Title: Editorial Rubric
Author: gary r. simmons
Last saved by: Carole Simmons
Company: approved flight components, inc.

Inro to Journalism / Wall-Simmons
sports Story Rubric

Reporter_________________________________________   	Topic_____________________________________________

Objectives

Exemplary Performance
100-90 points

At or Above Average
89-80 points

At or Below Average
79-70 points

Low Performance
69 points or less

Points
Earned

Effective and Appropriate Lead

Lead is exceptional and reflects a great deal of creative energy; so powerful it captivates the reader's interest; grabs the reader by the lapels and hurls him into the story; first sentence immediately commits the reader; lead fits well with the rest of the story; developed with rich description of place and character and/or an engaging narrative and/or a powerful left hook contrast lead that effectively teases the reader until the point of the story is unveiled in a ‘nut graf’ that flows seamlessly into story; language is exceptional and alive and shows exceptional effort

Lead appropriate to story and effective at getting attention; shows originality; invites reader in (doesn’t hurl); first sentence is good but not remarkable; lead has description or narration but it may be lacking in richness of detail or a contrast lead that could be stronger; lead is effective at teasing the reader but reader may find nut graf somewhat predictable; language is better than average and shows effort at word choice

Lead is adequate but not
very catchy or original; reader could walk away; first sentence is average and doesn’t pass the three second rule; lead lacks specific description/narration/ or contrast and doesn’t tease the reader to any surprise in the nut graf; nut graf may come too abruptly or may not adequately explain the point of the story; some good word choices but most language in the lead is a bit passive, dry

Lead is neither original or catchy; boring, overused or trite, or is inappropriate
to story;  lead may be a quote or question lead which is unacceptable; shows lack of creative effort; has many general statements as opposed to active narration or description; lacks details; first sentence is boring; word choice / language is below average and lacks any surprising wording.

Adequate Use of Primary Sources {Mainly 
Interviews)

Interviews have surpassed minimum requirement; Evidence of reporter trying to get as many sources as necessary to adequately present all sides in the story including opposing teams; all info is properly attributed, accurate, thorough; focus is on upcoming games and challenges as well as past games; gets quotes from key players as well as coaches

A minimum of three sources are used and all sources are clearly identified; most information is attributed to sources; information is accurate; may be missing quotes from essential sources; may have quotes from key players and coaches BUT nothing from the opposing teams may focus too much on past and has no focus on future

Not enough sources are used; missing quotes from essential sources - key players and coaches, opposing teams; some sources are improperly identified or some info or opinion is given without attribution; most info is accurate but may not be as thorough; missing key sources; may use too general of info and use vague worn out terms like sisterhood, bonding, team effort, etc.

One of fewer sources used in story; nothing from essential sources - key players, coaches, opposing teams; or sources are improperly identified; much info is given without attribution; inaccurate info; or info is vague and general; lacks specifics

Quotes / Anecdotes 
Show Evidence of Careful Reporting

Strong evidence of good research, interviewing and use of skillful follow-up questions by the use of effective, story-telling quotes that cover a broad range of the topic; uses anecdotes to illustrate larger issues; sources provide rich, relevant supporting information; professional use of reporting graf- quote graf formula; all sources are identified; info is properly attributed;  there is human interest and a strong emotional impact

Most quotes show evidence of effective interviewing and good follow-up questions; quotes are interesting and story-telling and capture interest; use of reporting graf- quote graf formula but some reporting grafs may need more solid info; sources are clearly identified; most information; may use some anecdotal info but not as much as necessary to breath life into piece; human interest is evident and emotional impact is felt

One or two of the quotes show evidence of good interviewing, but most do not help propel the story; facts have been included in a basic manner and little attention to reporting graf / quote graf formula; some sources improperly identified or some info or opinion is given without attribution; interviewees may not have revealed stories that capture interest or make an impact on the story; human interest is not completely clear, nor emotional impact

Quotes are short, weak or ineffective; no evidence of follow-up questions being asked; sources are improperly identified; or much info or opinion is given without attribution;
or topic sentences are missing or confusing; the reader has not really learned or felt anything of significance from the sports story

Effective Body, Development, Organization
and Flow (deals with
structure)

Story is strongly organized with clear transitions and logical connections which create a sense of being tightly woven together;  gives reader dynamic impression and profound understanding of the subject; story aptly uses examples, details, quotes, statistics, and description to make reader sense something strongly; creative transitions have been used; similes and metaphors (or other descriptive techniques) may also have been used to enhance writing; story explores deep insight into the team/sport/games and weaves essential facts and elements into the feature artfully;  excellent use of reporting graf/quote graf formula;  breaks the mold!

Story is organized and most transitions and connections are clear, but either organization is somewhat lacking or the sense of flow is somewhat abrupt; gives reader vivid impression and deep understanding of the subject; feature strongly uses examples, details, and quotes to make reader understand  the team/sport/games; sophisticated transitions have been used; similes and metaphors (or other descriptive techniques) may also have been used to enhance writing; story explores the issue and weaves essential facts/ elements in artfully; good use of reporting graf/quote graf formula

Story lacks strong organization; jumps around too much or lacks effective transitions or transitions are awkward; not in logical order; story is revealed (minimum requirements met), but it may be done in a predictable and/or awkward way with little or no examples, details, and quotes to make reader sense something strongly;  little or no description may have been used to add life to the language; inconsistent use of reporting graf/quote graf formula or reporting grafs are incomplete;  story may not be very compelling;  outline could have been thought through more thoroughly

Story is choppy or
incohesive; organization
is unclear; few effective
transitions or transitions are confusing;  or uses sweeping generalizations with little or no supporting examples, details, and quotes to make reader sense something of any meaning; or little or no attempt to use descriptive language; or information is unfocused or confusing; or paragraphs are too long or too short; or no sense of reporting graf/quote graf formula;   outline ignored or not used

Clear Angle / Focus and Unity (deals with content) | Focus (angle) of story is clear and sufficiently narrowed; nothing detracts from primary focus; everything contributes to overall theme / angle | Angle is fairly clear but one or two things on the story detract from the primary focus; or angle could be a bit more narrowed/defined | Story lacks strong angle or sense of unity and focus; several things seem to detract from focus | No clear angle or focus; story is rambling and awkward |

Interesting and
Effective Writing
Style

Professional. Sophisticated; high level, active words are selected deliberately; piece is tightly written; no more than one mechanical error in the entire piece; sentence structure / length is varied; shows a great deal of effort and creativity; reads like a professional feature from the NY Times or Rolling Stone

Writing is good but
not exceptionally compelling or original; most vocabulary is sophisticated and used properly; vocabulary is varied and correct;  no more than 3 mechanical errors in the entire piece; piece is vivid – with some revisions it could be found in Newsday or Daily News or solid magazine

Language is rather basic – passable in some areas, weak in others; author may use simple words and take few risks; vocabulary is somewhat dull and/or repetitive and/or used incorrectly;  story is legible but may contain multiple errors. Needs more life!

Writing lacks a clear voice
and original style; misuses basic vocabulary; ignores basic rules of mechanics (capitalization, sentence structure, spelling, etc.); story reads at a low-level; difficult to read because of a number of distracting errors

.

Effective and Appropriate Ending | Ending is exceptional and reflects a great deal of creative energy; so powerful the reader can’t stop thinking about it;  wind down is evident, flows seamlessly from story and ends in a final statement (shocking statement or killer quote) that leaves reader immobilized; ending strongly ties back to the beginning and fits well with the rest of the story; writer takes as long to get out as she did to get into story; developed in the same style as lead, rich description of place and character and/or an ending to narrative begun in lead;  language is exceptional and alive and shows exceptional effort | Ending is good and reflects creative energy; wind down is present, flows from story and ends in a final statement (shocking statement or killer quote) that leaves reader thinking; ending ties back to the beginning and fits well with the rest of the story; writer takes as long to get out as she did to get into story; ending developed in the same style as lead, description of place and character and/or an ending to narrative begun in lead;  language is good and shows effort | Ending is adequate but not very catchy or original; wind down may come too abruptly or writer may not take as long to exit the story as she did to enter it; final sentence is average but doesn’t affect reader emotionally; ending lacks strong description/narration/ or contrast; some good word choices but most language in the ending is a bit passive, dry | Ending is neither original or catchy; it is boring, overused or trite, or is inappropriate to story;  shows lack of creative effort; has many general statements as opposed to active narration or description; lacks details; ending may be non-existent or far too abrupt; final sentence is boring; word choice / language is below average and lacks any surprising wording. |
Correct use of Journalism Style | NO errors in journalism style (quotes, dates, scores, numbers, money, percents, time, commas, etc.); 35-40 word paragraphs; quotes stand alone; attributions in subject-verb order; sources have ID in first reference | Has few (one or two in story) errors in journalism style; or may have non-journalistic paragraph structure; or sources may not be cited correctly | Has several errors in journalism style or non-journalistic paragraph structure | Has many errors in journalism style and/or non-journalistic paragraph structure |
Effort, Improvement, Presentation | Evidence of substantial time; student is working at highest potential; details are thorough and factual; there are no errors in content; student sought help in or out of class from teacher and students; student chose a challenging topic; revisions obvious | Evidence of extra time; student is working near highest potential; some improvement; student sought help in or out of class; revisions made | Some amount of time is evident though more attention should probably have been given | Time was not used productively; little or no time or care; no attention paid to basics; gross errors; sloppy; little or no revision evident; this piece is not up to par with high school writing |

FATAL FLAWS:    (if any one of these flaws occurs the story will earn an automatic 50 points and no higher)

______   	Writer buries the news and does not feature it in the nut graf.
______   	Writer has no distinct angle.
______   	Writer has only one source.
______	Writer uses unattributed opinion, editorializes or tries to be omniscient.
______	Writer seems unaware of reporting graf/quite graf format or consistently writes weak reporting grafs.

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