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MAP Writing Student Checklist
A one-page student checklist for the grades 4 and 8 writing prompt on Missouri's MAP Grade-Level ELA test: the three traits on the 10-point scoring guide and the copying rule.
For students · Grades 4 and 8 · 1 page · PDF
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How to use it: The MAP Writing Prompt Explained: A Guide for Missouri Teachers
What's on the sheet
How your essay is scored
| Trait | Points |
|---|---|
| Organization/Purpose | 1–4 |
| Evidence/Elaboration | 1–4 |
| Conventions | 0–2 |
| Total | 10 |
Trained human readers score your writing.
Don’t copy, connect
On the scoring guide, “copied” or weakly connected source details describe a 2 or lower in Evidence/Elaboration. Put details in your own words and tie each one to your main idea.
Personal experiences can count as elaboration when they support your idea.
The genre isn't fixed: informational/explanatory, narrative, opinion (grade 4) or argumentative (grade 8). Practice them all.
Organization/Purpose
- My controlling idea is clear, and I keep it all the way through.
- My structure works between paragraphs and inside each one.
- I used varied transitions.
- My introduction and conclusion are effective.
- Argument, grade 8: I acknowledged or addressed the opposing argument.
Evidence/Elaboration
- I used specific, relevant facts and details from the sources.
- I used material from every source the prompt gives me.
- After each detail, I explained how it supports my controlling idea.
- My vocabulary is precise.
Conventions
- I checked sentence formation, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and spelling.
My plan
My controlling idea
Detail + source (in my words)
This shows…
Student summary based on DESE's MAP Grade-Level Writing Scoring Guides (informational/explanatory guide shown; the narrative guide differs). Not an official Missouri DESE document.