Purpose:

To practice giving constructive critical comments to others

To strengthen your own editing skills

To incorporate constructive criticism into your own final drafts

Instructions:

Read through draft for a first impression.

Read again, and then thoroughly and thoughtfully (Using full sentences) answer the following questions.

1. Can you pick out the author’s thesis statement? Write it down. Is the overall purpose of the paper clear to you from the thesis sentence?

2. Does the introduction grab your attention? Does it establish the significance of the author’s point? How does it do this?

3. How clear and detailed are the supporting points? Write down and explain two of them.

4. Does the author make smooth transitions between paragraphs? Provide an example.

5. Does conclusion sum up key points? Or, does it go off-track and offer new ideas?

6. Does the paper respond clearly to the prompt? Write down how it does or does not respond to the prompt.

7. Does the author use quotes to support their ideas? How well do the quotes fit into the flow of the paper? Does the author use too many quotes? Does the author use too few quotes? Explain.

8. Did the writer cite sources adequately and appropriately? Note any incorrect formatting.

9. To the best of your ability check for any mechanical errors, such as punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Detail them and offer corrections in your written critique.

10. Is the paper formatted properly? Does it have the proper MLA heading, format, etc…?