Evaluation and Revision

Is your work is ready for

submission?

Self-check Guideline

Questions I• Does your work show a number of evidence of wide reading on/around the subject, and familiarity with the relevant sources/literature?

• Does it contain evidence of a clear understanding of the subject matter, including a critical appraisal of relevant issues?

• Does your work follow a coherent plan/structure? Is the link between sentences/paragraphs clear?

Guideline Questions II

• Are all arguments supported by references to the literature?

• Are you satisfied that you have been consistent in your use of style/register, and that your choice of style/register is appropriate?

• Can you still improve on the clarity and precision of your expression?

• Can you still improve on the linguistic accuracy of your work?

Guideline Questions III

• Have you proof-read your work for slips/typographical errors?

• Have you followed the general conventions of academic writing (referencing, presentation, length), and any others that may be specific to the department/discipline?

Note: You can work on improving a piece of writing indefinitely; your aim can only be to produce the best you can in the time available.

Evaluation Checklist

• Main Ideas• Purposes• Content• Structure• Connection/Cohesion• Response

Main Ideas

What is the writer’s overall

idea?

The Writer’s Purpose

• Is the writer’s primary purpose clear?– Is the purpose to:

•Inform?•Persuade?•Or both?

• Does the writer show wow strongly he or she believes in the ideas in the essay? Are the opinions supported with evidence?

Content• Has enough been written about the

subject to address/ respond/ cover the topic or question adequately?

• Is all the information relevant to topic?• Are the main ideas supported by specific

examples or evidence?• Are there any gaps in the information?• Is there too much information on some

points?

Structure• Is there a clear introduction and a clear

conclusion?• Is the sequence of ideas clear - earlier

to later, general to specific thesis to supporting points, supporting points to conclusion, weaker arguments to stronger arguments? If not, would it help to rearrange the order/sequencing of ideas?

Paragraphs• Does the text have/ contain/ provide/ pres

ent clear paragraph divisions?• Is each paragraph built around one main p

oint or idea/ topic?• Do the paragraph divisions match the orga

nisation of ideas in the outline/plan?• If not, should any of the paragraphs be:

– jointed together? divided into smaller uni ts? rearranged?

Connection/Cohesion

• Do the connections between the ideas need to be made more clear or explicit?

• If connecting words like the ones below have been used, have they been used appropriately?

• Do they give the reader a sense of ‘flow’ in the writer’s ideas? Or do the ideas simply seem like a list?

Types of Connectors

•‘And’ type: therefore, as a result, accordingly, consequently, thus

•‘Or’ type: in other words, to put it more simply

•‘But’ type: however, yet, nevertheless

•Other type: who, which, that, when, where, because, since, although

Use of Reference Items

Reference items: Words such as it, they, this, these, those

• Is each reference item used clearly? • Can you easily identify the word or

phrase which each one refer/ relate to?

• Is each reference item used appropriately?

Response• Does the opening paragraph make

you want to move on?• Do you feel satisfied with the way

the text/report comes to an end?• Indicate your interest in the text as

a whole, using a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is very interesting and 5 to not interesting?

Source

Essay Writing by Ro n White and Don Mc

Goren, Prentice Hall , 1 9 9 4 , p. 2 1