Rhetorical Prcis Rubric

Name__________________________________ Score____/28



Exceptional Mastery
4

Adequate Mastery
3

Approaching Mastery
2

Inadequate Mastery
1

Author, genre, title,

Correctly identifies
and includes all of the
following: authors
name, title, and genre

Includes almost all of
the important details
of the authors name,
genre, and title

Misses some important
aspects of the authors
name, genre, and title

Misses most or all of
the authors name,
genre, and title

Rhetorically active
verb and authors
main claim

Has a strong claim that
shows insight and
understanding of the
authors position
Includes an apt
rhetorically active
verb

The authors claim is
stated mostly
accurately

The rhetorically active
verb may be somewhat
generic

The authors claim is
only partially stated, or
the claim is simply
stated
Weak, vague, or
generic rhetorically
active verb

Misreads or misstates
the authors claim

Inappropriate or
weak rhetorically
active verb

Support

Addresses all types of
evidence present in the
text

Addresses two
relevant types of
evidence

Only includes one type
of evidence, or is vague
and overly generic in
referring to the authors
evidence

Fails to address
important types of
evidence or names
incoherent types of
evidence

Purpose

Purpose tightly
connects to the claim
The in order to
clause clearly conveys
what readers are
supposed to do, feel,
or understand

Purpose seems generic
or mimics the claim
The in order to
clause generally
conveys what readers
are supposed to do,
feel, or understand

Purpose does not
connect to the claim
The in order to clause
does not accurately
convey what readers are
supposed to do, feel, or
understand

Purpose does not
connect to the claim
The in order to
clause does not
convey what readers
are supposed to do,
feel, or understand

Audience

Clearly explains who
the target audience is,
and why the target
audience would be
receptive to the
message

Clearly explains who
the target audience is

Is vague, general, or
generic in identifying
audience

Misidentifies the
audience, or does not
include the audience

Tone/Style

Accurately identifies
the authors tone and
style

Accurately identifies
the authors tone or
style, but not both

Misreads or
misunderstands the
authors tone/style

Fails to include or
grossly misreads the
authors tone/style

Format/Writing
Skill
MLA formatting is
accurate the prcis
follows the model
exactly
There are few or no
errors in grammar,
mechanics, and usage
MLA formatting is
mostly accurate
there are a few minor
differences from the
model
There are a few minor
errors in grammar,
mechanics, and usage
There are several
obvious errors in MLA
formatting

Several major editing
errors are evident in the
prcis (comma splice,
run-on, fragment, etc.)
The prcis is not
similar to the model
MLA formatting was
clearly not used
The writing is
difficult to read due
to the number of
errors