SELF AND PEER CRITIQUE GUIDE/CHECKLIST
Essay #2: Exploration and Exposition
Expository Essay: College Admissions Essay
Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________
NOTE: Ask these questions to your peer critique group after you have read you essay to them.
1. _____ Does my essay have enough content (750 words or no more than three doublespaced pages typed in Times Roman pt. 12)? If not where can I add content or take
content away?
2. _____ Is the essay expository? Does it inform and explain?
3. _____ Is the essay appropriate for the audience (the college admissions committee)?
4. _____ Does the essay have an appropriate tone for my college admissions essay:
confidence, positive attitude.
5. _____ Does my essay have an engaging and appropriate title? If not, what might be some
other possibilities? (You might want to locate some words from your conclusions to use
as your title. Doing so will help you unify your essay.)
6. _____ Does my essay have an engaging introduction? Might another strategy of
introduction work better?
7. _____ Does my essay include an effective thesis that lets the reader know the specific
focus. Does my thesis suggest this strategy?
8. _____ Does my essay have effective organization for the subject matter and purpose?
(Think in terms of architecture, plan, and sequence of ideas.)
9. _____ Does my essay contain at least three topic sentence paragraphs with (1) strong
topic sentences with controlling idea(s), (2) plenty of development, (3) unity, and (4)
coherence achieved with transition words, pronoun reference, and repetition of key
words?
10. _____ Do my sentences in the paragraph contain appropriate emphasis by placing
important information that supports the controlling idea in independent clauses and minor
information in phrases and dependent clauses?
11. _____ Do I use at least one function paragraph: transition paragraphs, short simple
sentence paragraph, rhetorical question(s), and/or dialog paragraphs?
12. _____ Does my essay have an effective conclusion? Does my conclusion point back to
the introduction or title to “frame” the essay?
13. _____ Does the essay contain sentence variety (simple, compound, complex,
compound-complex)?
14. Does my essay contain correct and effective diction (word choice): connotation and
strong verbs?
15. _____ Does my essay contain sentences with correct parallelism if used?
16. _____ Do my sentences exhibit correct modification (avoiding the dangling modifier
and misplaced modifier)?
17. _____ Do my sentences contain correct subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent
agreement, pronoun reference, and pronoun case?
18. _____ Is my essay free from fragmented (unless intentional fragment for dramatic
effect), run-on, and comma spliced sentences?
19. _____ Does my essay contain correct punctuation and spelling?
20. _____ Are any intentional fragments that I used for stylistic effect marked in the margin:
int. frag?
21. Here are the names of the two (or more) members in my peer critique group:
Jeff Lindemann, English 1301
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