Handout: Editing and Evaluating Essays |
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I. Introduction Did you write a clear thesis? Or, if not using a thesis, have you clearly stated what your essay will discuss, your main idea? Do you have a good lead in? Is it interesting to the reader? II. Body A. Paragraph One Does the first topic sentence support the thesis? Or main idea of essay? Do you explain each example and tell why it's important? (Don't just write a list) Are there enough examples, explanations, details to provide support for the first topic? Do the examples and details follow a logical order? Are the transition words used correctly? B. Paragraph Two Did you use a transition to introduce your second topic? Do you explain each example and tell why it's important? (Don't just write a list) Is this second topic sentence different than the first topic sentence? Are there enough examples, explanations, details to provide support for the second topic sentence? Are these examples clearly different than the examples you used in your first topic? Do the examples, details, explanations, (support) follow a logical order? Are the transition words used correctly? C. Paragraph Three Did you use a transition to introduce your third support topic? Do you explain each example and tell why it's important? (Don't just write a list) Is your third topic sentence clearly different than your first and second topic sentences? Are there enough examples, explanations, details to provide support for the third topic? Are the examples clearly different than the examples you used in your first and second topic? Do the examples, details, explanation follow a logical order? Are transition words used correctly? III. Conclusion Did you restate the thesis? Or the topic of your essay? Did you sum up your two or three topic sentences? IV. Overall Structure Does the whole essay flow in a logical order? Is each paragraph related to the paragraph before it and the paragraph after it? Do the introduction and conclusion match (are they discussing the same thesis and supporting ideas?)? V. Spelling and Punctuation Do you use capital letters where necessary?
Is your spelling
correct? VI. Readability Does your writing show that you have proofread it and all sentences are well-written: reads clearly without mistakes in syntax?
Update: June 1, 2001
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