Scorae › Rubrics › Letter Writing Rubric (Grades 2-6)
Letter Writing Rubric (Grades 2-6)
One rubric for the friendly letter and the formal letter, because the skill being graded is the same: know your reader, say what you came to say, and put the parts where they belong. The format criterion adapts to whichever letter type you assigned; the other three do not change.
- Grades 2-6
- Subject ELA
- 20 points
- 4 criteria
- Free to copy, print and adapt
| Criterion | Exceeds | Meets | Approaching | Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letter Format5 points | 5-5 ptsAll five parts are present and placed correctly: date, greeting with comma, body, closing with comma, and signature, matching the assigned letter type. | 4-4 ptsAll parts present with one placement or punctuation slip, such as a missing comma after the greeting. | 3-3 ptsA part is missing, or parts appear out of order. | 0-2 ptsThe piece is a paragraph without letter parts. |
| Purpose and Content6 points | 6-6 ptsThe reason for writing is clear in the first sentences, and the body develops it with details suited to the specific reader, including a request or question where the purpose calls for one. | 5-5 ptsThe purpose is clear and the body supports it with relevant details. | 4-4 ptsThe purpose emerges only by the end, or the body wanders to unrelated topics. | 0-3 ptsNo purpose a reader could name: the letter fills space. |
| Organization and Tone5 points | 5-5 ptsIdeas are grouped in order, the closing matches the purpose, and the tone fits the reader: casual for a friend, respectful for a business or official letter. | 4-4 ptsIdeas follow an order and the tone is appropriate for the reader. | 3-3 ptsIdeas repeat or jump, or the tone slips, such as slang in a formal letter. | 0-2 ptsThe letter is a single unsorted stream, or the tone would offend its reader. |
| Conventions4 points | 4-4 ptsComplete sentences with correct capitals, end marks, and spelling of taught words, including the capitals letter format requires. | 3-3 ptsA few errors that do not slow the reader. | 2-2 ptsMissing capitals or end marks in several places. | 0-1 ptsErrors make the letter hard to read. |
Total: 20 points across 4 criteria.
How to use it
- Mail the letters, or deliver them to real readers in the building; audience is the criterion no rubric can teach as well as an actual reply.
- Post an anchor letter with the five parts labeled and let students check their own format before submitting.
- Reuse the rubric across the year: thank-you note, letter to next year's class, letter to an author. Same skills, rising scores.
What students most often get wrong
- Forgetting the comma after the greeting and closing, the most-lost point in the whole rubric.
- Writing to the teacher instead of the named audience, with a formal letter that opens Dear Mr. Mayor and immediately says hi like a text.
- Closing with love in a business letter.
Grade with this rubric, without retyping it
Scorae applies a rubric to student work in Google Docs, Canvas, Blackboard and Moodle, and drafts criterion-by-criterion feedback. You review and decide every grade — nothing is submitted for you. Student work is never stored.
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