Essay Peer Review Checklist: Critical Thinking
Ideas: Clarifying and Connecting
>Review assignment carefully: Does the paper respond fully to the assignment?
>Thesis statement:
-Is there a sentence or two that succinctly sums up the topic of the paper and contains an opinion
(debatable)?
-Is the thesis specific and focused? Does it go beyond the obvious and approach the topic
insightfully, in a unique way?
>Topic sentences:
-Are they clear?
-Do they all relate to the thesis?
>Body (support) paragraphs:
-Does everything in each paragraph develop and support the topic sentence?
-Is there enough support? Would you recommend more examples or details?
>Synthesis:
-Read the thesis and topic sentences in order: do they work together, the topic sentences
supporting and developing the central claim (thesis)?
>Organization:
-Does the writer clearly meet essay conventions by including an introduction, body and
conclusion?
-Is some type of obvious organization used (chronological, categorical, spatial), or do the body
paragraphs randomly wander from subtopic to subtopic?
-Where is there room for more focus and coherency (and less digression)?
-Conclusion: Does the paper have a distinct ending, or does it just abruptly stop?
>Logic:
-Logical fallacies: there should be none.
>Analysis:
-Does the support and explanation go beyond the merely general and into the specific? Is there
both breadth and depth?
-Is there too much summary and not enough interpretation and explanation?
>Awkwardness: Awkwardness impedes clarity, so is there a better (more clear and direct) way
to write it (“it” usually equaling a sentence or phrase)? Do all the sentences make sense?
Style: Finding a “voice”
>Avoid:
-Wordiness
-Clichés
-Sexist or racist language (NONE of these)
>Use:
-Appropriate diction
-Active versus passive voice whenever possible
>Transitions: Transition words are fine as long as they are not overused, but transition sentences
forming connections between paragraphs are better.
>Redundancy: Is there redundancy in diction, thought, or support? Get rid of it!
>Sentence variety:
-Does nearly every sentence start the same way (e.g. with the subject)? They should not.
-Does the author mix up the different types of sentences at her disposal (i.e. simple, compound,
complex, compound-complex)?
Format: Helping your reader and other scholars
>MLA:
-In-text citations: Do both quotes and paraphrasings follow the format and do parentheticals
clearly point to the appropriate entry on the works cited page? Are quotations introduced and
explained? Are block quotes introduced with a complete sentence ending in a colon and
indented appropriately?
-Works cited page: Do citations follow the format? Are they alphabetized by the first word or
words in the entry and are titles underlined or placed in quotation marks as appropriate?
Grammar and Mechanics: Making sense
>Punctuation: Pay special attention to use of apostrophes, semicolons and colons.
>Miscellaneous: Is verb tense correct and consistent? Are words spelled correctly? Look for
typos and homonyms.
>Sentence level errors: Are there fragments (incomplete sentences), run-ons or comma splices?
Comments: In a sentence or two, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the paper.