Tips
- Read the essay out loud or have a friend or family member read your essay out loud so that some of the grammatical errors will be picked up.
- If it is an essay about a book, see if someone who has not read the book can understand what you are trying to say.
- Underline or highlight parts of your essay that answer the question you are trying to answer. This will help you distinguish what is relevant and tell you whether or not you have answered the question.
Questions to ask yourself
- Do you have a thesis? Where is it? Is it persuasive or debatable?
- Did you use specific examples to support the thesis?
- Do you have an introduction and conclusion?
- Have you answered all the parts of the prompt/assignment?
- Do you understand what the teacher is asking for?
- Do you understand what you are supposed to be writing about?
- Do all the parts in the paragraphs relate to the topic?
- Do you paragraphs have good transitions? Do the paragraphs flow together?
- Are all your quotations, paraphrases, and summaries accurate and cited properly?
- Is there a strong title?
- Are you repetitive with any of your examples? In other words, do you repeat something you've already said in a previous paragraph?
- Do your sentences flow well or do they sound awkward?
- Is there any information that seems off topic? It's best to exclude sentences that do.
Helpful Links
- Purdue Owl: This website can help you properly cite the sources you referred to. It is especially useful if your teacher asked for parenthetical citations* or a Work Cited page*.
- EasyBib: You can input the information of your source (such as the title, date, author, etc.) and this website will cite it for you.
- AHS Library/Media Center: The AHS Library/Media Center is known for its vast variety of useful resources. Look around—you might find something helpful!
*These links are specifically for MLA citations. If your teacher asks you to use APA, Chicago, or another style, you can look it up on Purdue Owl.
