Mnemonic for the 6 Point State Rubric

Obese Cats Fought In Tokyo 'Cause Elvis Grabbed Dad's Monkey

O = Opening - Have a strong opening - HOOK the readers, LEAD them in!

C = Closing - Be sure to FINISH - the conflict of a story needs to be RESOLVED; an essay should clearly wrap up.

F = Focus - Your entire piece needs to center on a single topic - don't wander or digress.

I = Ideas - All of the ideas you introduce should support and connect with your main focus.

T = Transitions - The reader should be able to move smoothly from one idea to the next, and from one paragraph to the next.

C = Compositional Risk - Include different types!  See the CR matrix.

E = Even & Effective Details - Don't frontload (put a huge glob of detail in the first few sentences) - spread the details out, only including important details.

G = Grammar - Check for agreement (subject/verb, pronoun/antecedent) and tense shifts (keep it all PAST tense OR keep it all PRESENT, but don't mix 'em!)

D = Different types of sentences - Use long and short; simple and complex and compound; declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative.

M = Mechanics - CAREFULLY check spelling, punctuation, capitalization (Editing Trick: Read the last sentence, then the second-to-last, then third-to-last, etc.  You'll find more errors than if you read from beginning to end).