Self Check Compare and Contrast Essays

Evaluation Questions / Tips / Revision Techniques
Do the first one or two sentences grab the audience’s attention? / Put a check above the interesting parts of the first two sentences. If you see no check marks, revise. / Add an interesting statement or example, or replace existing statements and examples.
Does the introduction clearly identify both subjects and the thesis of the essay? Is the thesis at the end of the first paragraph? / Underline thesis statement and draw a squiggly line under each subject. Revise if you cannot identify a thesis and two subjects. / Add a sentence that clearly identifies both subjects.
Add, revise, or add a sentence that states the main idea of the essay.
Is the body organized by the block, similarities-to-differences, or point-by-point method? / Put a letter A above each point about the first subject. Use a letter B for each point about the second subject. BLOCK: The A’s should be in one block of text, and B’s in another. SIM-DIFF: each paragraph will have A’s and B’s. POINT-by-POINT: each A will be closely followed by a B in the same paragraph. / To fix the organization, rearrange sentence into either block, similarities-to-differences, or point-by-point method.
Does the conclusion bring the essay to definite close by summarizing or evaluating the subjects? / Underline sentences that summarize and evaluate. If there aren’t any, revise. / Delete ineffective sentences. Add effective statements that summarize or evaluate. Elaborate one existing statements that summarize or evaluate.
Are sentence lengths varied in the essay? / Highlight each sentence with a colored marker so that you can compare sentence lengths. (Alternate between two different colors of marker to help your comparison) If most sentences are the same length, revise. / Combine sentences by reducing some sentences to phrases and inserting them into other sentences.
Are there clear transitions from topic to topic? Is it clear whether you are writing about similarities or differences by the words you choose? / Circle transition words and phrases. Box words that indicate a comparison of a similarity or difference. If you don’t see many, revise. / Add transition words and phrases to: make it clear whether you are comparing a similarity or a difference in the two subjects, and to move from one subject to another.
READ two times for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. / Fix any errors.