RUBRIC

Game Story Name___________________________

Word Count_______

Writing is scored on a 4-point scale (one to four) using the following criteria:

1. Meets
deadline and
submission
requirements

Assignment is late and

incomplete. Writers
name may be missing.
Article may be
handwritten or typed
in unusable form.

Assignment is late or
incomplete. Writers name
is on story. Revision is
needed before the article
can be included in the
paper.

Assignment is on time
and complete, with 400
words, but will require
minor revision before it
can be included in the
paper. Writers name is
on story.

Article is completed on
time, meeting the word
count of 400 words. Writers
name is on story in the
byline.

2. Headline
and lead

No headline is
suggested, or
suggested headline is
merely a topic with no
verb. Writing does not
identify what is
unusual or interesting
about this game.

Headline is vague,
misleading. Lead may be
vague or misleading.
Article does not provide
clear focus on what is
unusual or interesting
about the game. Does not
describe what game you
attended.

A usable headline is
suggested. News element
is evident in lead.
Article provides focus on
what was interesting
about the game.

An interesting, appropriate
headline is suggested. Lead
is direct, relevant, and
interesting, clearly
explaining the outcome of
the game. Good transitions
are made from lead into next
paragraphs.

3. Facts

Information is
inaccurate or
incomplete. Specific
information is lacking.
Writers personal
opinion or speculation
may be expressed.

Some accurate
descriptions of the
action. Some useful
statistics. Weaker use of
quotes. No personal
opinion.

Accurate statistics and

information are drawn from
observations of game and
other sources as needed.
Clear quotes of a
participant.
No personal opinion of the
writer.

4. Sports
writing

Unorganized story.
Obvious the reporter
did not attend a game
or understand the
game.

While some information

is accurate, other facts
may be inaccurate or
missing. Article lacks
quotes to back up
paraphrased information.
Writers personal opinion
or speculation may be
present.
Article offers little insight
into significance of the
game or event.

5. Editing

Control of sentence,
structure, punctuation,
usage, and spelling is
so minimal as to
impede understanding.
Story would require
substantial editing
before it could be
published.

Article shows some of

what happened in the
game but missing key
points, especially when
explaining why a team
won or lost.
Article is neatly typed,
with only few
proofreading errors.
Story is nearly free of
grammatical errors or
errors in AP style. Only
minor editing would be
required before
publication.

Article clearly tells about

the why the game is
interesting and about the
key points of that game.
Answers why a team won or
lost.
Article is neatly typed,
single-spaced, with no
errors in proofreading.
Story is free from
grammatical errors and in
accordance with AP style.
Story written in the past
tense. This story could be
published with no changes.
Uses Times New Roman
font.

Article has many errors in

proofreading. While there
may be many errors in
conventions or AP style,
they seldom impede
understanding. However,
story would require some
editing before it could be
published. Story might be
written in incorrect tense.

GRADE:________________________
Game Story: Attend a game (any level) in which you are not a participant. Explain what happened and
why. You must take notes during the game so that you can provide relevant play by play and
descriptions of the action. Also, provide relevant statistics to support your story.
*You must submit a photo with this story.
*You must write a cutline for the photo on the top of your story.

RUBRIC

Game Story

Name___________________________

Word Count_______

Writing is scored on a 4-point scale (one to four) using the following criteria:

1. Meets
deadline and
submission
requirements

Assignment is late and

incomplete. Writers
name may be missing.
Article may be
handwritten or typed
in unusable form.

Assignment is late or
incomplete. Writers name
is on story. Revision is
needed before the article
can be included in the
paper.

Assignment is on time
and complete, with 400
words, but will require
minor revision before it
can be included in the
paper. Writers name is
on story.

Article is completed on
time, meeting the word
count of 400 words. Writers
name is on story in the
byline.

2. Headline
and lead

No headline is
suggested, or
suggested headline is
merely a topic with no
verb. Writing does not
identify what is
unusual or interesting
about this game.

Headline is vague,
misleading. Lead may be
vague or misleading.
Article does not provide
clear focus on what is
unusual or interesting
about the game. Does not
describe what game you
attended.

A usable headline is
suggested. News element
is evident in lead.
Article provides focus on
what was interesting
about the game.

An interesting, appropriate
headline is suggested. Lead
is direct, relevant, and
interesting, clearly
explaining the outcome of
the game. Good transitions
are made from lead into next
paragraphs.

3. Facts

Information is
inaccurate or
incomplete. Specific
information is lacking.
Writers personal
opinion or speculation
may be expressed.

Some accurate
descriptions of the
action. Some useful
statistics. Weaker use of
quotes. No personal
opinion.

Accurate statistics and

information are drawn from
observations of game and
other sources as needed.
Clear quotes of a
participant.
No personal opinion of the
writer.

4. Sports
writing

Unorganized story.
Obvious the reporter
did not attend a game
or understand the
game.

While some information

is accurate, other facts
may be inaccurate or
missing. Article lacks
quotes to back up
paraphrased information.
Writers personal opinion
or speculation may be
present.
Article offers little insight
into significance of the
game or event.

5. Editing

Control of sentence,
structure, punctuation,
usage, and spelling is
so minimal as to
impede understanding.
Story would require
substantial editing
before it could be
published.

Article shows some of

what happened in the
game but missing key
points, especially when
explaining why a team
won or lost.
Article is neatly typed,
with only few
proofreading errors.
Story is nearly free of
grammatical errors or
errors in AP style. Only
minor editing would be
required before
publication.

Article clearly tells about

the why the game is
interesting and about the
key points of that game.
Answers why a team won or
lost.
Article is neatly typed,
single-spaced, with no
errors in proofreading.
Story is free from
grammatical errors and in
accordance with AP style.
Story written in the past
tense. This story could be
published with no changes.
Uses Times New Roman
font.

Article has many errors in

proofreading. While there
may be many errors in
conventions or AP style,
they seldom impede
understanding. However,
story would require some
editing before it could be
published. Story might be
written in incorrect tense.

GRADE:________________________
Game Story: Attend a game (any level) in which you are not a participant. Explain what happened and
why. You must take notes during the game so that you can provide relevant play by play and
descriptions of the action. Also, provide relevant statistics to support your story.
*You must submit a photo with this story.
*You must write a cutline for the photo on the top of your story.