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Summary Writing Rubric (Grades 5-9)
This rubric fits a one-paragraph to one-page summary of a nonfiction article or a single chapter, grades 5 through 9. It separates the two skills students confuse most: deciding what matters and putting it in their own words. Keep the original text next to you when you score the paraphrasing row.
- Grades 5-9
- Subject ELA
- 100 points
- 5 criteria
- Free to copy, print and adapt
| Criterion | Exceeds | Meets | Approaching | Beginning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Idea Statement25 points | 23-25 ptsThe first sentence names the text and the author and states the central idea in the student's own words, and that idea accounts for the whole text rather than the opening section. | 18-22 ptsThe first or second sentence states the central idea of the whole text and names the title or the author. | 13-17 ptsStates a topic, as in "this article is about wolves," rather than what the text claims about it, or states an idea drawn from only one section. | 0-12 ptsNo sentence states the central idea, and the summary opens with a detail from the middle of the text. |
| Selection of Key Supporting Points25 points | 23-25 ptsIncludes every point the original needs in order to make sense and nothing beyond that, keeps them in the author's order, and holds each one to one or two sentences. | 18-22 ptsIncludes the main supporting points, so a reader who has not seen the original can follow the author's line of reasoning. | 13-17 ptsIncludes some main points but skips one the argument depends on, or gives a minor example as much space as a major point. | 0-12 ptsReports scattered facts from the text with no connection to the central idea. |
| Cutting Illustrations and Personal Reaction20 points | 18-20 ptsContains none of the examples, statistics, or anecdotes the original used only as illustration, and no sentence reports the writer's own reaction, agreement, or "I think." | 15-17 ptsStays neutral throughout and keeps at most one minor detail that could have been cut. | 10-14 ptsKeeps two or more illustrative examples, or slips in one sentence of opinion about the topic or the author. | 0-9 ptsReads as a reaction paper or a list of memorable details rather than an account of what the text says. |
| Paraphrasing20 points | 18-20 ptsNo run of more than three consecutive words comes from the original unless it sits in quotation marks, and the sentence structures differ from the source rather than swapping in synonyms. | 15-17 ptsWritten mostly in the student's own sentences, and any borrowed wording appears inside quotation marks. | 10-14 ptsSeveral sentences follow the original's structure with a few words changed, or a phrase from the source appears without quotation marks. | 0-9 ptsSentences are copied from the original with words deleted or reordered. |
| Length, Attribution, and Conventions10 points | 10 ptsMeets the assigned length, credits the author at least twice with a signal verb such as "argues," "explains," or "reports," holds one tense throughout, and carries fewer than three surface errors. | 8-9 ptsComes within a sentence or two of the assigned length, names the author at least once, and uses complete sentences. | 5-7 ptsRuns well over or under the assigned length, or never names the author again after the opening, or repeated run-ons slow the reader down. | 0-4 ptsThe length bears no relation to the assignment and the author is never named. |
Total: 100 points across 5 criteria.
How to use it
- Score the Paraphrasing row with the original text beside you. Copied sentence structure is invisible unless you can compare line to line.
- Set the target length before you assign the summary, either a word count or roughly one quarter of the original. Two of the level descriptors depend on students knowing that number.
- For grade 5, replace the three-consecutive-words test with "no whole sentences copied." For grades 8 and 9, require the author's name plus a signal verb in every paragraph.
- When a whole class runs long, the cause is almost always the Cutting row, not the Selection row. Practice crossing out examples in a shared text before assigning another summary.
What students most often get wrong
- Opening with a detail from the first paragraph instead of the central idea of the whole text.
- Keeping the vivid anecdote or statistic because it was interesting, which pushes the summary past the assigned length.
- Copying the original's sentences and swapping in synonyms, then treating that as a paraphrase.
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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