Writing Rubric Hints
Element / Do Not Do This: / Do This:Presentation of topic
(Introduction) / -Informal hooks: “Have you ever been to Egypt?”
-Personal connections: “Geography affects us here in New Jersey” / -YOU NEED A THESIS STATEMENT: answer the prompt question by listing the three main topics of your essay (claim + evidence)
-Thesis should be the LAST sentence of intro paragraph
-Before writing your thesis, provide at least 3 sentences of background information related to the prompt and/or your divisions
Support of topic with information
(Concrete Details in body paragraphs) / -General Terms: crops, weapons, other cities
-General descriptions: good, great, interesting / -Specific terms (proper names): wheat, bronze swords, Thebes
-Specific descriptions: “___ positively affected ___ because…”
-Include at least 3 concrete details and explain how they answer the prompt in EACH BODY PARAGRAPH
Linking ideas
(Transitions) / -Ending body paragraphs with a detail or explanation
-Ending body paragraphs without a conclusion or transition / -Last sentence of EACH BODY PARAGRAPH must connect that paragraph to the next
-Connect either the general topic or a specific detail from each paragraph
-Include a transition word, phrase, or detail in the topic sentence of the following paragraph
Use of social studies vocabulary
(Content-specific word choice) / -General terms: leaders, slaves, gods / -Specific terms (Unit-specific terms): Pharaohs, helots, Anubis and Osiris
-Introduce a unit-specific term (a term you would only see in that section of the book), like Perioikoi or Plebeian, and define the term
Style and tone
(Professionalism) / -NEVER SAY: I, me, you, my, we, our, us, etc.
-No informal punctuation - !, ?
-General vocab: social classes
-Simple phrases: “got better at farming” / -Be factual and professional - NO personal connection or informal tone – Write as though you are writing a textbook, NOT talking to a friend
-High-level vocabulary: socioeconomic stratification
-High-level phrases: “improved agricultural techniques”
Conclusion
(Last paragraph) / -Do not write only one sentence
-Do not write the exact same concrete details you wrote in your body paragraphs – expand on the broader topics instead / -Restate thesis with first sentence
-Expand the topic/explain its importance with at least 3 sentences
-Connect topic to other examples and/or explain greater effects of topic