Continuum for Assessing Opinion/Argument Writing - The Reading ...

Level 4
Structure/
Genre
Elaboration/
Development
Concept of
Writing/Craft
A an opinion that is supported by one or more reasons or examples,
and includes some elaboration
• Treatment of Subject/Topic
o As in previous levels, when given a small booklet of three
to five pages and asked to write on a topic or issue that he
or she knows a lot about or that he or she has strong
feelings about, the writer uses drawing, writing, and
perhaps some oral commentary to convey an opinion and
some supporting examples or reasons.
o The text focuses around one main opinion and provides one
or more related reasons or supporting information.
o Each section of supporting information is more developed
than at previous levels.
• Organization/Focus/cohesiveness of the text:
o The writer is gesturing toward a beginning understanding
that an effective argument supplies reasons and examples
that convince readers that his or her opinion is valid.
o The writer is gesturing toward a conclusion by providing
some sense of closure, often in the form of a final
summarizing statement.
• Amount, variety, and selectivity of information
o The opinion and supporting information on each page is apt
to be conveyed through a picture with accompanying
sentence(s).
o The child might attempt to support his or her opinion by
including more than one piece of supporting information,
often in the form of reasons or goals (e.g. “We should have
a playground so we can go outside for recess,” or, “We
should have a playground because it is fun.”).
o The support for the child’s opinion is apt to come primarily
from personal experiences, as in previous levels.
o The text is more detailed than that which children produced
at earlier levels. Each piece of supporting information may
be told in several sentences, often by using “so” or
“because” to extend an idea.
o While most of the information in the text is related to one
particular opinion, the support might not appear to be well
organized. The child may have grouped some information
together, but in other places the information might seem out
of order or overly repetitive.
• As in the previous level, the written portion of this text shows a grasp
of directionality as well as a sense of word. At this point, each word is
generally represented by most of the letters that make it up (or by the
K-8 Continuum for Assessing Opinion Writing - TCRWP 2011
Working Document - Do Not Duplicate, Do Not Distribute
DRAFT
12