The following one page checklist has been adapted from an online resource to target the specific areas in which my student writer struggles. The list could adapted to suit students at a variety of grade levels, and the list of items could be expanded or contracted in order to address the needs of a particular class or student.
- Introduction:
❒ The thesis statement clear.
❒ The thesis statement states the specific argument
that the essay will advance/the specific subject that the essay will
explore.
❒ The introduction frames the thesis, introducing
the subject to be explored, and does not provide too little, or too
much, information.
❒ The introduction elaborates on the way in which
the essay will address its topic or develop its argument.
- Body:
❒ The essay develops in a logical manner;
the subject of one paragraph leads naturally into the subject of the
next and all paragraphs address the thesis.
❒ The argument develops in an effective
manner; subjects are organized so as to guide a reader to accept the
argument or to easily understand the issue explored in the essay.
❒ Each paragraph has a transitional topic
sentence that guides the reader through the essay from one paragraph
to the next.
❒ Each paragraph is unified, addressing only one
topic.
❒ Quotations are integrated properly.
❒ Quotations are integrated effectively and
judiciously.
- Conclusion:
❒ The conclusion does not simply restate the
thesis; synthesis of ideas is evident.
❒ The conclusion does not introduce a new
supporting argument.
- Writing Style
❒ Homonyms (its vs. it's; course vs. coarse) are
employed correctly.
❒ There is no pronoun confusion (i.e. when used,
pronouns such as he, she, it, and they clearly refer back to a
specific noun).
❒ The essay uses the active voice.
❒ Whenever appropriate, the essay is in the present
tense.
❒ The essay is free from cliches and
colloquialisms. Academic/formal language is used throughout.
❒ There are no contractions.
❒ The essay employs all words and content-area
specific terms correctly.
❒ There is no repetition of sentence construction
❒ There are few instances of repeated word use in a
compressed area of the essay.
❒ Repetitious ideas/restatements of the same idea
have been eliminated.
I really like your student mentee checklist idea. There are a lot of great checkpoints that are covered in this list which will be helpful in guiding a student through their essay writing.
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