on crushing her. They were cutting off what limited air she could breathe. She burst through the door and ran down the empty hallway towards the emergency roof access. “Abra Kadabra” She whispered with what breath she had left. It was an inside joke that the door would only open to the magic words, but in her panic, Misty fully believed it. No alarm rang out. Misty had discovered early on that the door had never been wired, despite the sign across the push bar that read “EMERGENCY EXIT: ALARM WILL SOUND”. She fell to her hands and knees and crawled up the three flights of stairs to the roof entrance. The stairwell was dark and cold and smelled musty like it had never been used. Misty threw herself into the door at the top of the stairs, stumbling into the freezing air. It whipped her hair around and froze the tears on her cheeks. Misty looked up at the looming storm clouds. A fine white dust sprinkled down on her. Snow, that was unusual. It was the last week of March, and while not unheard of, a storm this late in the season was strange. The roof had always been Misty’s haven. The empty space with the sky as a ceiling let Misty pretend she was home again, in a small town surrounded by farms instead of a cramped apartment encircled with highways and sidewalks. Misty stared into space, her breath returning as she reminisced on the memories this roof held. Her first night home, when she felt so lost and confused. The day she got to see her brother again and brought him up here to look over the city. The first flight with Her. Her. Tears sprang to Misty’s eyes again and she rubbed them away, furious. It was all Her fault. Misty suddenly felt nauseous, and her vision blurred. She stumbled as she tried to stand and collapsed, her legs too weak to support her. A pigeon, startled by the thud, flew from its perch on the ledge. The flap of its wings, the woosh of air as it took flight was too much. Misty couldn’t take it. Her vision was clouded as if dark smoke was surrounding her. She went limp, silently screaming into the night air, begging for it to be over. For someone to take away whatever this pain was. Tick…tock…tick…tock… time was moving too slow. Every second felt like hours as memories flashed across her eyes. A silhouette against the sky, wings tucked like a peregrine diving for its prey, aching for any last bit of speed it could muster. Arms wrapped tight around a near-lifeless boy, his blue shirt torn and bloodied. A scream. The boy was falling. Falling fast towards the river. She dove after him, wings tucked to her sides to eliminate the drag, hands out like an Olympic swimmer. The sickening snap of a human body hitting the water and instantly shattering bones. From such a high altitude you hit water like it’s concrete. He sank. Slowly, so slowly. Another crash, the bird made contact, her hands breaking the surface in perfect form. She spread her wings; arms once again wrapped around the body of the boy. Her feathers were drenched, weighted down by the water as she flailed in the freezing river. The wail of sirens. The beeps of hospital machines. The dull tone of a monitor going flat. A scream, a scream so loud it shook the walls. Misty tasted blood; she blinked her eyes open. She was still on the roof, now dusted with snow. Her hand was bleeding, a bite mark sunk into the palm of her thumb. That’s when she noticed the figure. The dark mass of a winged humanoid standing on the ledge. Misty sat up and scrambled backward, shoving her back against an AC unit. “What do you want.” The creature just stared at her, its posture submissive. But Misty wasn’t going to take any chances “Leave me alone! Can’t you see you’ve hurt me enough?!” Misty wailed, now furious. The creature only blinked. Rage boiled in Misty’s blood “You worthless mutant! How dare you show up here! Go rot in hell where you belong! It should have been you! It should be your name on that headstone!” Misty stood, fists aching to break this freak’s nose “How could he have ever loved you? Have you seen yourself? You’re a freak. Did your mother screw a pigeon?” The creature’s wings extended slightly, and Misty took a step forward, growling “I dare you. I dare you to lay a hand on me! You’re useless without your axe. Poor little Wings can’t even face the shit you caused. Do you know how long I had waited to see my brother again? Did he ever tell you what we went through to get here? And you take it away, just like that. One little accident. Was it an accident? Or did you mean for him to die… You couldn’t have him so nobody could, is that how that works?” Misty had inched closer with every word, now face to face with the creature. It spread its wings to full length, gave Misty a steely glare, and dropped backward, and like that it had suddenly disappeared into the night. Misty didn’t care to look if it had caught itself and flown away. She turned and went back to her spot, sitting down by the AC unit again. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine her brother here with her. She awoke to her father shaking her shoulders gently “Mist. Mist it's time to wake up.” Misty smiled up at her father and stood up. She looked over to where the creature had been and noticed a small lump sitting on the ledge. She walked over and dusted the snow off it, it was a stuffed animal. She held it up to show her father “it’s a unicorn.” Misty, with the plush tucked under her arm walked back inside holding her father’s hand. As the door closed a creature came from behind the unit Misty had been sleeping next to. It smiled softly at the door before taking a running start and leaping off the roof. Its wings spread and caught the air, lifting it high into the night.
