The Essay/Paragraphs

Does your essay topic address the assignment?

Is your essay topic sufficiently narrow?

Does your thesis statement argue a point of view or present main information?

Does your essay reach your audience-general audience, expert audience? Consider background of readers.

Is your essay arranged effectively? Are information and ideas presented in a logic order?

Have you deleted material that is irrelevant?

Does your introduction relate to the rest of your essay?

Do your body paragraphs express main ideas in topic sentences?

Are your main ideas clearly related to your thesis statement?

Do your body paragraphs have specific, concrete support for each main idea?

Are your paragraphs coherent? Do you use transitions between sentences and between ideas?

Does your conclusion provide a sense of completion without repetition?

Sentences and Word Choice

Are your sentences concise?

Do you use parallel structure where appropriate?

Does your sentence length vary? Do you vary word choice?

Have you eliminated sentence fragments? Have you eliminated comma splices and fused sentences?

Have you eliminated confusing shifts in person, number, verb tense, active to passive voice?

Have you eliminated misplaced and dangling modifiers?

Have you used exactly the words you mean to use?

Is your language appropriate and is your usage correct? Have you used standard formal written English for formal papers? Have you used only 3rd person?

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