Most longform feature units give students a rubric and a deadline. This bundle gives them a complete system — a rubric that sets the standard, an annotated exemplar that shows what distinguished work actually looks like, and scaffolds for every stage from pre-writing through peer review and publication. What's Included (5 Word Documents):
See it on Teachers Pay Teachers — $11.99
Longform Feature Story Rubric & Guidelines — criterion-referenced rubric (Distinguished/Competent/Tolerable/Unacceptable) covering headline, lede, nut graph, sources, quotes, organization, focus, voice, and mechanics; includes guidelines on the three keys to longform success Guided Annotation Protocol: "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" by Gay Talese — analytical guide to Esquire's most celebrated feature (April 1966); students work through six craft sections with questions tied directly to the rubric criteria Pre-Writing Scaffold — step-by-step planning document guiding students through theme, sourcing (8+ sources), reporting strategy, and story organization; includes source-mapping tables and a pre-writing checklist Revision Checklist — student self-editing tool organized by the same 12 rubric criteria; students check off each element as they revise Peer Review Protocol — structured workshop feedback form organized by the same criteria, with rating boxes and space for specific, actionable notes How to Use It: All five documents are criterion-referenced to the same rubric, so students encounter the same standards across planning, writing, revision, and peer feedback.
Works as a 4–6 week unit or as standalone assessment documents. The Talese annotation is the anchor — run it early so students have a mental model of Distinguished work before they write a word of their own. This bundle is part of the Journalism Rubric Bundle and the Advanced News Writing Program, both available at significant savings.
Both are 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: longform feature writing, feature writing rubric, journalism bundle, high school journalism, feature writing scaffold, Gay Talese, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, journalism grades 9-12, longform journalism, feature writing assessment, peer review journalism, journalism curriculum, nut graph, feature writing unit, advanced journalism
Designed for grades 9-12.
Starmaker English and Journalism Tools 
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