WRITING CHECKLIST

1. ACADEMIC PROSE Proper academic prose in college essays avoids the following: a. first (I, we, us, my, mine, our) and second (you, your, and yours) person pronouns b. contractions, slang, informal abbreviations, clichs c. asking questions (instead makes statements) d. directly addressing the reader or issuing commands, such as Consider the following e. using any faith-based statements to support arguments (instead, restricts all religious references strictly to purely objective, academic statements) f. beginning sentences with conjunctions (such as but, and, or, nor, for, so, yet) g. informally beginning sentences with words like "well, sure, now, yes, and no" h. lazy language, such as back in the day, nowadays, and a lot, i. overgeneralizations, such as everyone, no one, and always, which are almost always inaccurate j. ambiguous pronouns (AMP on Key) k. dropped quotations (DRQ on Key) l. exclamation points m. parentheticals n. repetitive phrasing or wording o. avoids ending sentences, clauses, and phrases with prepositions p. awkward, cumbersome, or confusing phrasing or sentence structure q. most grammar/punctuation errors (if this item is checked, PLEASE SEE ASC TUTOR FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE) r. sloppy typographical or spelling errors s. improper word choice 2. INTRODUCTION a. is a concise (about 4-5 sentences) single paragraph that begins the essay b. begins with a general statement about the topic c. general statement is followed by increasingly more specific and related statements (follows the inverted triangle model) d. includes proper introduction of any primary sources and authors featured in the essay e. ends with a proper thesis statement 3. THESIS STATEMENT (THS) a. is a single sentence b. is the last sentence of the introduction c. specifically identifies topic elements of the essay d. is strong and clearly stated 4. BODY PARAGRAPHS () a. begins with a proper topic sentence that includes a proper transition from previous (except if it is the first body , then no transition may be necessary) b. topic sentence addresses a specific element mentioned in THS c. topic is narrowed enough to be contained in concise : usually limited to 5-7 sentences for a short essay; complex topic need to be broken into subtopics or elements and each addressed in separate s

d.

every subsequent sentence in must be directly related to topic sentence (focus) e. each sentence in must be directly connected to the preceding sentence as support, explanation, elaboration, or example (cohesion); if focus slightly shifts (but still remains on topic), cohesion can still be achieved with proper internal transitions, such as also or on the other hand f. body s are organized according to order of elements in THS; in a compare/contrast essay, body s are organized by either proper block or alternating forms 5. CONCLUSION a. summarizes THS and main points made in essay without being repetitive b. offers further considerations or other types of closure statements c. avoids introducing new topic elements that should have been addressed earlier in essay d. is brief and concise, about 3-4 sentences for a short essay e. avoids beginning the with In conclusion or other variation 6. EXPLICATION/ANALYSIS a. demonstrates college-level critical thinking skills b. presents well-developed and supported exposition and analysis of sophisticated ideas and theories c. avoids irrelevant, redundant, or superfluous statements or details d. avoids simplistic analysis or re-telling e. properly utilizes primary and secondary sources f. avoids inaccuracies, including overgeneralizations and logical fallacies g. clearly attributes others ideas to respective source and clearly signals reader when switching to presenting ones own ideas (without using first person) with phrases such as, Smith makes an excellent point because . . .) h. properly presents others ideas, using only the intended context i. properly uses primary source to support argument, analysis, or exposition j. properly uses secondary sources to support argument, analysis, or exposition k. provides adequate amount of textual support l. uses only textual support and logical argument; avoids personal experience as support m. avoids lengthy or overuse of direct quotations 7. MLA FORMATTING, CITATION & QUOTATIONS a. follows all MLA essay general formatting requirements (such as margins, font, heading, numbering, spacing, and indenting) b. uses properly formatted in-text citations c. includes all necessary in-text citations, including all direct quotations and paraphrasing of sentences and phrases, to avoid possible plagiarism d. includes a properly formatted and alphabetized Works Cited page e. Works Cited page includes all necessary entries that include all required information

WRITING CHECKLIST

f. uses exact language for direct quotations or proper brackets

or ellipses

g. h.

smoothly and properly integrates direct quotations properly punctuates direct quotations and their respective in-text citations (period AFTER citation, NOT inside quotation) 8. DIRECTIONS a. properly follows all instructions for the assignment b. adheres to word requirement c. essay is submitted on time d. uses specified number and types of sources e. is written on assigned topic