answer each question under each category according to the essay that is attached.
Structure:
- Is the essay double-spaced and in proper MLA format?
- Does the opening of the essay grab the reader’s attention?
- In the introductory paragraph of the essay, does the writer of the essay introduce the title of the story, the author of the story, its publication year, and a brief (1-2 sentence) intro to the period or author to establish cultural context of the story?
- Does the essay have a clear thesis statement (selected theme of the story) and plan of development (three characters that propel said theme)? Has the author only chosen one (1) theme (one is the maximum)? Are the thesis and plan of development conjoined and positioned at the end of the introductory paragraph?
- Are the topic sentences of each supporting paragraph well-structured, and is each topic sentence aligned with its respective plan of development point (in support of the thesis).
- Does each supporting paragraph solely examine its own plan of development point in support of the thesis argument, and does each supporting paragraph follow the same sequence of the plan of development?
- Has the author of the essay avoided any unnecessary digressions from his/her point? Is the essay focused?
- Has the author used transitional words/phrases at the beginning of each supporting paragraph and at the start of certain sentences to indicate a particular progression or shift in thought and when launching supporting examples (i.e. First, Secondly, One way X is so, Additionally, Next, Conversely, for example, for instance…etc.)?
- Does each paragraph have a proper closing sentence to bring that specific paragraph and its topic to a successful close? This is a great place to reinforce that all of the examples provided in that paragraph are ways that the character (topic) highlights/connects to the theme of the novel (thesis).
- Does the essay have a strong concluding paragraph that restates the thesis and plan of development to properly frame the essay? Does the author leave his/her readers with a final thought, a resolution, or brief and relevant quote that ends the entire discussion on a thoughtful note?
Support:
- Does the essay provide sufficient, relevant, and compelling evidence to support the authors’ main claim/thesis?
- Does the author properly introduce the quote or paraphrased passage? After denoting the borrowed passage, does the author examine the significance of the selected passage to his/her argument? Essentially, does the writer apply the Triple-E Formula (Example + Evidence + Explanation) when presenting supports. Please refer to the Writing Assignment 2 packet for textual support requirements (amount). Are there detailed examples used in each supporting paragraph?
- Has the author avoided vague information or language that is confusing to the reader? Does the author properly connect the dots from the evidence to his/her argument for readers?
- Is the argument flat? If so, how can the author make it interesting, give it dimension and significance?
- Is the argument convincing? If not, what can the writer do make his/her argument more compelling?
- Does the author include too many long quotes (4+ lines)? If so, perhaps he/she can paraphrase or sum up some of the longer quoted passages.
- If the author has used a long quote (4+ lines), has he/she properly formatted the quote according to the current MLA standards by indenting 1″ and removing quotation marks.
- Has the author avoided using quotes back-to-back?
- If the author has modified the quote, has he/she used brackets around the modified portion
- If the author has condensed a quote, has he/she used ellipses to show omission of information?
Syntax:
Is the essay easy to read? What are the main syntactical problems with the essay? Use the criteria below to make a list, so that your peer can use it when he/she reviews my Closing Comments for assistance, or when he/she goes online for help. I have also provided a checklist in the Writing Assignment 2 instructional document that may be used to evaluate your peer’s writing.
Things to eliminate:
- Spelling errors
- Run-ons
- Fragments
- Slang, hyperbole, sarcasm, clichés biased language, argument fallacies, false assumptions…etc.
- Contractions
- Personal pronouns, such as you, your(s), yourself, me, I, mine, myself, we, us, our(s), and ourselves
- Repetition, especially at the beginning of nearby sentences
- Vague words, such as this, that, these, those (such demonstrative pronouns without an identifier)
- Pronoun Agreement errors
- Subject-Verb Agreement errors
- Punctuation errors, such as comma, semi-colon, quotation marks, apostrophes…etc.
Things to include:
- Use of the present tense.
- Careful use of diction (detailed descriptions, concise language
- Proper use of mechanics (good grammar, appropriate punctuation marks, strong sentence structure…etc.)
- A combination of sentence forms (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex)
- Parallel structure with parallel elements in a series (commas must separate three or more elements in a series)
Citations:
- Is there a correct in-text parenthetical citation after each directly quoted, paraphrased, or summed up passage from the novel that serves as a piece of supporting evidence?
- Is there a full Work Cited page (not to be titled Bibliography or Citations) at the end of the essay that contains proper MLA reference citations (full source entries)? Refer to the MLA: OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab (Links to an external site.) for the most current MLA rules and guidelines.
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