What this rubric measures
The TCAP Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 6–8 is the official scoring guide used to evaluate student writing on Tennessee TCAP assessments. It is an Analytic rubric that scores responses across 4 distinct criteria, allowing teachers to give precise, targeted feedback on each area of writing.
All 4 scoring criteria
Click any criterion to expand its score level descriptors. The language below is taken verbatim from the official Tennessee Department of Education TCAP scoring guide.
1 Focus and Organization
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- contains an effective and relevant introduction.
- utilizes effective organizational strategies to create a unified whole and to aid in comprehension.
- effectively clarifies relationships among ideas and concepts to create cohesion.
- contains an effective and relevant concluding statement or section.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- contains a relevant introduction.
- utilizes adequate organizational strategies to create a mostly unified whole and to aid in comprehension.
- clarifies most relationships among ideas and concepts, but there may be some gaps in cohesion.
- contains a relevant concluding statement or section.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- contains a limited introduction.
- demonstrates an attempt to use organizational strategies to create some unification, but ideas may be hard to follow at times.
- clarifies some relationships among ideas and concepts, but there are lapses in focus.
- contains a limited concluding statement or section.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- contains no or an irrelevant introduction.
- demonstrates an unclear organizational structure; ideas are hard to follow most of the time.
- fails to clarify relationships among ideas and concepts; concepts are unclear/or there is a lack of focus.
- contains no or an irrelevant concluding statement or section.
2 Development
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- utilizes well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient evidence from the stimuli to thoroughly and insightfully develop the topic.
- thoroughly and accurately explains and elaborates on the evidence provided, demonstrating a clear, insightful understanding of the topic, task, and stimuli.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- utilizes relevant and sufficient evidence from the stimuli to adequately develop the topic.
- adequately and accurately explains and elaborates on the evidence provided, demonstrating a sufficient understanding of the topic, task, and stimuli.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- utilizes mostly relevant but insufficient evidence from the stimuli to partially develop the topic. Some evidence may be inaccurate or repetitive.
- explains some of the evidence provided, demonstrating only a partial understanding of the topic, task, and stimuli. There may be some level of inaccuracy in the explanation.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing:
- utilizes mostly irrelevant or no evidence from the stimuli, or mostly/only personal knowledge, to inadequately develop the topic. Evidence is inaccurate or repetitive.
- inadequately or inaccurately explains the evidence provided, demonstrating little understanding of the topic, task, and stimuli.
Evidence includes facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples as appropriate to the task and the stimuli.
3 Language
The writing:
- illustrates consistent and sophisticated command of precise language and domain-specific vocabulary appropriate to the task.
- illustrates sophisticated command of syntactic variety for meaning and reader interest.
- utilizes sophisticated and varied transitional words and phrases.
- effectively establishes and maintains a formal style and an objective tone.
The writing:
- illustrates consistent command of precise language and domain-specific vocabulary appropriate to the task.
- illustrates consistent command of syntactic variety for meaning and reader interest.
- utilizes appropriate and varied transitional words and phrases.
- establishes and maintains a formal style and an objective tone.
The writing:
- illustrates inconsistent command of precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.
- illustrates inconsistent command of syntactic variety.
- utilizes basic or repetitive transitional words and phrases.
- establishes but inconsistently maintains a formal style and an objective tone.
The writing:
- illustrates little to no use of precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.
- illustrates little to no syntactic variety.
- utilizes no or few transitional words and phrases.
- does not establish or maintain a formal style and an objective tone.
Domain-specific vocabulary refers to the terminology used in the stimuli and/or associated with the topic.
4 Conventions
The writing:
- demonstrates consistent and sophisticated command of grade-level conventions of standard written English.
- may contain a few minor errors that do not interfere with meaning.
The writing:
- demonstrates consistent command of grade-level conventions of standard written English.
- contains occasional minor and/or major errors, but the errors do not significantly interfere with meaning.
The writing:
- demonstrates inconsistent command of grade-level conventions of standard written English.
- contains frequent errors that may significantly interfere with meaning.
The writing:
- demonstrates limited command of grade-level conventions of standard written English.
- contains numerous and repeated errors that seriously impede meaning.
Conventions of standard written English include sentence structure, grammar, usage, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
How to score with the TCAP Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 6–8.
A practical guide for teachers and norming teams. How to apply each descriptor consistently, the pitfalls that hurt inter-rater reliability, and a workflow for calibrating with colleagues.
Four traits, scored independently
- Score each trait (Focus and Organization, Development, Language, Conventions) on its own 1 to 4 scale. Sum for the rubric total out of 16.
- Each trait has its own descriptor language at each score point. Do not borrow descriptors from one trait to score another.
- Trait scores can differ widely. A clear introduction with weak evidence might earn 3 on Focus and 2 on Development.
What explanatory does at grades 6–8
- Explanatory writing develops a topic with evidence; it does not state or defend a position.
- The Focus trait scores relationships among ideas and concepts (not claims, reasons, evidence as in argument). Cohesion is part of the descriptor at scores 3 and 4.
- The Language trait at grades 6–8 adds syntactic variety and formal style/objective tone, which the grades 4–5 Explanatory rubric does not include.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Treating the rubric like an argument rubric. Explanatory writing does not take a side or address counterclaims.
- Counting evidence quantity instead of quality. The Development trait rewards well-chosen and relevant evidence from the stimuli.
- Letting strong vocabulary inflate the Development score. Vocabulary lives in the Language trait.
Tips for norming with your team
- Anchor with 3 to 5 sample responses scored by your most experienced middle school ELA teacher before the session.
- Score the first 5 silently, then compare. Discuss any trait where graders are more than one point apart.
- Re-norm halfway through a long batch. Drift is real.
Notes for the TCAP Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 6–8
TCAP Grades 6–8 Explanatory uses the same four-trait analytic structure as the Argument and Narrative rubrics at this grade band. Each trait is scored 1 to 4 for a total of 16 possible points.
The shift from grades 4–5 Explanatory to grades 6–8 Explanatory is primarily in the Language trait, which now adds syntactic variety and formal style with an objective tone. The Focus and Organization trait also moves from "relationships among ideas and concepts" to "clarifies relationships among ideas and concepts to create cohesion."
Development is closely related to the grades 4–5 Explanatory rubric, with the same expectations around well-chosen evidence and thorough explanation. The increase in expected sophistication is implicit in the grade-level conventions clause.
TDOE prompts at grades 6–8 always include stimuli. Responses that ignore the stimuli typically cap Development at 1.
See this rubric in action.
EnlightenAI scores student writing on this exact rubric, with per-criterion feedback that mirrors how you grade by hand. The sample response below shows how the rubric applies to a real piece of student writing, scored against every criterion.
How light pollution affects wildlife
Light pollution, the brightening of the night sky caused by artificial lights from cities and roads, has a much larger impact on wildlife than most people realize. The two articles describe how artificial light at night disrupts the migration of birds, the reproduction of insects, and the hunting patterns of nocturnal animals.
Disrupting bird migration
First, light pollution interferes with how birds navigate during migration. The first article explains that many songbird species travel at night and use the stars to orient themselves. When they fly over brightly lit cities, they become disoriented and often collide with tall buildings. According to a study cited in the article, nearly 600 million birds die from building collisions in the United States each year, and lit skylines are a major reason why.
Harming insect populations
Second, artificial light damages insect reproduction. The second article describes how fireflies use specific light flashes to find mates, but in places with bright streetlights, fireflies cannot see one another's signals. Populations of fireflies and other night-active insects have dropped in lit areas, which then affects the birds, bats, and frogs that eat them.
Changing nocturnal hunting
Finally, light pollution changes the hunting patterns of nocturnal predators. The first article notes that bats normally feed on insects attracted to flowers in the dark, but in heavily lit areas insects swarm around streetlights instead, where bats are reluctant to fly because predators can see them. The second article adds that owls, which rely on darkness to surprise prey, hunt less efficiently in suburban areas where lights spill across fields.
Conclusion
Light pollution is not just an aesthetic problem. It changes how birds migrate, how insects reproduce, and how nocturnal predators feed, with effects that move up the food chain. Both articles suggest that simple solutions like shielding outdoor lights and using warmer-colored bulbs can reduce these impacts while still keeping streets visible.
Unified whole with effective transitions
Effective introduction names the topic and previews three impacts. Each body paragraph develops one impact with concept-level cohesion (navigation, reproduction, hunting). Relationships among the three concepts are connected through the food-chain idea in the conclusion.
Sufficient evidence, explanation could deepen
Uses evidence from both articles (600M bird deaths, firefly signaling, bat hunting behavior). Each piece is connected to the topic. Caps below 4 because explanations are accurate but do not insightfully analyze, for example the food-chain ripple is named but not traced.
Consistent formal tone, syntactic variety could expand
Maintains formal style and objective tone. Domain vocabulary (nocturnal, migration, predators) appropriate. Transitions are appropriate. Caps below 4 because syntactic variety is consistent but not sophisticated; sentence openings repeat.
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About the TCAP Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 6–8
What is the TCAP Explanatory Writing Rubric for Grades 6 to 8?
How is the grades 6–8 explanatory rubric different from grades 4–5?
How is explanatory different from argument on TCAP at grades 6–8?
Does TCAP grades 6–8 explanatory require evidence from the stimuli?
Is this rubric the official version from TDOE?
Where can I find the source document?
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Use this rubric in EnlightenAI
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