Name:____________________

Date:____________

Hour:___________

Words to Avoid Essay Rubric

Before you print your essay, be sure to do the following:

Bold the 3 compound sentences

Italicize the 1 compound-complex sentence
Underline the 2 complex sentences

Skill
Sentence
Variety

Grammar &
Spelling

Words to
Avoid

Word
Choice

4
Contains at
least 3
compound
sentences, 2
complex
sentences,
and 1
compoundcomplex
sentence
There are no
spelling or
grammar
errors
throughout
the entire
essay
No more
than 5 words
from the
Words to
Avoid list
No more
than 3
passive
verbs, 1
interrogative,
and 1
exclamatory

Overall Score:________

3
Contains at
least 2
compound
sentences, 1
complex
sentence,
and 1
compoundcomplex
sentence
One or two
errors in the
essay are not
distracting to
the reader

2
Contains 1
compound
sentence, 1
complex
sentence,
and 1
compoundcomplex
sentence
Three or
more errors
in the essay
that are very
distracting to
the reader

1
Does not
contain a
compoundcomplex
sentence, or
sentence
structure is
the same
throughout
essay
Contains
multiple
errors,
obvious that
proofreading
did not occur

No more
than 6 words
from the
Words to
Avoid list
Contains one
or more of
the following:
4+ passive
verbs, 2+
interrogative,
2+
exclamatory

No more
than 7 words
from the
Words to
Avoid list
Contains one
or more of
the following:
5+ passive
verbs, 3+
interrogative,
3+
exclamatory

No more
than 8 words
from the
Words to
Avoid list
Contains one
or more of
the following:
6+ passive
verbs, 3+
interrogative,
3+
exclamatory