Name ______________________________________
"Mystery in the Making" Short Story Rubric
An A paper: The story reflects developing mastery in writing in this creative genre, and it demonstrates thorough
understanding of subject matter and task.

The introduction is skillfully presented: it grabs the reader’s attention

The crime is significant and is such that the reader demands it be solved.

The detective is truly memorable.

The cast of characters is colorful and interesting.

The clues are presented in a clear and interesting way.

There are red herrings included to add interest to the story.

The climax is exciting, and the solution is logical.

The resolution is delivered in a memorable way that ties up all loose ends.

The writing is coherent on account of effective organization and sound mechanics.

The cover design is neat and clearly displays a significant or symbolic image from the story in a unique or creative way
A B paper: The essay reflects above average ability in writing in this creative genre, and it demonstrates very good
understanding of subject matter and task.

The introduction is present but could be more compelling

The crime is introduced but in a lukewarm manner

The detective begins to take shape as a person.

The cast of characters is complete.

The clues are presented sometimes in an interesting way.

There are red herrings included to add interest to the story.

The climax is logical.

The resolution is delivered in a way that ties up all loose ends.

The paper must be carefully proofread to avoid some careless errors in grammar and mechanics and/or
organization.

The cover design is neat and clearly displays a significant or symbolic image from the story
A C paper: The essay reflects an average ability in writing in this creative genre and an appropriate level of
understanding of the task and subject matter.

The introduction offers sufficient background information, but the introduction does not effectively capture the
attention of the reader.

The crime is bland or insignificant.

The detective is not memorable.

The cast of characters is bland or incomplete.

The clues are presented in an incoherent manner.

There are no red herrings included to add interest to the story.

The climax is not exciting, and the solution might be illogical.

The resolution does not serve to tie up all loose ends.

The conclusion may be incomplete.

The organization of the paper makes it difficult to read in places, and numerous errors in grammar and mechanics
begin to interfere with understanding of the paper.

The cover design clearly displays a significant or symbolic image from the story
A D paper: The essay reflects limited ability to write in this creative genre and a basic understanding of the task
and the subject matter

The introduction offers insufficient background information, and it does not grab the attention of the reader.

The crime is unclear/vague.

The detective does not take shape.

The cast of characters is missing.

The clues are not well presented.

There are no red herrings included to add interest to the story.

There is no discernible climax.

There is no discernible resolution.

The writing is incoherent.

The essay is difficult to read because of numerous errors in grammar and mechanics.

The cover design's image does not clearly connect with the story itself.
Name ______________________________________
"Breaking News!" Newspaper Rubric
An A paper: The newspaper reflects developing mastery in writing the varied-styled articles with the proper tone, and
it demonstrates a thorough understanding of subject matter and task.

The news article includes the six key elements of a news article.

The news article accurately portrays events from a particular standpoint in the novel.

The character profile uses the information presented in the novel in a creative way.

The obituary uses the information presented in the novel in a creative way.

All three pieces use appropriate tone for the piece itself as well as for the style of newspaper presented.

Quotations and details presented in the pieces are accurate and well-chosen. Proper attribution provided.

The images included for each piece are appropriate for the style of the piece and the newspaper.

The writing is coherent on account of effective organization and sound mechanics. Mature diction.

The presentation of the paper is very professional looking. Nice work!
A B paper: The newspaper reflects above average ability in writing the varied-styled articles with the proper tone,
and it demonstrates very good understanding of subject matter and task.

The news article includes the six key elements of a news article. One may be weaker than the others.

The news article accurately portrays events from a particular standpoint in the novel.

The character profile uses the information presented in the novel.

The obituary uses the information presented in the novel.

Most of the three pieces use appropriate tone for the piece as well as for the style of newspaper presented.

Quotations and details presented in the pieces are accurate. Proper attribution provided.

The images included for each piece are appropriate for the style of the piece and the newspaper.

The writing must be carefully proofread to avoid some careless errors in grammar, mechanics, diction, and organization.

The presentation of the paper is very nice and neat looking.
A C paper: The newspaper reflects an average ability in writing the varied-styled articles with the proper tone, and it
demonstrates very good understanding of subject matter and task.

The news article includes most of the six key elements of a news article.

The news article portrays events from a particular standpoint in the novel, although not always accurately.

The character profile uses the information presented in the novel, although not always accurately.

The obituary uses the information presented in the novel, , although not always accurately.

Most of the three pieces use appropriate tone for the piece as well as for the style of newspaper presented.

Quotations and details presented in the pieces are accurate, proper attribution not always provided.

Most of the images included for each piece are appropriate for the style of the piece and the newspaper.

The organization of the articles makes it difficult to read in places, and numerous errors in grammar and
mechanics begin to interfere with understanding of the paper. Weak diction.

The presentation of the paper is fairly neat, but it could be more realistic looking.
A D paper: The newspaper reflects a limited ability to write varied-styled articles with the proper tone, and ir
demonstrates only a basic understanding of the task and the subject matter

The news article is missing elements of the six key elements of a news article.

The news article portrays events from a particular standpoint in the novel, although the pthers articles do not
match the same time frame.

The character profile presents information from the novel inaccurately.

The obituary presents information from the novel inaccurately.

Most of the three pieces do not use appropriate tone for the piece or the newspaper style.

Quotations and details presented in the pieces poorly chosen and not properly attributed to speaker.

Most of the images included for each piece are not appropriate for the style of the piece and the newspaper.

The presentation of the paper is not neat, or realistic looking.

The essay is difficult to read because of numerous errors in grammar, mechanics, organization, and coherence.