I'm hoping to get some help from English teachers on how to judge essays. I have been asked to be a reader for a scholarship. Aside from following the prompt, what are some of the other qualities that I should look for?
You may want to look into the 6 traits of writing. This breaks down writing into some different areas that you could use to judge the writing piece for writing alone.
Things we look at are writing conventions, ideas (original, focused), flow, word choice... It may be helpful to find a generic rubric online.
Look for how well the student responds to and works with the content of your lesson. Does the essay show mastery of the standards and material that have led up to your assignment? Once we hit Common Core, all standards will have to be assessed. They could be the spine of your rubrics.
This was from a quick search of 6 traits of writing high school rubric. http://www.waukeshaschools.com/west/6traits.asp I didn't really look to see the quality, but wanted to give you somewhere to start your search.
