1. If you have an MLA heading/format, is it appropriate for you to have it? If you're writing a business letter, magazine article, letter to the editor, etc., the answer is NO. If it's appropriate for you to have one, is it done correctly?
2. Do you have a title that informs your piece? Is it capitalized correctly? Does it add interest to your piece? Remember, in the real world of writing, if someone thinks the title sounds interesting, they'll read it. If it looks like something they're not interested in (or it turns them off rather than appealing to them), they won't. Your FIRST goal is to get your intended audience to actually READ your piece...all the way through.
3. For each visual you've included in your essay, be sure it has:
- label
- caption (that actually tells your reader what to notice or look at--it's not just a title)
- citation (unless you actually created it) that correctly points back to the full citation on your works cited page
- text (that's actually talking about the image) wrapped around the image
- located within the text margins of your paper
5. If you conducted a survey, be sure to explain:
- how many people were surveyed
- what ages/classes/groups were involved
- anything else that will vouch for the reliability of your results (i.e. how they were chosen--should be randomly)
7. Consider your ethos, logos, and pathos. Your research could act as any of these three, but specifically, the quality of your sources and information is a huge part of your ethos and probably the information you found in your research is a large portion of your logos. Do NOT forget about pathos. This is persuasion. You will NOT get people to change their behavior or physically get off of their butt and do something unless you make it personal, unless you make them actually care. Many of you are missing the emotion. Logic is great and you need it, but it will not be enough to make your persuasion effective.
8. There are rules for using numbers in written arguments. Wherever you used numbers in your essay, be sure you followed these basic guidelines:
- Write out numbers you can spell in a word or two; use numerals for larger numbers that would be more complex to spell out or read.
- Numbers in a series and comparable statistics should be consistent
- Always write out a number that begins a sentence.
- Use a combination of written numbers and numerals when it is needed for clarity. For example, two 6-year-olds is easier to read than 2 6-year-olds or two six-year-olds.
10. Definitely go back to the original blogpost detailing the objectives and requirements of the assignment. Read through the whole thing to be sure you have done everything you need to.
Grading of the quality of your final draft:
A Successfully achieves all of the objectives
A- Successfully achieves all of the objectives with some minor problems
B Successfully achieves most objectives; missing something or major problems
C Unsuccessful or unacceptable attempt
In addition, a portion of your grade will be for the process you went through to get to your final product and the writing growth demonstrated in that process. To get full credit for the process portion you need:
- Proposal accepted
- All drafts turned in on time
- Completed peer and self reviews
- Revisions based on feedback
- Critical reflection as last page of your final draft (after the works cited). Like your definition paper, it should be at least a page reflection on your perspective of the writing process: How did it go? What did you struggle with? What was easy? What are the strengths in your writing skills to date? What areas still need improvement? Are there any things you need to explain to your teacher in order for her to clearly understand how hard you worked or how much improvement you made that may not be demonstrated by either the quality of the end result or the process requirements listed above?
11. Double-check your word count!!! Remember that your works cited and critical reflection don't count but everything else does. Highlight your paper from the top to where you end the argument to see your word count. If it's not 500-750 words, you have work to do. If you're under the minimum, you likely need more details, evidence, and explanation. If you're over the maximum, there are three great ways to be more concise (do them in order for maximum results as they cut fewer words as you go):
- Get rid of anything that is not helping your argument. If everything is helping but you're way over, kick out your weakest point.
- Get rid of any repetition of ideas, sentences, or even words. Reorganize your argument so that you can more efficiently move from one point to another without having to repeat things you've already said.
- Combine and condense sentences so you can say the exact same thing in fewer words. I'll give you an example: He hit a ground ball toward third base. It was a single. He slid into first base. He beat the throw by a split second. 25 words. Now this: He hit the ground ball toward third--a single. He slid into first, beating the throw by a split second. 20 words. Says the same thing...only better. Even more concise: He hit a single toward third. Sliding, he beat the throw by a split second. 15 words. The second version keeps all of the details while the third sacrifices a few. You have to be strategic when you sacrifice details since they often matter for either style, content, or both. Sacrifice where you can only if you have to.
12. Obviously read through your final draft several times before submitting it to be sure that it makes sense, uses correct punctuation and grammar, and generally makes sense. The BEST way to check for these things is to read the whole piece OUT LOUD to yourself. You'll be amazed the things your eyes/brain will skip over when you read it silently that you'll catch when you have to actually say every word.
When you are positive that your final draft demonstrates your BEST WORK, submit it to Turnitin.
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