F.H. Vazquez
Hutchins School of Liberal Studies
Sonoma State University

CRITERIA FOR INSTRUCTOR'S REVIEW OF ESSAYS

I. Universal concerns

A. Content Control

1. Focus: staying on the topic
2. Appropriateness: responding clearly to the written assignment
3. Depth: saying enough to complete the work
4. Value: the quality of ideas
5. Unity: logical development and flow of thought
6. Coherence: the joining together of major parts of the writing

B.Rhetorical Structure

1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion

II. Other structural concerns

A. Paragraph structure
1. Development: "backing up" of generalizations by using details, examples, illustrations, comparisons, and so on
2. Coherence: one sentence "fitting" with or leading in to another; using transition words or phrases

B.Sentence style and structure

1. Sentence fragments
2. Run-on sentences
3. Awkward sentences
4. Wordy sentences
5. Choppy sentences
6. Illogical sentences
7. Lack of sentence variety

III. Writing errors

A. Subject-verb agreement
B. Verb tense consistency
C. Usage questions
D. Spelling
E. Mechanics: use of punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations and numbers