Writing checklist
The questions will
help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your essay, and
show you where more work might be needed.
Structure
|
Question |
Yes |
No |
|
Do you
have an introductory paragraph which re-states the questions
and tells the reader what to expect in the main body of the
essay/report? |
|
|
|
Is there
a conclusion that sums up your answer and refers back to the
title? |
|
|
|
Do your
ideas follow each other in a logical order? |
|
|
|
Have you
really answered the question? |
|
|
Paragraphing
|
Question |
Yes |
No |
|
Is the
essay/report broken up into several paragraphs? |
|
|
|
Does
each paragraph contain one main idea? |
|
|
|
Do you
link from one paragraph to the next? |
|
|
Style
|
Question |
Yes |
No |
|
Does the essay/report
sound
right - does it
flow?
|
|
|
|
Is it
written in what you would call 'academic' rather than
'everyday' language? |
|
|
Sentences
|
Question |
Yes |
No |
|
Are
there clearly defined sentences which start with a capital
letter and end with a full stop or question mark? |
|
|
|
Does
each sentence have a subject (a noun or pronoun) and a verb? |
|
|
|
Is the
verb in the right tense: that is, in the past, present or
future? |
|
|
|
Have you
used the singular or plural appropriately; is everything in
the sentence consistent? |
|
|
|
Have you
followed the conventions for using commas, semi-colons,
quotation marks? |
|
|
Vocabulary
|
Question |
Yes |
No |
|
Do you
use a variety of words, rather than repeating the same words
over and over again? |
|
|
|
Have you used your
own
words rather than copied them from the course material or a
book? |
|
|
|
If you
have used others' words then have you enclosed them in
quotation marks and given a reference to say where they have
come from? |
|
|
|
Have you
spelt all the words accurately? If in doubt, |
|
|
|