Name: ______Period: ______

The Great Wall of China DBQ Essay: Did the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?

Revising Checklist

When you revise, you reconsider what you have already written and change it to make it MORE EFFECTIVE. You should add or delete details, change the order of ideas, replace bland words with more interesting vocabulary and rewrite sentences to make them clearer.

Check your INTRODUCTION; does it start with an engaging hook? Did you transition into your clearly worded thesis statement? Are your two main points distinct from each other?

Look at the first sentence of each of your body paragraphs. Do you have clearly worded topic sentences? (The first sentence should be your main point.)

Look at your evidence. Did you select the best possible evidence to prove your point? Did you include a citation to the document from which you obtained the evidence?

Look at your commentary. Did you clearly explain how the evidence supports your thesis and main points?

Look at your WORDS. Change words that are REPEATED TOO OFTEN, are INFORMAL, are VAGUE (“things,” “stuff,” etc.), or could be replaced with a MORE INTERESTING or APPROPRIATE word.

Check your CONCLUSION; does it tie the topic together in a satisfying manner? Did you include a clever closing?

Reorganize your ideas (words, sentences, or even paragraphs) if necessary to make them clearer.

Check your sentences for varied length and structure.

Make sure to follow the Rules for Formal Writing. Avoid first person (except in the hook and closing), and keep your word choice and tone appropriately FORMAL.

Read your paper aloud to yourself and change anything that does not sound right, does not flow, or leads to unanswered questions.

Editing Checklist

When you edit, you act like a detective, carefully examiningwhat you have already written and correcting errors. You should corret spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, repetitions, awkward and complex sentences, and missing links. Generally, you should edit when you are basically happy with the content and are making sure that the style and grammar enhance your message.

CAPITALIZE every proper noun and the first word of each sentence.

Include a punctuation mark (period, exclamation point or question mark) at the end of each sentence. Double-check each sentence!

Make sure you have a CITATION for each piece of EVIDENCE.

Make sure words are spelled correctly, and proofread, don't simply rely on spell check! READ YOUR ESSAY OUT LOUD!!

INDENT every paragraph.

Write out all numbers under 100.

Eliminate all sentence FRAGMENTS.

Fix any sentence which is a RUN-ON. (Check all sentences which are more than three lines long.) Make two sentences or put a semicolon between the independent clauses.

Make sure all COMMAS are used correctly in lists, quotes, dates, and to separate sentence clauses.

Check the correct usage of OTHER PUNCTUATION such as colons, etc.

Make sure verbs and nouns agree and that NOUNS and PRONOUNS agree.

Check your VERB TENSE – is it consistent throughout your paper?