Distinguished - Comprehensively and accurately adheres to the Week Five Newspaper/Magazine Feature Template and Associated Press (AP) Style.

Proficient - Mostly adheres to the Week Five Newspaper/Magazine Feature Template and Associated Press (AP) Style. Minor elements are missing or inaccurate.

Basic - Minimally adheres to the Week Five Newspaper/Magazine Feature Template and Associated Press (AP) Style. Relevant elements are missing and/or inaccurate.

Below Expectations - Attempts to adhere to the Week Five Newspaper/Magazine Feature Template and Associated Press (AP) Style; however, significant elements are missing and inaccurate.

Non-Performance - The Week Five Newspaper/Magazine Feature Template and Associated Press (AP) Style is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Comprehensively examines a topic that is current, controversial, and of human interest.

Proficient - Examines a topic that is current, controversial, and of human interest. Minor details are missing.

Basic - Minimally examines a topic that is current, controversial, and of human interest. Relevant details are missing.

Below Expectations - Attempts to examine a topic that is current, controversial, and of human interest; however, significant details are missing.

Non-Performance - The examination of a topic that is current, controversial, and of human interest is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Develops a comprehensive story for an appropriate real-world print publication and a digital publication tailored to a specific audience.

Proficient - Develops a story for an appropriate real-world print publication and a digital publication tailored to a specific audience. Minor details are missing.

Basic - Develops a limited story for a real-world print publication and a digital publication tailored to a specific audience. Relevant details are missing.

Below Expectations - Attempts to develop a story for an appropriate real-world print publication and a digital publication; however, it is not tailored to a specific audience, and significant details are missing.

Non-Performance - The development of a story for an appropriate real-world print publication and a digital publication tailored to a specific audience is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Accurately incorporates fully appropriate facts, visual elements, interactive elements, and pull-quotes to enhance the story.

Proficient - Incorporates appropriate facts, visual elements, interactive elements, and pull-quotes to enhance the story. Minor details are missing.

Basic - Incorporates somewhat appropriate facts, visual elements, interactive elements, and pull-quotes to enhance the story. Relevant details are missing.

Below Expectations - Attempts to incorporate some facts, visual elements, interactive elements, and pull-quotes to enhance the story, but they are not appropriate to the story, and significant details are missing.

Non-Performance - The incorporation of facts, visual elements, interactive elements, and pull-quotes to enhance the story is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Thoroughly differentiates between various facts and opinions on the topic.

Proficient - Differentiates between various facts and opinions on the topic. Minor details are missing.

Basic - Minimally differentiates between various facts and opinions on the topic. Relevant details are missing.

Below Expectations - Attempts to differentiate between various facts and opinions on the topic; however, significant details are missing.

Non-Performance - The differentiation between various facts and opinions on the topic is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Provides proper attribution for all sources of information included in the story (facts, statics, images/video, and opinions).

Proficient - Provides attribution for sources of information included in the story (facts, statics, images/video, and opinions). Minor details are missing or inaccurate.

Basic - Provides attribution for some sources of information included in the story (facts, statics, images/video, and opinions). Relevant details are missing and/or inaccurate.

Below Expectations - Attempts to provide attribution for sources of information included in the story (facts, statics, images/video, and opinions); however, most sources are not addressed, and significant details are missing and inaccurate.

Non-Performance - The proper attribution for all sources of information included in the story (facts, statics, images/video, and opinions) is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.

Distinguished - Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors and is very easy to understand.

Proficient - Displays comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains only a few minor errors and is mostly easy to understand.

Basic - Displays basic comprehension of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains a few errors which may slightly distract the reader.

Below Expectations - Fails to display basic comprehension of syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains major errors which distract the reader.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - The length of the paper is equivalent to the required number of words.

Proficient - The length of the paper is nearly equivalent to the required number of words.

Basic - The length of the paper is equivalent to at least three quarters of the required number of words.

Below Expectations - The length of the paper is equivalent to at least one half of the required number of words.   

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.

Distinguished - Uses more than the required number of scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Proficient - Uses the required number of scholarly sources to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.

Basic - Uses less than the required number of sources to support ideas. Some sources may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are used within the body of the assignment. Citations may not be formatted correctly.

Below Expectations - Uses an inadequate number of sources that provide little or no support for ideas. Sources used may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are not used within the body of the assignment. Citations are not formatted correctly.

Non-Performance - The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.