Grading a hard news story means checking a lot of things at once — lead quality, sourcing, attribution, AP style, structure. This 9-page rubric keeps all of it organized so you can grade consistently and give students feedback that tells them exactly where they lost points. What's Included: Analytic rubric with four performance levels and point values Ten criteria:
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headline, lede, sources and research, quotes, organization, focus and unity, style, photos and cutlines, mechanics, and timeliness Student-friendly version of the rubric for self-assessment and peer review Example story with scoring and explanation Editable Word document — keep or drop as you please How to Use It: Model expectations with a mentor text, have students draft, run peer review with the student version, then grade with the teacher rubric. Works for news writing units, newspaper production classes, and any assignment built around the inverted pyramid structure. This rubric is part of the News Writing Basics Bundle and the Journalism Rubric Bundle, both available at significant savings.
It's also included in the Complete High School Journalism Curriculum Bundle. If this resource saved you prep time, please leave a rating under My Purchases Provide Feedback. Every review earns you TpT Credits toward future purchases — roughly $1 in credits for every $10 reviewed. Follow Starmaker Tools for Teachers to be notified when new resources launch or go on sale.
Keywords: journalism rubric, inverted pyramid rubric, hard news rubric, news story rubric, journalism assessment, high school journalism, AP style rubric, news writing rubric, journalism grades 9-12, student journalists, news writing assessment, journalism grading, lead writing rubric, journalism curriculum, editable rubric
Designed for grades 9-12.
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