STUDENT: TEACHER: DATE:
OPINION/ARGUMENT / Pre-KindergartenLevel 1 / 1.5 / Kindergarten
Level 2 / 2.5 / Grade 1
Level 3 / 3.5 / Grade 2
Level 4 / 4.5
Structure / Overall / The writer told about somethingshe liked or disliked with picturesand some “writing.” / The writer told, drew, and wrote hisopinion or likes and dislikes abouta topic or book. / The writer wrote her opinion or herlikes and dislikes and said why. / The writer wrote her opinion or herlikes and dislikes and gave reasonsfor her opinion.
Lead / The writer started by drawingorsaying something. / The writer wrote her opinion in thebeginning. / The writer wrote a beginning inwhich he got readers’ attention.
He named the topic or text he waswriting about and gave his opinion. / The writer wrote a beginning inwhich he not only gave his opinion,but also set readers up to expectthat his writing would try toconvince them of it.
Transitions / The writer kept on working. / The writer wrote his idea and thensaid more. He used words such asbecause. / The writer said more about heropinion and used words such asandandbecause. / The writer connected parts of herpiece using words such as also,another, and because.
Ending / The writer ended working when hehad said, drawn, and “written” allhe could about his opinion. / The writer had a last part or page. / The writer wrote an ending for hispiece. / The writer wrote an ending inwhich he reminded readers of hisopinion.
Organization / On the writer’s paper, there was aplace for the drawing and a placewhere she tried to write words. / The writer told his opinion in oneplace and in another place he saidwhy. / The writer wrote a part where shegot readers’ attention and a partwhere she said more. / The writer’s piece had differentparts; she wrote a lot of lines foreach part.
Development / Elaboration / The writer put more and then moreon the page. / The writer put everything shethought about the topic (or book)on the page. / The writer wrote at least onereason for his opinion. / The writer wrote at least tworeasons and wrote at least a fewsentences about each one.
Craft / The writer said, drew, and “wrote”some things about what she likedand did not like. / The writer had details in picturesand words. / The writer used labels and wordsto give details. / The writer chose words that wouldmake readers agree with heropinion.
Language Conventions / Spelling / The writer could read his picturesand some of his words.
The writer tried to make words / The writer could read her writing.
The writer wrote a letter for thesounds she heard.
The writer used the word wall tohelp her spell. / The writer used all he knew aboutwords and chunks of words (at, op,it, etc.) to help him spell.
The writer spelled all the word wallwords right and used the word wallto help him spell other words. / To spell a word, the writer usedwhat he knew about spellingpatterns (tion, er, ly, etc.).
The writer spelled all of the wordwall words correctly and used theword wall to help him figure outhow to spell other words.
Punctuation / The writer could label pictures.
The writer could write her name. / The writer put spaces betweenwords.
The writer used lowercase lettersunless capitals were needed.
The writer wrote capital letters tostart every sentence. / The writer ended sentences withpunctuation.
The writer used a capital letter fornames.
The writer used commas in datesand lists. / The writer used quotation marks toshow what characters said.
When the writer used words suchas can’t and don’t, she put in theapostrophe.
AVERAGED SCORE: STRUCTURE ______DEVELOPMENT ______LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS ______
Continuum for Informational Writing—Adapted from Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade: A Yearlong Workshop Curriculum, Grades K-8 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues (Heinemann, 2013/2014)
STUDENT: TEACHER: DATE:
OPINION/ARGUMENT / Grade 3Level 5 / 5.5 / Grade 4
Level 6 / 6.5 / Grade 5
Level 7 / 7.5 / Grade 6
Level 8 / 8.5
Structure / Overall / The writer told readers his opinionand ideas on a text or a topicand helped them understand hisreasons. / The writer made a claim about atopic or a text and tried to supporther reasons. / The writer made a claim or thesison a topic or text, supported it withreasons, and provided a variety ofevidence for each reason. / The writer not only staked aposition that could be supportedby a variety of trustworthy sources,but also built his argument andled to a conclusion in each part ofhis text.
Lead / The writer wrote a beginning inwhich she not only set readersup to expect that this would be apiece of opinion writing, but alsotried to hook them into caringabout her opinion. / The writer wrote a few sentencesto hook his readers, perhaps byasking a question, explainingwhy the topic mattered, tellinga surprising fact, or givingbackground information.
The writer stated his claim / The writer wrote an introductionthat led to a claim or thesis andgot her readers to care abouther opinion. She got readers tocare by not only including a coolfact or jazzy question, but alsofiguring out what was significantin or around the topic and givingreaders information about whatwas significant about the topic.
The writer worked to find theprecise words to state her claim;she let readers know the reasonsshe would develop later. / The writer wrote an introductionthat helped readers to understandand care about the topic or text.She thought backward betweenthe piece and the introductionto make made sure that theintroduction fit with the whole.
The writer not only clearly statedher claim, but also named thereasons she would develop later.
She also told her readers how hertext would unfold.
Transitions / The writer connected his ideas andreasons with his examples usingwords such as for example andbecause. He connected one reasonor example using words such asalso and another. / The writer used words and phrasesto glue parts of her piece together.She used phrases such as for example, another example, one time, and for instance to showwhen she wanted to shift fromsaying reasons to giving evidenceand in addition to, also, andanother to show when she wantedto make a new point. / The writer used transition wordsand phrases to connect evidenceback to his reasons using phrasessuch as this shows that. . . .
The writer helped readers followhis thinking with phrases suchas another reason and the most important reason. To show whathappened he used phrases such asconsequently and because of.
The writer used words such asspecifically and in particular to bemore precise. / The writer used transitional phrasesto help readers understand howthe different parts of his piece fittogether to support his argument.
Ending / The writer worked on an ending,perhaps a thought or commentrelated to her opinion. / The writer wrote an ending for hispiece in which he restated andreflected on his claim, perhapssuggesting an action or responsebased on what he had written. / The writer worked on a conclusionin which he connected back toand highlighted what the textwas mainly about, not just thepreceding paragraph. / The writer wrote a conclusion inwhich she restated the main pointsof her essay, perhaps offering alingering thought or new insight for readers to consider. Her endingadded to and strengthened theoverall argument.
Organization / The writer wrote several reasons or examples why readers shouldagree with his opinion and wroteat least several sentences abouteach reason.
The writer organized hisinformation so that each part ofhis writing was mostly about onething. / The writer separated sections ofinformation using paragraphs. / The writer grouped informationand related ideas into paragraphs.He put the parts of his writingin the order that most suited hispurpose and helped him prove hisreasons and claim. / The writer arranged paragraphs,reasons, and evidence purposefully,leading readers from one claim orreason to another. He wrote morethan one paragraph to develop aclaim or reason.
Development / Elaboration / The writer not only named herreasons to support her opinion, butalso wrote more about each one. / The writer gave reasons to supporthis opinion. He chose the reasonsto convince his readers.
The writer included examplesand information to support hisreasons, perhaps from a text, hisknowledge, or his life. / The writer gave reasons to supporther opinion that were parallel anddid not overlap. She put them in anorder that she thought would bemost convincing.
The writer included evidence suchas facts, examples, quotations,micro-stories, and information tosupport her claim.
The writer discussed and unpackedthe way that the evidence wentwith the claim. / The writer included and arranged avariety of evidence to support herreasons.
The writer used trusted sourcesand information from authoritieson the topic.
The writer explained how herevidence strengthened herargument. She explained exactlywhich evidence supported whichpoint.
The writer acknowledged differentsides to the argument.
OPINION/ARGUMENT / Grade 3
Level 5 / 5.5 / Grade 4
Level 6 / 6.5 / Grade 5
Level 7 / 7.5 / Grade 6
Level 8 / 8.5
Development (continued) / Craft / The writer not only told readers tobelieve him, but also wrote in waysthat got them thinking or feeling incertain ways. / The writer made deliberate wordchoices to convince her readers,perhaps by emphasizing orrepeating words that made readersfeel emotions.
If it felt right to do so, the writerchose precise details and factsto help make her points andused figurative language to drawreaders into her line of thought.
The writer made choices aboutwhich evidence was best to includeor not include to support herpoints.
The writer used a convincing tone. / The writer made deliberate wordchoices to have an effect on hisreaders.
The writer reached for the precisephrase, metaphor, or image thatwould convey his ideas.
The writer made choices abouthow to angle his evidence tosupport his points.
When it seemed right to do so, thewriter tried to use a scholarly voiceand varied his sentences to createthe pace and tone of the differentsections of his piece. / The writer chose words deliberatelyto be clear and to have an effecton his readers.
The writer reached for precisephrases, metaphors, analogies, orimages that would help to conveyhis ideas and strengthen hisargument.
The writer chose how to presentevidence and explained why andhow the evidence supported hisclaim.
The writer used shifts in his tone tohelp readers follow his argument;he made his piece sound serious.
Language Conventions / Spelling / The writer used what she knewabout word families and spellingrules to help her spell and edit.
The writer got help from others to check her spelling and punctuationbefore she wrote her final draft / The writer used what he knewabout word families and spellingrules to help him spell and edit. Heused the word wall and dictionariesto help him when needed. / The writer used what she knewabout word patterns to spellcorrectly and she used referencesto help her spell words whenneeded. She made sure to correctlyspell words that were important toher topic. / The writer used resources to besure the words in her writingwere spelled correctly, includingreturning to sources to checkspelling.
Punctuation / The writer punctuated dialoguecorrectly withcommas andquotation marks.While writing, the writer putpunctuation at the end of everysentence.
The writer wrote in ways thathelped readers read withexpression, reading some partsquickly, some slowly, some partsin one sort of voice and others inanother. / When writing long, complex sentences, the writer used commasto make them clear and correct.
The writer used periods to fix herrun-on sentences / The writer used commas to set offintroductory parts of sentences, forexample, At this time in history,and it was common to. . . .
The writer used a variety ofpunctuation to fix any run-onsentences.
The writer used punctuation to citehis sources. / The writer used punctuation suchas dashes, colons, parentheses, andsemicolons to help him include orconnect extra information in someof his sentences
AVERAGED SCORE: STRUCTURE ______DEVELOPMENT ______LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS ______
Continuum for Informational Writing—Adapted from Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade: A Yearlong Workshop Curriculum, Grades K-8 by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues (Heinemann, 2013/2014)
STUDENT: TEACHER: DATE:
OPINION/ARGUMENT / Grade 7Level 9 / 9.5 / Grade 8
Level 10 / 10.5 / Grade 9
Level 11
Structure / Overall / The writer laid out a well-supported argument and made it clear that this argument is part of a bigger conversation about a topic/text. He acknowledged positions on the topic or text that might disagree with his own position, but still showed why his position makes sense. / The writer laid out an argument about a topic/text and made it clear why her particular argument is important and valid. She stayed fair to those who might disagree with her by describing how her position is one of several and making it clear where her position stands in relation to others. / The writer presented an argument, offering context, honoring other points of view, and indicating the conditions under which the position holds true.
The writer developed the argument with logical reasoning and convincing evidence, acknowledging the limitation of the positon and citing—and critiquing—sources.
Lead / The writer interested readers in his argument and helped them to understand the backstory behind it. He gave the backstory in a way that got readers ready to see his point.
The writer made it clear to readers what his piece would argue and forecasted the parts of his argument. / After hooking her readers, the writer provided specific context for her own as well as another’s position(s), introduced her position, and oriented readers to the overall line of argument she would develop. / The writer demonstrated the significance of the argument and may have offered hints of upcoming parts of the essay. The writer presented needed background information to show the complexity of the issue.
In addition to introducing the overall line of development the argument will take, the writer distinguished that argument from others.
Transitions / The writer used transitions to link the parts of her argument. The transitions help readers follow from part to part and make it clear when she is stating a claim or counterclaim, giving a reason, or offering or analyzing evidence. These transitions include terms such as the text states, as, this means, another reason, some people may say, but nevertheless, and on the other hand. / The writer used transitions to lead readers across parts of the text and help them note how parts of the text relate back to earlier parts. He used phrases such as now some argue, while this may be true, it is also the case that, despite this, as stated earlier, taken as a whole, this is significant because, the evidence points to, and by doing so. / The writer used transitions to clarify the relationship between claims, reasons, and evidence, and help the reader follow the logic in the argument. The writer also used transitions to make clear the relationship of sources to each other and the claim such as while it may be true that, nevertheless, there are times when/certain circumstances when, and others echo this idea.
Ending / In his conclusion the writer reinforced and built on the main point(s) in a way that made the entire text a cohesive whole. The conclusion reiterated how the support for his claim outweighed the counterclaim(s), restated the main points, responded to them, or highlighted their significance. / In the conclusion, the writer described the significance of her argument for stakeholders or offered additional insights, implication, questions, or challenges. / In the concluding section, the writer may have clarified the conditions under which the position holds true, discussed possible applications or consequence, and/or offered possible solutions.
Organization / The writer purposely arranged parts of her piece to suit her purpose and to lead readers from one claim, counterclaim, reason, or piece of evidence to another.
The writer used topic sentences, transitions, and formatting (where appropriate) to clarify the structure of the piece and to highlight her main points. / The writer organized claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence into sections and clarified how the sections are connected.
The writer created an organizational structure that supports a reader’s growing understanding across the whole of his argument, arranging the sections to build on each other in logical, compelling fashion. / The writer created a logical and compelling structure for the argument so that each part builds on a prior section, and the whole moves the reader toward understandings.
Development / Elaboration / The writer included varied hinds of evidence such as facts, quotations, examples, and definitions. He analyzed or explained the reasons and evidence, showing how they fit with his claim(s) and built his argument.
The writer consistently incorporated and cited trustworthy sources.
The writer wrote about another possible position or positions—a different claim or claims about the subject—and explained why the evidence for his position outweighed the counterclaim(s).
The writer worked to make his argument compelling as well as understandable. He brought out why it mattered and why the audience should care about it. / The writer brought out the aspects of the argument that were most significant to her audience and to her overall purpose(s).
The writer incorporated trustworthy and significant sources and explained if and when a source seemed problematic.
The writer analyzed the relevance of the reasons and evidence for her claims as well as for the counterclaim(s) and helped readers understand each position. The writer made sure all of her analysis led readers to follow her line of argument. / The writer brought out the aspects of the argument that were most significant to the audience and to the purposes.
When appropriate, the writer acknowledged limitations or critiques of sources—perhaps evaluating sources’ reasoning or suspect motivations.
The writer angled and/or framed evidence to clearly and fairy represent various perspectives while also maintaining a clear position.
OPINION/ARGUMENT / Grade 7
Level 9 / 9.5 / Grade 8
Level 10 / 10.5 / Grade 9
Level 11
Development (continued) / Craft / The writer used words purposefully to affect meaning and tone.
The writer chose precise words and used metaphors, images, or comparisons to explain what she meant.
The writer included domain-specific, technical vocabulary relevant to her argument and audience and defined these when appropriate.
The writer used a formal tone, but varied it appropriately to engage the reader. / The writer intended to affect his reader in particular ways—to make the reader think, realize or feel a particular way—and he chose language to do that.
The writer consistently used comparisons, analogies, vivid examples, anecdotes or other rhetorical devices to help readers follow his thinking and grasp the meaning and significance of a point or a piece of evidence.
The writer varied his tone to match the different purp0oses of different sections of his argument. / The writer intended to make the reader think, realize, or feel a particular way—and chose language to do that.
In addition to using other literary devices, the writer may have used allusions.
The writer varied the tone to match the purposes of different sections of the argument, as well as to develop and overall impact.
Language Conventions / Spelling / The writer matched the spelling of technical vocabulary to that found in resource and text evidence. He spelled material in citations correctly. / The writer spelled technical vocabulary and literary vocabulary accurately. He spelled material in citations according to source, and spelled citations accurately. / The writer used accurate spelling throughout, including cited text and citations.
Punctuation / The writer varied her sentence structure, sometimes using simple and sometimes using complex sentence structure.
The writer used internal punctuation appropriately within sentences and when citing sources, including commas, dashes, parentheses, colons, and semicolons. / The writer used different sentence structures to achieve different purposes throughout his argument.
The writer used verb tenses that shift when needed (as in when moving from a citation back to his own writing), deciding between active and passive voice where appropriate.
The writer use internal punctuation effectively, including the use of ellipses to accurately insert excerpts from sources. / The writer used sentence structure and verb tense purposefully (i.e., using fragments to emphasize key points, using present tense to create immediacy).
The writer used punctuation to emphasize connections, to strengthen tone, and to clarify and add complexity.
AVERAGED SCORE: STRUCTURE ______DEVELOPMENT ______LANGUAGE CONVENTIONS ______