Revise your research paper with this as your guide.

2. Read through the paper WITHOUT
making comments.

3. What is the thesis? Underline this. Does
it give you a clear idea of what the writer
will be arguing?
Read through the Introduction
• does it have a hook?
• does it give adequate background?
• does it lead into the thesis?
• does the introduction set an argumentative tone (avoiding a
persuasive tone)?
Comment about the Introduction in the margin (be specific).
-What did you like about it?
-What could he/she do to improve it?

4.  Do all the paragraphs relate to the argument? (A good place
for this is in the clinchers) Make a comment in the margin
where the writer should connect more to the argument.
 Make a note about any parts that sound informational or analytical
but lacking in argumentation
 Did the writer use a variety of types of appeals
(Ethos, Pathos, Logos? Does he/she need to clarify any of
them? Make a comment in the margin where the writer
should explain the argument more.
 Did the writer use effective quotes from a resource? Is it
“sandwiched”?
 Did you find a balance between the research and the
writer’s own argument? Explain your reaction at the end of
the paper.
 What counterarguments do you feel still needs to be
addressed? How could they answer those
counterarguments?
Revising Ideas

5. Revising Organization
•What method did the writer use to organize his/her research? Are there
paragraphs or information that seem out of place?
•Is there a better place for them? Draw to where they fit better
or cross them out.
•Do the paragraphs transition well into one another with topic sentences? As
the reader, did you ever feel JOLTED or taken by surprise? Mark areas where
you were surprised by misplaced information.
•Does the information in the paragraphs flow? The research, examples and
the writer’s own argument should be seamless. Mark areas where you felt
“jolted”.

6. •Does the conclusion restate the thesis? Underline it.
•Does it summarize the information of the paper?
•Does it end with a or a whimper?
•Comment about the conclusion in the margin (be specific).
-What did you like about it?
-What could he/she do to improve it?

7. Grammar
 Read through the essay and look for the following:
 1st or 2nd person – circle any of the following:
 you, I, we, us, our
 Find any passive voice sentences
 The subjects should not receive the action
 Remember “by” will be a key work to look for
 Parallelism = sentences need to be grammatically the same
 WRONG: The student wrote a seamless research paper and
incorporating the research was easy.
 BETTER: The student wrote a seamless research paper and
easily incorporated the research.

8. Overall Comments: Answer these questions at the end of the
paper.
Does the paper show an effective argument? Do you believe the
writer’s argument? Why or why not?
At the end of the paper write one thing the writer did a great job on and
one thing the writer could make better.

9. Plagiarism!
 Check the citations.  (author/“title” page #). Use
the handbook to double check proper use. (P.120)
 Specifically look at the following: #1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11,
 Mark any areas where the writer may have forgotten
citations.
 if facts in a row, only cite at the end. If page numbers
vary, cite only the page numbers, then full citation at the end.
 you should never have a paragraph with no citation or with
only one citation at the end. You need to have your own
insights incorporated into the paragraphs.
 If you give credit to your source in your writing, you do not
have to cite again in an in-text citation (unless you need to
mark the page number for printed sources).

10. Other citation worries:
 Review their work cited page. Do the sources
seem credible to you? Mark any that may not
be credible.
 Are the sources used somewhat equally? Tally
how many times each source was used. The
writer should not have relied primarily on one
source.

11. Self-check = Plagiarism!
• Turn your paper into Turnitin.com and analyze your
report
• Is anything highlighted that may not be paraphrased
properly? Remember you are explaining the author’s
ideas in your own voice/style/words.
• Check your quotes. Make sure you have used
quotation marks and cited them properly.
• Look at your grademark report. Check your mechanical
errors.