iRubric: Historical Mystery Short Story rubric

The plot is unclear. The writing is difficult to understand and the main idea is weakly expressed and unconvincing.
You need to work on your flow and plot development.

Your does have a mystery to be solved, but contains some information off topic or is seemingly irrelevant. The plot does not flow easily and lead the reader through relevant clues to the solution.

Your writing is clear, concise and clearly explains a mystery to be solved. The story has a definite beginning, middle and end with rising tension and a clear story line leading the reader through a series of clues to a credible solution.

Exceeds grade level expectations. The mystery is original and unusual. The plot goes through credible twists and turns and the final solution is supported by the evidence but comes as a surprise to the reader.

There is no or minimal dialogue. The character's perspective is missing or virtually missing. The character's feelings and emotion are not present. The requirements for punctuating dialogue are not applied.

You included some dialogue but it did not significantly add to the development of the mystery. There is some perspective of the character present, but it is inconsistent. The emotions of the character are expressed at times but not sufficiently or may be stated without being shown through actions or events. The requirements for punctuating dialogue are generally correctly applied but with some lapses.

Great use of meaningful dialogue! The character's perspective is clear and the characters feelings and emotions are consistent and present throughout. You do a great job of conveying the character's emotions through actions and events, rather than simply telling the reader, and through this, the reader really cares about what happens to your characters. The requirements for punctuating dialogue are fully applied with few errors.

Exceeds grade level expectations. Your dialogue vividly depicts the period and each character shows a distinct "voice" which helps the reader gain a fuller understanding of his/her inner thoughts and feelings. The requirements for punctuating dialogue are fully applied with no errors.