Self-Assessment Sheet*
Review your paper for the following components, and either make or suggest alterations where needed. Be sure to revise your paper thoroughly for the upcoming peer review, so that your peer is seeing an entirely new draft that adheres to all of the guidelines below. Also, make notes for yourself so that you might narrate the following structural elements to your peers before they begin their review.
1. INTRODUCTION: Identify the following:
q Include statement of purpose/thesis which puts forth an argument
2. BODY: Check for the following
q Each body paragraph should begin with a concise topic sentence that forecasts the discussion in the coming paragraph
q Each topic sentence should tie directly back to the thesis, proving an aspect of your larger argument; therefore, every paragraph must be relevant to your thesis and designed to help forward your argument
q Each body paragraph should conclude by returning to the general statement provided in the topic sentence and offering a mini-conclusion of sorts
q Every sentence within each body paragraph should help to develop the argument made in the topic sentence
q Every argument needs a claim, warrant, and evidence. Evidence can consist of close-reading a textual example, or providing researched information.
q Sources are accurately cited (using APA or MLA)
3. STRUCTURE: Check for the following
q Organization should be deliberate: you should be able to justify every structural choice in the paper, and explain the development of your narrative
q All paragraphs (including intro paragraphs, body, and conclusion) should provide transition sentences in-between, either at the end of the preceding paragraph or at the start of the following one
4. CONCLUSION: Check for the following
q Should tie together all of the smaller topic sentences throughout the body (which each address a part of the thesis argument) into one cohesive (thesis) argument
q Should discuss why the thesis argument is important in a larger context
NEXT STAGE OF REVISION:
q Before you finalize your next draft, read your paper out loud: you will catch errors you did not recognize on screen or on paper.
q Try to do “backwards outlining.” You should have constructed an outline when pulling together the essay. Sometime that outline can get lost in the writing process, however. Now that you have a draft, try to jot down an outline in the margins of the paper and see if it still makes sense.
q Make sure that you have completed a bibliography/references page (using APA or MLA) for the next stage.
*Adapted from Dr. Linda Pierce, Department of English
Peer Evaluation Sheet*
Before you begin reviewing your partner’s paper,
· Discuss your overall argument
· Read your specific thesis sentence
Next, consider the following questions. Make notes on the paper and talk to your partner about questions/comments that you have.
1. Is the thesis of the essay clearly stated early in the paper?
2. Is the essay organized (through the use of paragraph breaks, transitions, etc.) in such a way as to make the thesis a clear and constant presence throughout the paper? Do you ever feel like the paper wanders off topic, or like you are hard-pressed to remember the central theme? Do you become confused along the way?
3. How effective is the author’s use of textual support/course materials? Are these sources accurately cited in-text?
4. Comment on structure and organization: are there paragraphs that would be better placed elsewhere in the essay? How can the author better organize this essay to be more persuasive?
5. Comment on the summary of the text or issue: has the author presented you with enough information? Do you have too much, or too little detail in the summary? How can the author improve the summary?
6. Comment on the author’s close reading techniques. Does the author close read textual evidence? Does the author’s close reading tie into his or her own argument? Does the close reading appear to be more than simple summary of a quote?
7. Does the essay appear to be written for the correct audience? In other words, does the author define and explain rhetorical terms, provide textual support, and explain historical context, when necessary?
8. Comment on the length of this essay: if it seems too short, offer suggestions for areas that could be developed. If the essay seems too long, suggest areas that might be pared down.
9. Did the author accurately cite sources in text and in the bibliography/references page (using APA or MLA style)?
10. What were the least interesting arguments in the piece? Explain why.
11. What were the most interesting sections in the essay? Explain why.
12. What are your overall comments?
*Adapted from Dr. Linda Pierce, Department of English