Make sure that your paper has a clear, specific, manageable, and interesting thesis statement. The thesis statement should do more than simply state the topic; it should state a position that you will explain and illustrate with evidence/examples and analysis.
1. What is your topic exactly? (Try to state your answer in specific terms.)
2. What points do you want to make about your topic?
3. What is your purpose in this project? (Is it to reflect on your own experience? Is it to explain some aspect of your topic to a particular audience? Is it to argue for a position or for a course of action?)
4. Develop a working thesis that draws on your answers to questions 1 and 2 and that reflects the purpose you described in your answer to question 3.
Make sure that you have paragraphs with a clear topic. Make sure these topics support your thesis. If you have paragraphs that deal with similar topics, consider combining them. You might also clarify how the topics are distinct from one another with a specific topic sentence.
Make sure that you present your body paragraphs in the best order. Develop fluid transitions between each paragraph.
Make sure that you are doing “higher level thinking.” Don’t just skate around the surface of your topic; push yourself to explore the topic and say something interesting. Avoid making generalizations. Do not claim to know or understand something that you do not. If you have an opinion or impression about something, you should be able to explain why you have that opinion or impression. Review the list of fallacies in your PH if you need to refresh your memory.
Read your papers out loud. This is a great way to check sentence clarity, organization, and transitions. Read slowly and make corrections as you go along. Read aloud after each revision.
Pay attention to the language you are using. Weak or vague language may work as a placeholder for ideas in a draft, but your revisions should contain crisp, strong language. Do not use phrases like “the person I am today” or “society today.” These phrases are vague. Also, make sure that you are using language that is appropriate for a college paper. Avoid slang and colloquial expressions. For more about this, check out this.
Carefully read the feedback that you receive. If a comment is not clear, please check with me. The papers in your portfolio will be evaluated for revision.
Because I cannot line-edit your drafts, it is your responsibility to attend to sentence-level errors in your paper. If you noticed that I have corrected a specific type of area in one part of your paper, it is your job to see if that error occurs elsewhere and to correct it.
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