Business Letter Rubric—Middle and High School
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Content: Purpose |
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I clearly state the purpose of my letter and any necessary background information. |
I state the purpose of my letter and important background information. |
I try to state the purpose of my letter and give some background, but some relevant information may be missing. |
The purpose of my letter is unclear, and I provide little relevant background information. |
Content: Action |
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I succinctly describe a satisfactory response in the opening paragraph. |
I describe a satisfactory response in the opening paragraph. |
I describe the response I want, but it is not in the opening paragraph, or my description is confusing in some parts. |
I do not describe the response I want in my letter, or my description is confusing. |
Persuasion: Arguments |
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I provide several compelling, well-supported reasons and detailed examples or illustrations to support the purpose. |
I provide several reasons and examples to support the purpose. |
I provide reasons to support the purpose, but some of my reasons are not convincing. |
I do not provide reasons, or the reasons I give are unconvincing. |
Persuasion: Rhetorical Devices |
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I use appropriate rhetorical devices (such as appeals to reason, to character, or emotion) effectively to persuade my audience. |
I use rhetorical devices to persuade my audience. |
I try to use rhetorical devices to persuade my audience. |
I do not use rhetorical devices. |
Voice: Audience |
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I anticipate and thoroughly address my audience’s concerns and questions. |
I anticipate and address my audience’s concerns and questions. |
I anticipate some of my audience’s concerns, and I try to address them. |
I do not anticipate or address my audience’s concerns. |
Voice: Sincerity |
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I convey a sense of sincere commitment to my letter’s topic and explain why my views should be taken seriously. |
My letter sounds sincere and shows that my topic is important to me. |
My letter sounds sincere and credible, but some parts of my letter may sound forced or contrived. |
My letter does not sound sincere. |
Voice: Personalization |
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My letter reflects me as a person by using personal examples and details to support the purpose. |
My letter reflects me as a person by using personal details. |
My letter includes some personal details, but some details are not appropriate. |
My letter does not include personal details, or if it does, the details are not appropriate. |
Tone |
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I use a respectful tone that is appropriate for the purpose of the letter and the reader. |
I use an appropriate tone. |
Sometimes, my letter’s tone is disrespectful or inappropriate for the audience and purpose. |
My letter’s tone is disrespectful and inappropriate. |
Organization: Introduction |
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My letter’s first paragraph states the purpose of my letter in a compelling way. |
My letter’s first paragraph states the purpose of my letter. |
My letter’s first paragraph partially states the purpose of my letter, but the purpose is unclear or hard to find. |
My letter’s first paragraph does not state the purpose of my letter. |
Organization: Body |
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I support my purpose by presenting my reasons in an order that builds to what I want for a response. |
I present reasons in a logical order. |
I try to put my reasons in order, but the order does not help the reader understand what I am saying. |
My reasons do not seem to be in a particular order. |
Organization: Transitions |
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I use a variety of words, phrases, and structures to connect ideas, so my ideas flow in a logical order and build on each other naturally. |
I use transitions to connect ideas, so my ideas flow together. |
I attempt to connect my ideas with transitions, but my writing is sometimes choppy. |
My writing is choppy and unconnected. |
Organization: Conclusion |
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My conclusion emphasizes the response I want in a memorable way. |
My conclusion emphasizes my expected response. |
My conclusion tries to explain why I wrote the letter. |
My conclusion does not explain why I wrote the letter. |
Writing: Word Choice |
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I use precise, accurate, powerful, and interesting words and phrases to create memorable pictures in the reader’s mind. |
I use accurate, interesting words to engage the reader. |
My language is sometimes vague, general, predictable, and uninteresting. |
My language is vague, general, predictable, and uninteresting. |
Writing: Sentences |
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My sentences are varied in length and structure to enhance meaning. My sentence beginnings are varied and interesting. |
My sentences are generally varied in length and structure. My sentence beginnings are often varied. |
The length and structure of my sentences rarely vary. I attempt to vary sentence beginning structures, but some are repeated. |
My sentence structure, length, and beginnings are repetitive and predictable. |
Conventions |
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My spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are correct. I use Standard English throughout my letter. |
My spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are generally correct. My letter has no errors that detract from meaning. I use Standard English throughout my letter. |
Occasional errors in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization detract from my letter’s meaning. My use of nonstandard English detracts from meaning. |
Errors in conventions make my letter difficult to read and understand. |
Format |
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I follow an appropriate business letter format consistently and accurately. I address my envelope correctly. |
I follow an appropriate business letter format consistently. I make minor errors in addressing my envelope. |
I make some errors in business letter format, or I make a few errors in addressing the envelope. |
I make several errors in business letter format, and I make several errors in addressing the envelope. |