Basic Checklist for Success
(use for ANY writing project, even a job application!)

Content

  • specifics vary with assignment
  • argumentative content rather than plot summary
    • Thesis
  • argumentative
  • "specific, pointed, and provocative: the kind of statement that promises to reveal something NEW" (H & L 37)
  • serves as a plan ("blueprint) for the essay.
  • appears clearly at the end of the introduction. (Look for your thesis in your conclusion. Thesis statements often get buried there. Move it to the intro and then re-work the intro. & conclusion.)
    • Organization
  • show a slow, LOGICAL progression of ideas from least to most important idea (move from basic to climax?
  • provide transitions to next paragraph (key word method)
  • establish links between ideas in previous and following paragraph. (Carry the last idea from the pervious paragraph over into the new paragraph.)
  •  if your argument focuses on character development (show how a character changes over time), then you should use chronological order
    • Paragraphs
  • avoid the 5 paragraph essay (intro., 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion). This format will not do justice to your complex ideas!
  • focus on one idea at a time (sort the laundry)!
  • have topic sentences that argue a point or CONCEPT / ISSUE (a mini thesis; a reason for the claim) rather than summarize, refer to an event, or make bland statements that go no where
  • NO! NO!: Non-argumentative (who, what, when, where)
  • relate back to the claim / thesis. (The paragraph should develop one of the reasons that supports the claim/thesis.)
  • each sentence should lead logically into the next
  • keep length between 5-8 sentences
    • Evidence
  • balances evidence and interpretation
  • avoids data-dump (sentence after sentence of evidence w/o analysis or interpretation)
  • cite evidence from the fictional work AND experts (but do not over do it)
  • usually, 3 pieces of evidence will suffice for each paragraph or mini-point.
    • Style & Editing
  • see assignment sheet for other specific skills I would like you to master
  • diction & tone: You should NOT write as if speaking to a roommate or as if writing an editorial. Use your most intelligent vocabulary. BUT, avoid big "thesaurus" words that make your sentences sound good, but reveal that you really do not know a word's meaning. Make sure you look up a new word's definition.
  • compound sentences
  • paramedic method (cut the fat inherent in sentences filled with prepositional phrases and "to be" verbs)
    • Documentation
  • avoid plagiarism by documenting ALL material that you summarize, paraphrase, or quote
  • attributive tags (introduce quotes)
  • correct MLA parenthetical documentation and work cited pages (with annotated bibliography of all expert sources)
    • Created by Deborah De Rosa
    All Rights Reserved