Revising “Checklist”

Revising Suggestions:

1. Have a clearly stated thesis

2. Use transitions between points and ideas within points

3. Have clearly stated topic sentences that signal to the reader the main points

4. Use the “sandwich technique” for incorporating quotations and examples from the texts

5. Maintain consistency in verb tenses

6. Have balanced points of approximately the same length

7. Have points that when looked at by themselves, could be mini-essays

8. Vary sentence structures. Combine short sentences where ideas are closely related.

Editing “Hit List”

Avoid using any of the following:

1. The pronoun “You”

2. Get, gets, got, gotten, getting. Don’t be lazy! Use more appropriate, specific verbs!

3. There is/are, it is, this is, these are

4. Passive verbs (John hits the ball. NOT The ball is hit by John.)

5. Repetition of the same word several times in nearby sentences

6. Wordiness. Write the same idea in fewer words.

7. Generalities. Avoid "thing/things." Use specific nouns.

8. Pronouns that don’t match the nouns they replace (Should be EVERYONE has HIS/HER, etc.)