Review of essay draft

King’s College London Presessional 2019

Review your Essay Draft

You should now have written most of your essay. This is your opportunity to review what you have done so far to make sure you are on track. Here are some questions to consider which, based on the input from the videos, should seem important to you. Can you answer ‘Yes’ to each of the following? INTRODUCTION

1.Does the introduction start with a good context-setting sentence?

2.Does the introduction contain a purpose for writing?

3.Does the introduction contain a thesis statement?

4.Does the introduction give an indication of what order the following

sections are in? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

CONCLUSION

1.Does your conclusion restate the thesis statement?

2.Are the main points from the body section included as evidence for your

thesis?

3.Are suitable closing comments made, such as on the relevance of this

argument or the implications of your conclusions? Yes No Yes No

Yes No

TOPIC SENTENCES, PARAGRAPHS & COHESION

1.Are there clear sections dealing with each aspect of the question?

2.Are topic sentences used effectively?

3.Is the direction of the argument well sign-posted at the beginning of the

paragraph?

4.Do the paragraphs end with suitable summary sentences? Yes No Yes No Yes No

Yes No

CONTENT & CRITICALITY

Yes No

The following issues were not covered in the videos, but are important points to consider as you reflect on how to make your essay better. E.g. referencing was not a focus of the video as there has been a lot of input of that, but don’t forget to get it right!

QUOTATIONS

1.Have you kept direct quotation to a minimum?

2.Are all of them necessary?

3.Have you commented on and explained their meaning?

4.Do they fit grammatically into your sentence?

5.Have you marked them off with quotation marks or, for longer quotes, left a line before and after them?

6.Have you used reporting verbs to indicate your attitude to them?

7.Have you provided an accurate in-text reference for them? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

STYLE

1.Is your language precise and concise?

2.Have you avoided idioms, slang and colloquial language?

3.Have you avoided emotive and subjective language, e.g. brilliant, devastating, strange?

4.Have you avoided personal pronouns?

5.Have you used more nouns than verbs in your sentences?

6.Have you used the passive form appropriately (and not overused them)?

7.Have you avoided contractions and abbreviations? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

ACCURACY & RANGE

1.Do the subjects and verbs agree?

2.Are your verb tenses correct?

3.Have you used complete sentences and avoided fragments?

4.Is there a good balance of short/simple and long/complex sentences?

5.Is your spelling accurate?

6.Is your punctuation accurate?

7.Have you demonstrated a good range of vocabulary and grammar? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

REFERENCE LIST

1.Does your reference list contain all the sources mentioned in your essay?

2.Does it follow the follow the format set out in the Student Handbook?

3.Are most of your sources academic?

4.Are most of your sources in English? Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

WORD COUNT

Does your essay respect the word count? Yes No

Once you have identified weaknesses, the next step is to make the changes. The four or fifth draft of your work will far better than the first or second. Essentially, the more work you do on it, the better it gets.