Essays / Business Plans and Why You Need One [2]

1. What does the writer do well in this essay?

2. What does the writer need to work on in this essay?

3. State the main point of this essay.

4. Does the introduction grab your attention? Does it lead smoothly to a thesis? If not, what could the writer do to improve it?

5. What is the thesis statement? Does it contain a strong opinion and specific focus? Explain.

6. Does each paragraph develop one main idea? Describe the main idea of each paragraph (five words or less for each). Does each topic sentence tie back to the thesis?

7. Does the writer offer evidence for the points he or she makes in each paragraph? If so, is the evidence convincing?

8. Does the writer use transitions between paragraphs and ideas?

9. Does the conclusion briefly summarize in a fresh way the writer's main argument and then end on a memorable note (such as a quotation, thought, image, or call to action)? What is that memorable impression that the conclusion leaves?

10. Are quotations integrated smoothly? Do they flow with the grammar of the sentence? Are all quotations cited correctly?

11. Is there a Works Cited page reflecting each author quoted in the body of the essay? Are the entries of the Works Cited page in correct MLA format? Are they alphabetized? Does each entry have all the necessary citation information? Does the Works Cited section appear on its own page?

12. Is the essay formatted correctly (margins, font, spacing, etc.)? If not, what needs to be corrected?

13. Does the essay have a creative title that describes the purpose/point of the paper in a catchy, clear way?

The title is boring. Perhaps something like "Regulations: The Only Safeguard Against Genetically Engineered Crops."

14. Are there grammar and spelling errors in the essay?

15. If you were writing this essay, what would you do differently? Why?