Writing+Checklist

=Summary Checklist= toc 1. Begin with complete bibliographical information for the article. 2. Immediately state the 'thesis' of the article in one or two sentences 3. Include all the main ideas 4. Include sufficient number of details 5. Use appropriate transition words to indicate transition between main ideas and details 6. Paraphrase enough to avoid plagiarism
 * ex. "In the article, "Generation Me vs You Revisited", Rosenbloom explains that..."

=Commentary Checklist= Your commentary should address some of the following questions: 1. What is the author's purpose (to inform, persuade, convince, criticize or ridicule)? 2. Who is the author's intended audience? 3. What kinds of evidence are used to support the main ideas (personal examples, facts and statistics, general examples, or expert opinions?) 4. Is the argument logical? 5. Are the author's facts believable? 6. Are the sources reliable? Remember the commentary needs to demonstrate independent thoughts and critical thinking skills. Don't just agree with the author and restate the author's opinions.

=Basic Essay Checklist= > ||
 * ** Introduction **
 * Does the introduction provide relevant background information?
 * What kind of introduction is it? a) personal example, b) facts and statistics, c) historical introduction, d) general to specific, and e) quotations.
 * Does the essay have a clear thesis statement? Does it have:
 * 1) topic
 * 2) controlling idea
 * 3) an essay plan (3 main ideas)
 * 4) parallel structure ||
 * ** Body Paragraphs ** ||
 * Par 1
 * Is there a clear topic sentence? Yes/No
 * Does the topic sentence support the thesis directly?
 * What is the pattern of organization? a) Listing, b) Sequence, c) compare and contrast, d) cause and effect, e) extended definition
 * What are the supporting details?
 * Examples
 * Facts
 * Expert’s opinion
 * Emotional argument
 * Personal experience
 * Par 2
 * Is there a clear topic sentence? Yes/No
 * Does the topic sentence support the thesis directly?
 * What is the pattern of organization? a) Listing, b) Sequence, c) compare and contrast, d) cause and effect, e) extended definition
 * What are the supporting details?
 * Examples
 * Facts
 * Expert’s opinion
 * Emotional argument
 * Personal experience ||
 * Par 3
 * Is there a clear topic sentence? Yes/No
 * Does the topic sentence support the thesis directly?
 * What is the pattern of organization? a) Listing, b) Sequence, c) compare and contrast, d) cause and effect, e) extended definition
 * What are the supporting details?
 * Examples
 * Facts
 * Expert’s opinion
 * Emotional argument
 * Personal experience ||
 * ** Conclusion **
 * Does the author restate the thesis?
 * Is there a relevant final comment? ||