AP English Literature & Composition General Rubric

0 points: Thesis or claim is missing or 1 point: A defensible thesis that responds to the prompt and may establish a line of
given thesis doesn't respond to the reasoning is present.
Thesis prompt.

0 points: 1 point: Summarizes 2 points: Makes 3 points: Makes 4 points: Makes relevant textual
Restates thesis plot/text without relevant textual relevant textual references (direct or paraphrased
(if present), OR reference to a thesis, references (direct references (direct or though direct is listed in the scoring
repeats OR provides non- or paraphrased) paraphrased) linked to guidelines as preferable) linked to
provided specific references to linked to thesis thesis AND provides thesis AND provides well-developed
information, OR the text, OR provides AND provides commentary that commentary that consistently and
Evidence and gives irrelevant vague references to commentary explains the explicitly explains the relationship
Commentary or incoherent text AND provides though it repeats, relationship between between the evidence and the thesis
examples little or no oversimplifies, or evidence and thesis AND does not have significant
commentary. misinterprets the though commentary grammatical/usage errors that
cited information may be uneven, impact understanding.
or evidence. limited, or
incomplete. ***Essay responses for the Literary
Argument prompt must address an
interpretation of the work as a whole
to earn 4 points.
0 points: Does not meet the criteria for 1 1 point: Demonstrates sophistication of thought and/or develops a complex
point. literary argument throughout the whole essay.

Sophistication

Total number of points/final score: