• What am I trying to prove in this essay? That is, what is my thesis or argument? Where do I state it in my paper?
• Who is my audience? What background or context does my audience need to know, and where do I provide that context?

• What are the major supporting points I need to get across to support my thesis? Where do I state these points?
• Do all of my supporting points relate clearly to my thesis?
• Are there points that need to be expanded, or that need more support? Are there sections that are redundant, and if so, what will I cut out?
• Do I quote, summarize, and paraphrase from sources that demonstrate support for my thesis?
• Do I group similar kinds of evidence together in the same section of my paper, to give my arguments coherence?
• Do I infer reasonable conclusions from my evidence, or interpret it? Where do I do this?
• Do I consider contrary evidence? Have I been fair in my presentation of this evidence?

• Do I clearly state the main point of each paragraph in its topic sentence?
• Do I have clear transitions from idea to idea, and paragraph to paragraph?
• Is my opening paragraph interesting enough to draw readers in?
• Does my concluding paragraph mirror my introduction in some way?

• What is my tone in this paper—is it emotional? Preachy? Belligerent? Do I sound more certain than I really am?
• Are my sentences clear enough to be understood at first reading? Can I make my sentences simpler by eliminating cumbersome or redundant words or phrases?
• Are my sentences correct in terms of grammar and spelling?
• Have I included complete, correct, and consistent documentation for all my sources, both in the paper and in the bibliography?

• The paper lacks a thesis statement. It is not clear what the main point of the paper is or where the argument is going.
• The thesis statement is more of a description than an explanation of the central argument.
• The paper has a persuasive thesis statement but the evidence is weak or lacking.
• The author does not make clear the connections between ideas/evidence and the main argument. For example, why did he/she use a particular source and not others? How does each argument or piece of evidence connect with the thesis statement?
• The paper is a summary of what other scholars have said about a given topic; the author has not put her/his own "voice" or argument in the paper. Why is all of this important? Why should I read this piece?
• Ideas are not well organized and it is difficult to follow the writer's reasoning.
• Transitions from one paragraph or idea to another are rough; the reading does not "flow."

• Quotations from sources are not handled correctly. Remember:
• Do not use quotation marks (") when indenting a quote in a paper.
• If a quote is larger than 4 lines, indent it in the left margin and make its own paragraph. Always explain and/or connect the quote to your argumentation so the reader knows why that quote is there.
• In English, and if quoting someone at the end of a sentence, the quotation marks always end after the final period.
  • Example: According to Díaz, "women increasingly brought domestic matters to the state during the nineteenth century." [1]
• Sentences are so long and complex that they become run-on sentences.
• Titles of works that are referred to in the text are not underlined or italicized.
• The source of tables, pictures, maps or figures included in the text are not indicated at the bottom.

[1] Arlene J. Diaz, Female Citizens, Patriarchs, and the Law in Venezuela, 1786-1904, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004, 7.