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

Meaning/
Significance
or
Purpose
the writer is gesturing towards linking related information.
• The writer does not yet “unpack” pieces of evidence by showing how
they are connected to each other, to a supporting reason, or to the overall
claim.
• The writer may use authorial asides (“That’s weird!”) The writer
probably does this to respond to information (digesting it) or to add
thoughts into the information or to relate to the reader, so these asides
probably indicate that the writer is intending to do something valuable,
but the actual asides used can often be distracting and tangential.
• At points in the text, the writer will seem to have aimed to write with
verve. This may result in the asides, previously mentioned, or in the use
of descriptive details, action words, or direct-address to the reader (e.g.
“I hope you agree with me!”) This use of craft elements may not, in fact,
be especially effective (it often creates a breezy, conversational tone)
but the effort to try to balance being informative, organized and also
lively is an important step ahead.
• The writer will elaborate on his or her supports more than at the
previous level, attempting to use what he or she knows about writing
craft (e.g. showing and not telling an anecdote).
• When asked to write an opinion piece, the writer will often jump to a
specific topic that they know intimately well - in informational writing
the topic may become quite broad (“all about dogs”) whereas in opinion
writing it often becomes quite specific and particular, either in topic or in
reasons (“Dogs are wonderful... my dog Muffy this... my dog Muffy
that...”).
• As with the prior level, the writer’s stance is fairly black and white, with
little nuance. “Skateboarding is the best sport ever!” or “Sharks are very
dangerous and scary and do not touch one.”
• Pieces at this level often have the feeling that the writer assumes the
reader shares an enthusiasm for the same topic simply because they are
reading it. In other words, the writer does not do much beyond possibly
using a “hook” device in the introduction or a bit of reflection at the end
to impart significance to the reader.
• Writers at this level do have a more controlled sense of how ideas are
clearer with reasons, though in opinion writing as compared to
informational writing, the evidence to support reasons can ramble as the
opinion often feels very exciting, layered, and hard to contain.
K-8 Continuum for Assessing Opinion Writing - TCRWP 2011
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DRAFT
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