| Has difficulty communicating
through writing. |
Rarely writes letters or notes. Needs help
completing forms such as job applications. |
| Written output is severely limited. |
Struggles to produce a written product.
Produces short sentences and text with limited
vocabulary. Spelling errors may consist of
confusing letter order; missing middle syllables;
spelling exclusively by sound; and/or some
words may be completely unrecognizable. |
| Writing is disorganized. |
Omits critical parts or puts information in the
wrong place. Writing lacks transition words. |
| Lacks a clear purpose for writing. |
Does not communicate a clear message.
Expresses thoughts that don't contribute to the
main idea. |
| Does not use the appropriate text
structures. |
Uses sentences that contain errors in syntax or
word choice. Fails to clearly indicate the referent
of a pronoun. Unable to determine which noun
they are referring to, i.e. She glanced at him
while looking through the window. |
| Shows persistent problems in
spelling. |
Spells only phonetically. Leaves out letters.
Writes numbers or letters backwards or upside
down. Refrains from writing words that are
difficult to spell. |
| Has difficulty with mechanics of
written expression. |
Omits or misuses sentence markers such as
capitals and end punctuation, making it difficult
for the reader to understand the text. |
| Handwriting is sloppy and difficult
to read. |
Has awkward writing grip or position. Letters,
words, and lines are misaligned or not spaced
appropriately. Makes frequent punctuation
errors and mixes capital and lower-case letters
inappropriately. |
| Demonstrates difficulties in
revising. |
Is reluctant to proofread or does not catch errors.
May spell the same word differently in the same
writing sample. Focuses primarily on the
mechanics of writing, not on style and content. |