Inky, Thanks so much for the quick reply. I truly feel so sorry for her. I think the writing skills she used were more than adequate to get a 5 or even a 6, but the topic just wasn't there. She never even mentioned the word weather in the paper nor talked about spring breezes, warm weather, spring rains,etc. I think it truly was a case of bad nerves and am hoping the grader can see the structure in the writing. This year the state changed a passing score from a 3 to 4. I know in the big scheme of things it doesn't really matter, but I would have liked to see her stay on topic so the grade could actually just reflect her writing skills.
