Conventions are the part of the
writing that deals with things you might traditionally associate with good
writing such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and correct grammar.
Other items such as indenting paragraphs and underlining or italicizing titles
are also associated with conventions. More specifically all of the following
are part of the writing trait of conventions : correct grammar ("she
was" instead of "she were"), capitalization of proper nouns,
appropriate punctuation (commas, periods, exclamation points, question marks,
quotation marks, colons, etc.). If a paper is strong in conventions, the writer
communicates the message clearly and it is easy for the writer to interpret
the message. A paper could be very strong in all of the other traits, but
if it has poor conventions, the writer may not receive the correct message
because incorrect conventions interefere so the writer has to spend time figuring
and interpreting the message of the paper.
What
is the conventions rubric and how do I use it to evaluate my child's writing?
Use the rubric to evaluate the sample paper
1. Based on the rubric, decide for yourself what the score should be.
Then view the score and rationale for the
paper to see if you were correct.
It may be helpful to print off the rubric
to have next to you as you read the story.
Repeat the process for Sample Paper 2.
Conventions Rubric
5 – Paper: Mostly Correct
There are very few errors in my paper; it wouldn’t take long to get
this ready to publish.
· I have used
capitals correctly.
· Periods, commas, exclamation marks, and quotation marks are in the
right places.
· My spelling is accurate.
· Every paragraph is indented to show where a new idea begins.
· My grammar/usage is consistent and shows control.
3 – Paper: About Halfway
Home
A number of bothersome mistakes in my paper need to be cleaned up before I
am ready to publish.
· Spelling is
correct on simple words. It may not always be right on the harder words.
· Most sentences and proper nouns begin with capitals, but a few have
been overlooked.
· Paragraphs are present, but not all begin in the right spot.
· A few problems with grammar and punctuation might make a reader stumble
or pause now and again.
· My paper reads like a first draft; I was more concerned with getting
my ideas down than making sure all the editing was taken care of.
1 – Paper: Editing Not
Under Control Yet
It would take a first reading to decode, and then a second reading to get
the meaning of my paper.
· Spelling errors
are common even on simple words.
· My paper has errors in punctuation and grammar that send the reader
back to the beginning to sort things out.
· I’ve got capital letters scattered in all over the place or
not at all.
· I haven’t got the hang of paragraphs yet.
· The truth is I haven’t spent much time editing this paper.
Airplans are good for transportation.
Only 3 plans in a year crash. Airplans do plot the air a lot more than 1000
cars a day. Airplans get lots of mail if we didn't airplans we'd have to
wate for a day to mail from other country. They would have to go by boat.
Airplans make 1000s for the government. When a plan crashes it killes lots
of people and cost the state lot of money to get a new one.
Little airplans are for carriering
things to people in. Jungles, plains, and hilles little plans can put out
fires and they can find lost people.
Fighter plans kille fast the
they can rech speeds upto 1000 mts.
My favret dogs name was blandy.
He would take me and my sister to the bus stop. He would wach us go to school.
After school he would be there right on time. He was the best dog ever.
