persuasive essay writing rubric

Persuasive Essay Rubric: Grading Template for Excellent Papers

• Icon Calendar 4 August 2024
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Learning institutions require writers to complete different types of essays. In particular, persuasive essays convince the audience to accept a specific point of view as the most acceptable format. Basically, an argumentative essay rubric helps writers and lecturers to express their ideas adequately. Also, this guide provides specific rules for preparing adequate essays. Then, guidelines show that the introduction invites readers, states the goal or thesis, and offers an overview of the issue. Moreover, an outstanding paper contains a clear and consistent structure. In this case, writers ensure that persuasive compositions comprise a hypothesis that clearly states a personal opinion and relates to the evidence presented. Further on, the content provides specific and well-elaborated support for central positions. Besides, such papers use transitions to connect ideas smoothly. In turn, a persuasive essay rubric offers grades that one may achieve to meet specific guidelines for the organization, format, thesis, content, reasons, and adequate support. Hence, both students and lecturers should use this persuasive essay rubric to ensure that academic papers achieve the necessary quality.  

Generals Aspects of a Persuasive Essay Rubric

Persuasive essays refer to a piece of academic writing where essayists rely on logic and reason to show that a specific point of view is legitimate than others. Basically, a persuasive essay rubric for such papers remains unique since it reveals if arguments can convince readers. In turn, both writers and lecturers can use such a rubric to ensure that persuasive papers contain compelling arguments.

Example of a Persuasive Essay Rubric

1. organization.

Excellent/4 points: The introduction captures the reader’s attention, includes a clear thesis statement, and summarizes the issue. The essay contains information presented in a logical order and maintains the audience’s interest. Besides, the conclusion reveals a personal opinion.

Good/3 points: The introduction part includes a clear thesis statement and provides an overview of the issue. The writer presents the information in a logical order but fails to maintain the interest of the audience. The conclusion contains a personal opinion.

Average/2 points: The introduction part includes a clear thesis statement and provides an overview of the issue. The writer presents the information in a logical order but fails to maintain the interest of the audience. The conclusion contains a personal opinion.

Poor/1 point: The essay does not contain a clear introduction, structure, or conclusion.

Grade: ___ .

Excellent/4 points: The essay contains an introduction, supporting and counter-argument paragraphs. The composition comprises sharp and transition sentences.

Good/3 points: The essay contains an introduction and supporting and counter-argument paragraphs.

Average/2 points: The essay contains an introduction and body paragraphs and a conclusion. However, the paper lacks counter-arguments.

Poor/1 point: The essay contains an introduction, body paragraphs but lacks a definite conclusion. The student fails to meet the requirements of a persuasive essay rubric.

3. Thesis Statement

Excellent/4 points: The essay contains one goal or thesis that firmly and clearly states a personal opinion regarding the topic.

Good/3 points: The essay contains a thesis that states a personal opinion and identifies the issue.

Average/2 points: The thesis fails to state personal opinion clearly. The thesis makes little reference to the issue.

Poor/1 point: The personal opinion presented in the thesis is not understandable. The statement shows little or no reference to the issue.

Excellent/4 points: The content states an arguable claim. The essay proposes a solution, course of action, or a new way to deal with an underlying solution.

Good/3 points: The content reveals an arguable claim but fails to propose a solution or a new approach to a specific topic.

Average/2 points: The content reveals confusing or unclear claims.

Poor/1 point: The content does not show what the argument or claim is. Persuasive essay rubric rules are not followed.

5. Reasons and Support

Excellent/4 points: The content gives precise and accurate claims that support main arguments. The essay reveals logic with facts, statistics, research, and named sources.

Good/3 points: The content gives precise and accurate claims that support main arguments. The essay reveals logic with facts, statistics, research, and named sources.

Average/2 points: The paper contains one or two weak claims that fail to support the argument. The evidence appears irrelevant or confusing.

Poor/1 point: The paper contains one or two weak claims that fail to support the argument. The evidence appears irrelevant or confusing.

6. Use of Language

Excellent/4 points: The writer uses striking, natural, varied, and vivid words.

Good/3 points: The writer makes routine word choices.

Average/2 points: Word choices or usage appears inappropriate. 

Poor/1 point: Writers use the same words throughout the essay. Persuasive essay rubric requirements are missed.

Final Grade: ___ .

Grading Scheme for a Persuasive Essay Rubric:

A+ = 22+ points A = 20-21 points A- = 18-19 points B+ = 16-17 points B = 14-15 points B- = 12-13 points C+ = 10-11 points C = 9-10 points C- = 8 points D = 5-7 points F = less than 4 points

Summing Up on a Persuasive Essay Rubric

Persuasive essays convince the audience to accept a specific point of view. In this case, a persuasive essay rubric helps writers and lecturers to express their ideas adequately. Hence, some tips for writing an outstanding persuasive essay are:

• The introduction invites readers, states the goal or thesis, and offers an overview of the issue.
• The essay contains a clear and consistent structure.
• The paper contains a thesis that firmly states a personal opinion.
• The content provides specific and well-elaborated support for the central position.
• The essay uses transitions to connect ideas smoothly.

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Persuasion Rubric

About this printout

Use this rubric to assess the effectiveness of a student's essay, speech, poster, or any type of assignment that incorporates persuasion.

Teaching with this printout

More ideas to try, related resources.

Grading rubrics can be of great benefit to both you and your students. For you, a rubric saves time and decreases subjectivity. Specific criteria are explicitly stated, facilitating the grading process and increasing your objectivity. For students, the use of grading rubrics helps them meet or exceed expectations, to view the grading process as being “fair,” and helps them set goals for future learning. In order to help your students meet or exceed expectations of the assignment, be sure to discuss the rubric with your students when you assign a persuasion project. It is helpful to show them examples of pieces that meet and do not meet the expectations. As an added benefit, because the criteria are explicitly stated in the rubric, the use of it decreases the likelihood that students will be confused about the grade they receive. The explicitness of the expectations helps students know exactly why they lost points on the assignment and aids them in setting goals for future improvement.  Use the Visuals/Delivery category to grade audio and visual elements in speeches, PowerPoint presentations, blogs, posters, skits, podcasts, or any other assignment where visuals and delivery play roles. If your assignment does not require speech or visuals, simply disregard this part of the rubric.

• Routinely have students score peers’ work using the rubric as the assessment tool. This increases their level of awareness of the traits that distinguish successful persuasive projects from those that fail to meet the criteria.
• Alter some expectations or add additional traits on the rubric as needed. For example, if the assignment is to create a persuasive podcast, criteria such as articulation, communication, sound effects, and audio clarity may be added. You may also adapt the criteria to make it more rigorous for advanced learners and less stringent for lower level learners. In addition, you may want to include content-specific criteria for your subject area.
• After you and your students have used the rubric, have them work in groups to make suggested alterations to the rubric to more precisely match their needs or the parameters of a specific persuasive assignment. For example, if you wanted them to work in cooperative groups to write and present persuasive skits, possible criteria could include teamwork and the length of the skit.
• Lesson Plans
• Student Interactives
• Strategy Guides

Through a classroom game and resource handouts, students learn about the techniques used in persuasive oral arguments and apply them to independent persuasive writing activities.

The Persuasion Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to map out their arguments for a persuasive essay or debate.

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