This post is for everyone with a student. College? Great. Back in school yourself? Congratulations. Public school? Wonderful. Homeschooling? Here for it. If you or someone you know has to write essays for anything, this is the post to save. 5 things I wish all of my students did before they turn in an essay to me.
- Did you answer the prompt? Most teachers provide some kind of question that you are answering. Students select one, write a thesis, and then every paragraph after that intro argues or supports the answer to the question. By the end of the essay- did you answer the prompt?
- Does the order make sense? I once had a student start out strong, and go sideways. It was like 2 essays in one. The organization was a hot mess. Often, you want to work chronologically, or in the order your thesis references. Talking about the end of a book, may not be the best move. Does the flow of your arguments make sense? If you were talking to someone in real life, would that be the order in which you make your points?
- Did you read it out loud? This is one of my favorite ones. You write an essay. Maybe you’ve spent a few weeks, maybe you spent a few hours. Either way, you’ve been looking at the same collection of words for a while. Our incredibly remarkable brains, do this fantastic thing where it autocorrects for us sometimes. It’s how we’re able to understand and read texts with missing words, or we understand the writing of small children who maybe skip a letter. It’s a cool trick until you’re being graded on whether or not you have all of your words. One of the ways to combat this, is to read your paper out loud. It triggers different parts of your brain, and along with missing words, spelling errors, etc….you will also catch where you need to add or adjust punctuation. You may feel silly, but I promise your cat/dog/fish/bird, won’t mind the entertainment.
- Did you back up your claim and cite your sources? Whether you are doing APA, MLA, Chicago, or any other writing style, citations in some way, shape, or form are required. This may include parenthetical citations, footnotes, or some other form of citation. If you make a claim in your essay, you need to back it up with evidence. You can’t say, “Beowulf was written with later-added Christian themes by Monks,” without something to substantiate that claim. This can be from the source material you are working with, or an outside source. Of course general knowledge like “George Washington was the first President,” does not require this. But something like, “Henry the V was shot with an arrow in the face as a teen and they used honey and wine to keep it from getting infected and saved him,” would need a citation. This then also typically requires some kind of bibliography or works cited page at the end of your essay. Claim->Evidence->Citation->Works Cited
- Did you check the rubric? Most teachers grade on a rubric. This does a few things. It gives clear expectations for students AND teachers, helps avoid bias or partiality, and makes grading easier for teachers. Truthfully, it’s a win for everyone. It also means that you’ve basically been handed the answer key. And most of those rubric categories are likely going to include topics like, “Prompt was answered thoroughly,” or “Organization was clear and made sense,” “X # of sources, including source material, book, documentary, website, etc….with complete citations and bibliography,” and yes, “Conventions and Grammar.” If you’re asking and answering the above questions, and comparing your writing to the rubric, you can submit with confidence.
By asking yourself (or your student), the above 5 questions, chances are, they will see positive results. Over the years, most of my students end up losing the silliest of points, on their first essays for me. I encourage them to do the above 5 things, AND to take our peer editing time, along with the editing sheet I provide them, seriously. For the students who buckle down and use the resources, they see return on that effort.
The Nurtured Bee 