Jim Roth’s Website English 101 Checklist for Essay #2 Does your introductory paragraph have these five elements? 1. name the author 2. name the work 3. add a brief summary 4. build a bridge to your thesis (a
transition) 5. state your thesis at the end of the
paragraph Is your essay composed mostly of your own ideas and words
with occasional blending of the What Matters in America
author’s words? Have you applied the tests of unity, coherence, and
completeness to your body paragraphs?
Please see “Briefly Back to the Basics”
for help and specifically “Paragraphs Made Easy.” Have you read your draft ALOUD to locate wording that
needs to be improved? Please see “Briefly Back to the Basics”
for help. Have you used proper
MLA-style parenthetical citations
for the words and ideas borrowed from your author? Have you used
signal phrases (sometimes
called "author tags" to lead into
your What Matters in America author’s words? Have you provided a proper
MLA Works Cited page entry,
listing the What Matters in America article you used? |