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ORGANIZATION • Does a thesis exist and assert a main idea offering a strong, clear statement of a manageable topic? • Is the introduction interesting or attention-grabbing? • Does the paper contain a definitive beginning, middle, and end ? • Is paragraphing logical? • Does the conclusion rephrase the thesis and unify the paper's message? |
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DEVELOPMENT • Does the paper meet the assignment's requirements (e.g., length, mode, genre)? • Are topic sentences obvious and well supported? • Do ideas stay on-topic and correspond with the details of the thesis? • Are your descriptions or arguments logical and/or well researched? • Are details fleshed out concretely with examples, illustrations, or research? • If required, are opposing or alternative views addressed? • Do paragraph conclusions avoid just trailing off and, instead, conform to the paragraph's topic sentence or unite the section in a meaningful way? |
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TRANSITIONS • Do you use transitions between sentences and paragraphs? • Do you logically and easily move the reader from one place to the next? |
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DICTION • Are words, phrases, and idioms correctly spelled and properly applied? • Does the paper avoid wordiness ? • Does the paper avoid overusing the same words , or their roots, within close range? • Is the paper written in the required point of view (i.e., 1 st , 2 nd , or 3 rd person)? • Does the paper avoid using contractions, informal language, jargon, or slang ? • Does the paper contain unbiased, gender-neutral language (i.e., substitute humankind for man )? |
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CLARITY AND CONCISENESS • Do sentences vary in length and type to avoid choppiness? • Are coordination and subordination used satisfactorily throughout the paper(e.g., F or, And, N or, But, O r, Y et,S o -- FANBOYS)? • Are words, phrases, and clauses parallel (e.g.,walking, jumping, skipping; NOT walking, to jump, skipping) ? • Does the paper make use of strong verbs ? • Does the paper mostly use active voice (i.e.,The boy ate dinner ) and sparingly use passive voice (i.e., Dinner was eaten by the boy)? Note: this may vary based on the required purpose of your writing. • Do parts of speech agree (e.g., subjects and verbs, nouns and pronouns )? • Does the paper use proper tense (i.e., present, past, future) throughout? |
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MECHANICS • Does the paper avoid fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences ? • Does the paper contain proper use of end and internal punctuation, capitals, italics, underlining, abbreviations, hyphens , and numbers? |
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PRESENTATION • Do indentation, headings, spacing, page numbers, etc. look professional and meet MLA, APA , or CSE style standards? |
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CITATION • Does the paper include, introduce, and document credible sources , using in-text citations and a bibliography according to MLA , APA , or CSE style standards? |