Test of Written English (TWE) Scoring Guide

       SCORE
          6
                Demonstrates clear competence in writing on both the rhetorical and
                syntactic levels, though it may have occasional errors.
                A paper in this category

                 -- effectively addresses the writing task
                 -- is well organized and well developed
                 -- uses clearly appropriate details to support a thesis or illustrate ideas
                 -- displays consistent facility in the use of language
                 -- demonstrates syntactic variety and appropriate word choice

          5
                Demonstrates competence in writing on both the rhetorical and
                syntactic levels, though it will probably have occasional errors.
                A paper in this category

                -- may address some parts of the task more effectively than others
                -- is generally well organized and developed
                -- uses details to support a thesis or illustrate an idea
                -- displays facility in the use of language
                -- demonstrates some syntactic variety and range of vocabulary

          4
                Demonstrates minimal competence in writing on both the rhetorical
                and syntactic levels.
                A paper in this category

                -- addresses the writing topic adequately but may slight parts of the task
                -- is adequately organized and developed
                -- uses some details to support a thesis or illustrate an idea
                -- demonstrates adequate but possibly inconsistent facility with syntax
                    and usage
                -- may contain some errors that occasionally obscure meaning

          3
                Demonstrates some developing competence in writing, but it remains
                flawed on either the rhetorical or syntactic level, or both.
                A paper in this category may reveal one or more of the following
                weaknesses:

                -- inadequate organization or development
                -- inappropriate or insufficient details to support or illustrate
                    generalizations
                -- a noticeably inappropriate choice of words or word forms
                -- an accumulation of errors in sentence structure and/or usage

          2
                Suggests incompetence in writing.
                A paper in this category is seriously flawed by one or more of the
                following weaknesses:

                -- serious disorganization or underdevelopment
                -- little or no detail, or irrelevant specifics
                -- serious and frequent errors in sentence structure or usage
                -- serious problems with focus

          1
                Demonstrates incompetence in writing.
                A paper in this category

                -- may be incoherent
                -- may be undeveloped
                -- may contain severe and persistent writing errors
 
          Papers that reject the assignment or fail to address the question must be
          given to the Table Leader. Papers that exhibit absolutely no response at all
          must also be given to the Table Leader.
 

  (Taken from TOEFL OnLine, http://www.toefl.org)