Narrative Essay Rubric and Grading

Narrative Essay Rubric and Grading

by Kathie Napholz

​Nonfiction Narrative Essay

• ​Uses narrative techniques: characters; dialogue; description; a beginning, middle, and end; setting; imagery; figurative language

• ​Tells a story--but a true story

• ​Ends with a reflection on what can be gleaned from the story (ie, what you learned)

​Tell a specific story from YOUR life that tells what it means to be an American.

• ​Think about the stories you talked about with your partner

• ​Be specific!

• ​Think of it like you are telling a story to a friend

• ​Use first person

​EXAMPLES - Value: Independence

• a student tells about setting up a lemonade stand when she was five so she could earn money for a bike

• ​a student wants to become a vegan, so he researched what it would take to do so healthily, put together a shopping list, researched menus, and began cooking for himself

• ​a student was trying to bring up his math grade, so he decided one day to ask the teacher if he could move seats, away from his friends, so he could focus and pay better attention

​EXAMPLES -- Value: Competition

• ​a student talks about competing in a rodeo competition

• ​a student talks about her competition for grades she has with her brother and how it eventually led to them both getting a steak dinner for good grades

​EXAMPLES -- Value: Generosity/Philanthropy

• ​a story about helping out at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving

• ​a story about spending an afternoon cleaning up the side of route 20 with a church youth group

• ​a story about babysitting children on the Friday after Thanksgiving so that a single mom could shop for Christmas presents

​Be specific:

​Begin your story with a specific time or date.

​

​For example,

​

​"When I was fourteen-years-old, my high school counselor asked me if I wanted to learn how to be a peer counselor. It would mean going to a camp by myself in July with no one else I knew and spending two weeks of my summer learning with total strangers."

​After you introduce the story, add a setting...

​The campground itself had two sections: boys and girls. There was also a common area in the middle that had a stage for the nightly presentations and a lodge for meals and events. It was hot and humid, and there was very little shade. None of the buildings had electricity, let alone air conditioning. When we got to our cabins, we found out that we would be sharing a room with seven other people. There were four bunk beds in each cabin. The bathroom had no roof. There were stalls with no doors for the toilets, and the showers had no stalls. It was just an open room with about ten shower heads coming out of the walls.

​

​Focus on one story.

​You can begin with an overall statement and end with a general/overall statement, but make sure there is an event that you describe within your paper.

​Rubric Categories for Narrative Essay

• ​Focus and Organization (4 sections)

• ​Evidence and Elaboration (4 sections)

• ​Language Conventions (1 section)

​Focus and Organization Target

• ​The introduction engages and orients the reader by setting a clear problem, situation, or observation

• ​The narrative includes a variety of narrative techniques.

• ​The narrative includes a smooth sequence of events or ideas.

• ​The conclusion follows from the events in the narrative and provides insightful reflection on the experiences related in the narrative.

​Evidence and Elaboration Target

• ​The specific details and descriptions create a vivid picture of events and characters.

• ​The narrative includes story elements, such as dialogue, pacing, and reflection.

• ​The language in the narrative is precise and appropriate for the audience and purpose.

• ​The tone of the narrative is engaging.

​Language Conventions

​The narrative intentionally follows standard English conventions of usage and mechanics.

Multiple Choice

Like a fiction narrative, a nonfiction narrative essay will include the following EXCEPT...

• A beginning, middle, and end

• Characters and dialogue

• Imagery and description

• An arguable thesis

Multiple Choice

The conclusion in a nonfiction narrative will include...

• a reflection on the experiences

• a restatement of your thesis 

Multiple Choice

Which of these is not a narrative technique that can be used in a nonfiction narrative essay?

• dialogue

• citing evidence

• using figurative language, such as metaphor or personification

Multiple Choice

Narrative nonfiction is often written in first person.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

Because this essay is telling a story, Standard English conventions, such as grammar and spelling, do not apply.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

All the following are conventions of English EXCEPT...

• capitalization of proper nouns and the beginnings of sentences

• using idioms

• proper use of commas, end punctuation, and other punctuation

• proper spelling and sentence structure