- How is the author’s lead-in? Does it draw you in? Is it interesting? Why or why not?
- Coherence
- Does the essay, as a whole, flow and make sense on the first reading? If not, at what point in the essay did you become confused and why? Make suggestions.
- Are transitions between blocks of ideas and paragraphs clear? If not, point these out.
- How is the author’s sentence structure? Mark any awkward, run-on, choppy, or fragmented sentences.
- Edit for mechanics (smaller grammatical problems): commas, periods, capitals, paragraph breaks, spelling, MLA documentation, etc.).
- Evidence
- Where in the essay would the author benefit by a “showing” example of what he/she is “telling” about?
- Evaluate the quality of your partner’s evidence. Mark any confusing evidence or any that is not explained. (The author must be clear/explain why he/she has chosen this evidence… for what purpose?)
- Mark any weak evidence. (Evidence that doesn’t back-up/illustrate point; unaccounted for statistics; fallacies; weak sources.)
Global:
Local:
Also, suggest better word choices, if necessary.