argumentative essay rubric for middle school

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Middle school writing rubrics.

Use these standards-based rubrics to assess your middle school students’ writing skills. This set features rubrics for argument writing, informational writing, and narrative writing for sixth-grade, seventh-grade, and eighth-grade students. Each rubric covers the major standards of the grade and type of writing and uses a 3-point scale to help you indicate whether students have a beginning, developing, or proficient grasp of individual writing skills. Use these rubrics as a tool for final assessment of student writing or as a self-reflection tool for students to grade their own writing. 

Click on a worksheet in the set below to see more info or download the PDF.

Argument Writing Rubric for 6th grade

Informational writing rubric for 6th grade, narrative writing rubric for 6th grade, argument writing rubric for 7th grade, informational writing rubric for 7th grade, narrative writing rubric for 7th grade, argument writing rubric for 8th grade, informational writing rubric for 8th grade, narrative writing rubric for 8th grade, want to download this whole set as a single pdf, unlock worksheet sets.

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Interactive Writing Rubric

Middle School 

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Position 

This strand encompasses the argument in the essay – the key sentences that state what you are proving and how you are proving it.

Thesis: The sentence(s) explicitly or implicitly stated early in the paper that outline the argument being made in the paper.

Assertions: The assertion is the sentence at the paragraph level that is the written articulation of the subargument.

Ideas 

This strand evaluates at the holistic and synthesis level. The Ideas strand seeks to evaluate not only the accuracy of the ideas presented but also how well the Position is proven and how well the ideas are synthesized and interwoven. This strand is broader than the Interpretation strand – it encompasses the essay as a whole.

Quality: Quality evaluates the correctness of ideas, the complexity of ideas, and the integration of ideas across a full spectrum.

Organization 

Organization is a crucial aspect of the argumentation. This strand addresses the overall structure of a paper. Does the organization support and encourage logical order? Do ideas flow smoothly?

Structure: This criterion addresses the overall architecture of the essay, both at the body paragraph and the essay level. Is the paper ordered in a way that supports the position?

Flow: Do ideas flow smoothly within sentences in a paragraph and between sentences and paragraphs?

Click Numbers to View Standard Bearers

• 1 Position 1 
• 2 Position 2 

3 Position 3 (Set 1) Position 3 (Set 2)

4 Position 4 (Set 1) Position 4 (Set 2) Position 4 (Set 3) Position 4 (Set 4)

5 Position 5 (Set 1) Position 5 (Set 2) Position 5 (Set 3) Position 5 (Set 4) Position 5 (Set 5)

6 Position 6 (Set 1) Position 6 (Set 2) Position 6 (Set 3)

7 Position 7 (Set 1) Position 7 (Set 2)

8 Position 8 (Set 1) Position 8 (Set 2)

• Thesis is an opinion stated in the first person , and may or may not be a statement directly in response to the prompt.
• Thesis is written in the third person , and may just be a topic sentence that restates the prompt. It may only address half the prompt (i.e. theme but no attempt to name craft move, or vice versa; in a two-text prompt, students may only write about one text).
• Thesis is written in the third person, and may just be a topic sentence that restates the prompt. It attempts to answer the whole prompt, but may be too unclear to assess defensibility. This statement does not need to be accurate.
• If the prompt demands it, the defensible thesis is written as an argument/inference that can be supported with evidence (rather than a restatement of prompt or summary of the text/issue). This statement must answer all parts of a multi-part question. This statement does not need to be accurate.
• The defensible claim that the thesis makes represents a broad argument that could be made for all texts or all sides of the issue involved in the prompt ( comprehensive ). This statement must answer all parts of a multi-part question. This statement does not need to be accurate. Attempt at counterclaim present, if needed.
• A focused thesis is one with strong, precise language that clearly conveys strong, precise ideas in response to a prompt. Thesis statements are often not focused when the language is imprecise, thus keeping the ideas at a level that is too broad. This statement must answer all parts of a multi-part question. This statement does not need to be accurate. Counterclaim is focused.
• An analytical thesis is a response that incorporates the deepest meaning of the text in response to the prompt OR most meaningful level of an argument. It is the teacher exemplar in terms of language & level of interpretation. It does NOT list assertions . This statement must answer all parts of a multi-part question. This statement does not need to be accurate. Counterclaim is analytical.
• A nuanced response shares the relevant complexities or nuances of an argument based on what took place in the text/what comes up in the scope of the argument–it does not overlook or not recognize these complexities for the sake of an answer. Goes beyond the “answering the whole prompt” and thinking about the text and/or author influences in responding to the prompt. This statement must answer all parts of a multi-part question. This statement does not need to be accurate. Counterclaim is nuanced.
• Generally body paragraphs contain topic sentences that frame each paragraph. Some topic sentences are related to the topic of the paper.
• Most topic sentences are relevant to the topic of the paper.
• All topic sentences are directly relevant to the topic of the paper.
• Each topic sentence is directly relevant to the thesis statement and some topic sentences are assertions. Sequence of assertions may be random.
• Each topic sentence is directly relevant to the thesis and most topic sentences are assertions.
• Sequence of assertions is attempted.
• Each topic sentence is an assertion that supports the thesis statement.
• Sequence of assertions is mostly intentional but may not effectively advance the argument.
• Each assertion provides defensible and relevant support for the larger argument of the thesis statement. Some assertions are clarified in scope .
• Sequence of assertions is intentional and sometimes advances the argument.
• Each assertion provides defensible and relevant support for the larger argument of the thesis statement. Assertions are mostly clarified in scope.
• Sequence of assertions is intentional and mostly advances the argument.
• 1 Ideas 1 
• 2 Ideas 2 

3 Ideas 3 (Set 1) Ideas 3 (Set 2)

4 Ideas 4 (Set 1) Ideas 4 (Set 2)

5 Ideas 5 (Set 1) Ideas 5 (Set 2)

• 6 Ideas 6 

7 Ideas 7 (Set 1) Ideas 7 (Set 2)

• 8 Ideas 8 
• Ideas show some understanding of the text/content and the task;   includes a significant misunderstanding. Significant misunderstanding of task: The response is on-topic, but in the wrong mode (i.e. the prompt asks students to defend use of cell phones in schools & scholar writes a story about cell phones); OR the response demonstrates a significant misunderstanding of a text (i.e. student thought a character lived when he/she actually died – it’s like the scholar read a different text).
• Some understanding: The response is on-topic and in the right mode but the response is missing an important element like text evidence (i.e. the essay is just interpretation of the text with no support); OR the ideas contain many misunderstandings that impact the argument (the scholar seems to have read the same text, but has very different & inaccurate ideas about it).
• Basic/literal understanding: Scholar’s ideas are accurate, but do not move beyond summary or “right there” evidence. There may be a few small inaccuracies that do not impact the argument being made and/or one larger inaccuracy (i.e. wrong craft move). The response is on topic and in the right format. If scholars do not answer part of a question (i.e. never address a craft move demanded by the prompt), they should probably land here.
• Scholar’s ideas are accurate, and there is evidence of inferential/”deeper” thinking present in some (i.e. less than half) of the elements of the essay. There may be some vague, but not inaccurate, language. There may be a few small inaccuracies that do not impact the argument being made. The response is on topic and in the right mode.
• Scholar’s ideas are accurate, and most of the elements of the essay (thesis, assertions, evidence, analysis) are aligned to an inferential/deeper meaning. There may be some vague, but not inaccurate, language. There can be one small inaccuracy that does not impact the argument being made. The response is on topic and in the right mode. Counterclaim is named somewhere in the essay.
• Scholar’s ideas are accurate, and all elements of the essay are aligned to an inferential/deeper meaning. The language used to describe that deeper meaning is precise and accurate. There can be one small inaccuracy that does not impact the argument being made. The response is on topic and in the right mode. Counterclaim is named somewhere in the essay with an attempt at disproving it.
• Scholar’s ideas are accurate, and all elements of the essay are aligned to ideas that reflect the deepest meaning of the text OR most meaningful level of the argument. It is the teacher exemplar in terms of depth of thinking. There may be 1-2 small inaccuracies that do not impact the argument. The response is on topic and in the right mode. Accurate refutation of counter-claim.
• Scholar’s ideas are accurate, and all elements of the essay are aligned to ideas that discuss relevant complexities or nuances of the argument (i.e discussing text or author influences). There may be 1-2 small inaccuracies that do not impact the argument. The response is on topic and in the right mode. Refutation of counter-claim is logical & dismissed fairly (nothing makes you say “hmmm” or remain unconvinced)

1 Organization 1 (Set 1) Organization 1 (Set 2) Organization 1 (Set 3)

2 Organization 2 (Set 1) Organization 2 (Set 2)

3 Organization 3 (Set 1) Organization 3 (Set 2)

4 Organization 4 (Set 1) Organization 4 (Set 2)

5 Organization 5 (Set 1) Organization 5 (Set 2) Organization 5 (Set 3) Organization 5 (Set 4) Organization 5 (Set 5)

6 Organization 6 (Set 1) Organization 6 (Set 2) Organization 6 (Set 3)

• 7 Organization 7 

8 Organization 8 (Set 1) Organization 8 (Set 2)

• Paragraphs are absent yet ideas and information relate to each other.
• Groups related ideas and information logically. May provide a concluding statement or section that connects to the topic.
• Groups related ideas and information logically. Organizes ideas into separate and distinct body paragraphs. Provides a concluding statement or section that connects to the topic.
• Organizes ideas into separate and distinct body paragraphs.
• Content of paragraphs is generally appropriate.
• Concluding statement or section links to introduction.
• Reasonable essay structure .
• Content of paragraphs is mostly appropriate.
• Concluding section links to thesis.
• Reasonable essay structure.
• Body paragraphs include appropriate content in a logical internal structure .
• Introduction and conclusion are appropriately structured and conclusion supports thesis.
• Well-developed essay has logical internal structure, building to become more convincing and complete.
• Introduction is sophisticated and the conclusion provides closure .
• Well-developed essay has logical internal structure to enhance the understanding of the reader, building to become more convincing and complete.
• Sophisticated introduction draws readers in and insightful conclusion provides closure and eclipses thesis .
• Uses 1-2 word transitions to link some ideas.
• Generally uses 1-2 word transitions to clarify relationships among claims and reasons.
• Uses transition words and phrases to clarify relationships among most claims and reasons.
• Uses appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among most claims and evidence chunks.
• Uses some appropriate words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationship among claims and evidence chunks. There are some awkward or stilted transitions between ideas.
• Uses appropriate words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationship among claims and evidence chunks. Limited awkward or stilted transitions between ideas.
• Uses a variety of appropriate words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationship among claims, interpretations, and evidence chunks.
• Almost no awkward or stilted transitions between ideas.
• There are no awkward or stilted transitions between ideas.

 Back to Argument Strands

Middle School Writing Rubric Bird's Eye View:

Element: Argument

Strand: Position

Criteria: Thesis

Criteria: Assertions

Strand: Ideas

Criteria: Quality

Strand: Organization

Criteria: Structure

Criteria: Flow

Element: Evidence

Strand: Contextualization

Criteria: Framing

Criteria: Context

Strand: Selection

Criteria: Choice

Criteria: Presentation

Strand: Interpretation

Criteria: Analysis

Element: Language

Strand: Style

Criteria: Register

Criteria: Craft

Strand: Sentence Fluency

Criteria: Fluency

Criteria: Concision

Strand: Word Choice

Criteria: Range and Quality

Strand: Conventions

Criteria: Spelling

Criteria: Grammar

Element: Process

Strand: Revising

Criteria: Feedback

Criteria: Drafting

Strand: Publishing

Criteria: Professionalism

Criteria: MLA Formatting

Criteria: Document

Persuasion Rubric

About this printout

Use this rubric to assess the effectiveness of a student's essay, speech, poster, or any type of assignment that incorporates persuasion.

Teaching with this printout

More ideas to try, related resources.

Grading rubrics can be of great benefit to both you and your students. For you, a rubric saves time and decreases subjectivity. Specific criteria are explicitly stated, facilitating the grading process and increasing your objectivity. For students, the use of grading rubrics helps them meet or exceed expectations, to view the grading process as being “fair,” and helps them set goals for future learning. In order to help your students meet or exceed expectations of the assignment, be sure to discuss the rubric with your students when you assign a persuasion project. It is helpful to show them examples of pieces that meet and do not meet the expectations. As an added benefit, because the criteria are explicitly stated in the rubric, the use of it decreases the likelihood that students will be confused about the grade they receive. The explicitness of the expectations helps students know exactly why they lost points on the assignment and aids them in setting goals for future improvement.  Use the Visuals/Delivery category to grade audio and visual elements in speeches, PowerPoint presentations, blogs, posters, skits, podcasts, or any other assignment where visuals and delivery play roles. If your assignment does not require speech or visuals, simply disregard this part of the rubric.

• Routinely have students score peers’ work using the rubric as the assessment tool. This increases their level of awareness of the traits that distinguish successful persuasive projects from those that fail to meet the criteria.
• Alter some expectations or add additional traits on the rubric as needed. For example, if the assignment is to create a persuasive podcast, criteria such as articulation, communication, sound effects, and audio clarity may be added. You may also adapt the criteria to make it more rigorous for advanced learners and less stringent for lower level learners. In addition, you may want to include content-specific criteria for your subject area.
• After you and your students have used the rubric, have them work in groups to make suggested alterations to the rubric to more precisely match their needs or the parameters of a specific persuasive assignment. For example, if you wanted them to work in cooperative groups to write and present persuasive skits, possible criteria could include teamwork and the length of the skit.
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives
• Strategy Guides

Through a classroom game and resource handouts, students learn about the techniques used in persuasive oral arguments and apply them to independent persuasive writing activities.

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

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• Kindergarten K

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Home » Literacy Lines » Teaching Basic Argument Writing Components

Teaching Basic Argument Writing Components

Over the past two years since Keys to Literacy published my Keys to Argument Writing professional development module and the associated training book Keys to Content Writing   I am often asked by teachers advice for how to teach argument writing (and opinion for elementary grades). The place to start is to introduce students to the structure of argument/opinion writing.

The first standard of the Common Core Writing Standards is devoted to argument writing. Here is the anchor standard from which Standard #1 for grades K through 12 are based:

WS #1: Write opinions/arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Sometimes argument writing seems very similar to informational writing (Common Core Writing Standard #2). They both incorporate information, and they have similar basic text structures: They must begin with an introduction that states the topic and end with a conclusion. However, their aims are different and the body of an argument organizes  information in a different way.

The purpose of informational writing is to examine and explain previously learned information or new information, and this information is typically organized into paragraphs of main ideas that are “chunked” into topics and sub-topics. That is, the information is presented in categories/sections. The purpose of argument writing is to convince a reader that a point of view is valid or to persuade the reader to take a specific action. Information is used, but it is organized based on these major components of an argument: claim, reason, evidence, counter-claim, and rebuttal.

Here are simple descriptions of these components to share with your students:

• Claim: the position taken by the writer; what the writer is trying to prove or argue
• Reason: provided to support a claim; reasons are supported by evidence
• Evidence: use to support or prove a reason; statistics, facts, quotations, surveys, etc.
• Counterclaim: opposing position, counterargument
• Rebuttal: refutes or disproves the counterclaim; addresses the criticism of the claim

And here’s an even simpler set of questions students can ask themselves to help remember each component:

• Claim: What do I think?
• Reason: Why do I think it?
• Evidence: How do I know (proof)?
• Counterclaim: What is the other side?
• Rebuttal: My response to the other side?

The claim is typically stated in the introduction, and restated again in the conclusion. The information in the body paragraphs is organized as a series of reasons supported by evidence. For arguments that include a counter-claim and rebuttal (a requirement for students in grade seven and beyond), there will be additional paragraphs that represent the counter-claim and rebuttal.

Keys to Literacy has posted a nine-minute video recorded during a teacher training in which I explain the major components of an argument and offer suggestions for teaching them to students. The video, along with several other training video clips is available to the public for free at the Free Resources section of the Keys to Literacy website.

At the same resource site you will find a teacher’s checklist and rubric  for giving feedback to students about their argument writing that include items related to the text structure of an argument writing piece.

• Joan Sedita

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12 Comments

I have found your lectures and instructions very helpful. Do you have any guidelines on Exposition?

Visit our free videos and webinars where you will find several items related to writing.

What components are there into the claim and evidence rubric?

Some of the things to look for in student argument writing are: Is the claim (position taken) supported with logical reasons and relevant evidence? Are the reasons and evidence presented in an organized way? Is the evidence from sources integrated effectively? Is the rebuttal supported with logical reasons and evidence? Are transitions used to link and to create cohesion among claim, reasons and evidence? Is there a formal style and an objective tone established and maintained throughout the piece?

That was a super helpful resource! I used it to write a paragraph essay on “Elements of Argument”.

Thank you for explaining an argumentive essay. and supportive of me getting started on this essay.

Thanks for the tips..really helpful in writing my assignment in Academic English.

May you send me an example of an argumentative essay and other essay and their example please.

This site has examples of argument essays: https://www.collegeessay.org/blog/argumentative-essay-examples

Thank you for better clarity and better simplicity

Now I understand how to write an argumentative essay I found it so easier

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• Use this rubric to self-assess your persuasive writing as you work on it.

Persuasive Writing Rubric—Middle School

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9th-10th grade argumentative writing rubric

Offer 9th-10th grade students a standards-aligned structure for argumentative writing with this educator-developed rubric.

Offer 9th-10th Grade students a structure for informative writing with this standards-aligned rubric developed by educators for Feedback Studio.

Rubric suitable for formative and summative assignments with tasks involving the defense of a position on a topic. Use this rubric when asking students to argue whether or not they support a position on a topic, to examine sources in order to defend a position on a topic, etc. Consider using the 9th-12th Grade Argument QuickMark set with this rubric. These drag-and-drop comments were tailor-made by veteran educators to give actionable, formative feedback directly to students. While they were explicitly aligned to this particular rubric, you can edit or add your own content to any QuickMark. This rubric is available and ready to use in your Feedback Studio account. However, if you would like to customize its criteria, you can "Duplicate this rubric" in your Feedback Studio account and then edit the rubric as needed. Or, you can download this .rbc file and then import to your account to begin editing the content.

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Middle School Argumentative Essay | Graphic Organizer | Rubric | Writing Prompt

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Description

This argumentative essay will grab your middle school students' attention as they write about one of their favorite foods: pizza.

A Slice of Controversy:

It's lunchtime at school and you're faced with a dilemma: should you choose the slice of pizza, with its cheesy goodness and savory sauce, or the boring old salad with its wilted greens and lackluster dressing?

You should obviously pick the veggies. Right?

But what if I told you that pizza could be considered a vegetable?

That's right. Some people believe that because pizza often contains tomato sauce and sometimes even vegetables like mushrooms or peppers, it should be considered a vegetable in school cafeterias.

So, which side of the debate do you fall on?

This resource will help your students . . .

• Develop a thesis statement
• Write logical topic sentences
• Support their claims
• Find credible sources
• Build a logically organized argumentative essay (5-8 paragraphs)
• Self-assess their writing

Rather than starting with an intro and rambling their way through to the conclusion, your students will start with the most important building block of their argument essay: the thesis statement .

From there, they will build their topic sentences and move on to the support/evidence.

Finally, they will finish with an introduction and conclusion that complement the content of their argument.

Individual rubrics are included for each step of the process so your students can check their work as they go and YOU can grade their essays AS they're being written !

What's included in this resource?

• Teacher tips to guide you through the process
• A student handout with a controversial pizza writing prompt
• 13 Fillable student handouts with graphic organizers that build a 5-8-paragraph argumentative essay when put together
• Rubrics for each section of the paper (for student self-assessment and teacher grading )
• A put-it-all-together handout that shows students how to organize their essays
• An evidence tip sheet to help students get started with supporting their claims
• A sample essay for students to reference as they write

Click on the preview to see this fun and engaging argument essay up close!

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