CATEGORY

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Grammar & spelling (conventions)

Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling.

Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar and/or spelling.

Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling

Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar and/or spelling.

Ideas

Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.

Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organziation could have been better.

Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.

The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.

Content Accuracy

The letter contains at least 5 references to the writer's feelings about the hardships, rewards, world and everyday events s/he has experienced and how s/he thinks they will affect his/her future. The writer includes the insights s/he has gained through his/her task.

The letter contains 3-4 references to the writer's feelings about the hardships, rewards, world and everyday events s/he has experienced and how s/he thinks they will affect his/her future. The writer includes the insights s/he has gained through his/her task.

The letter contains 1-2 references to the writer's feelings about the hardships, rewards, world and everyday events s/he has experienced and how s/he thinks they will affect his/her future.

The letter contains no references to the writer's feelings about the hardships, rewards, world and everyday events s/he has experienced and how s/he thinks they will affect his/her future.

Capitalization and Punctuation

Writer makes no errors in capitalization and punctuation.

Writer makes 1-2 errors in capitalization and punctuation.

Writer makes 3-4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.

Writer makes more than 4 errors in capitalization and punctuation.

Neatness

Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride.

Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.

Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.

Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.