Trimble identifies 6 essentials for a successful essay:
- a sure sense of audience
- a well-defined thesis
- a clear strategy
- strong evidence
- a clean narrative line (continuity)
- a persuasive closing
With this in mind, here’s what you need to do with the essays in your group:
- audience: identify at least one place in the essay where the writer shows “a sure sense of audience”--how does the writer show she understands this essay is to help me, webmaster for the Department of English? If you don’t see a sense of audience, say so.
- thesis: identify the thesis (something like “this is your thesis sentence” does the trick).
- strategy: identify what you see as the main point of each body paragraph. State what this point relates to in the thesis.
- evidence: identify at least one piece of evidence for the main point of each paragraph. Explain whether you think the evidence is “strong” (that is, convincing). If you can’t find any evidence in the paragraph, say so.
- continuity: write a comment at the end of the draft in which you explain whether the draft shows continuity. “Yes, it shows continuity” or “No, it doesn’t” are not acceptable here. Give some details: “I see continuity because...” or “I don’t see continuity because...”
- closing: Is the concluding paragraph persuasive in arguing
that the points covered in the essay are important in a department web site?
Explain why/why not.
Along with these 6 issues, feel free to note any places where the writer does a good job or where you get confused or lost.
Important Note
I expect each of you to provide full comments to the essays in your group. You may not be the first to comment on a particular draft, but that does not mean that you can simply write “I agree” to the comments already there.