The Merchant of Venice: Essay Self-Edit
Name of Writer: …………………………………………………
Please fix all “No’s” before turning in your polished essay.
Introduction
1. The first sentence grabs the reader’s attention.
2. The first sentence is not a question.
3. The introduction is at least five sentences long.
4. The introduction is interesting and provides background to the
play.
5. The thesis statement is the last sentence of the introduction.
6. The thesis statement contains the character’s name and the three
adjectives.
Yes
No
Mechanics
1. The essay is written in one verb tense (present).
2. The essay avoids contractions (can’t, won’t, etc).
3. The essay avoids slang or common words (got, get, stuff, thing,
right when, just, nice, etc)
4. The essay avoids “I” or “we” unless in quoted material.
5. The essay avoids run-on sentences.
6. The essay avoids sentence fragments.
7. The essay contains no spelling errors.
8. There are a variety of sentence structures (simple, compound,
complex)
Yes
No
Formatting
1. The paper has 1 inch margins and ½ inch paragraph indents.
2. Is typed in 12 point font.
3. Is typed in Times New Roman.
4. Is double-spaced.
5. Contains a correct MLA heading, and header with writer’s last
name and page number in 12 point font.
6. The essay has a title page with a creative title page.
Yes
No
The Merchant of Venice Self-Edit continued…
Body Paragraph #1
1. The topic sentence contains the 1st adjective listed in the thesis
statement.
2. The paragraph contains 2 very specific and very different
examples from the novel to support the adjective; the examples are
not vague.
3. The examples are explained in relationship to the adjective.
4. The paragraph contains a quotation from the novel to support the
adjective.
5. The quotation is detailed, appropriate, and well-chosen; it is
specific.
6. The quotation is lead-into and explained.
7. The quotation is formatted properly with quotation marks,
commas, etc.
8. The quotation is cited with proper MLA documentation.
Example: Antonio tells Shylock, “quote here” (III, ii, ix-xi) or
(3.2.4-6).
9. The paragraph is 6-8 sentences in length.
Yes
No
Body Paragraph #2
1. The topic sentence contains the 2nd adjective listed in the thesis
statement.
2. The paragraph contains 2 very specific and very different
examples from the novel to support the adjective; the examples are
not vague.
3. The examples are explained in relationship to the adjective.
4. The paragraph contains a quotation from the novel to support the
adjective.
5. The quotation is detailed, appropriate, and well-chosen; it is
specific.
6. The quotation is lead-into and explained.
7. The quotation is formatted properly with quotation marks,
commas, etc.
8. The quotation is cited with proper MLA documentation.
Example: Antonio tells Shylock, “quote here” (III, ii, ix-xi) or
(3.2.4-6).
9. The paragraph is 6-8 sentences in length.
Yes
No
Body Paragraph #3
1. The topic sentence contains the 3rd adjective listed in the thesis
statement.
2. The paragraph contains 2 very specific and very different
examples from the novel to support the adjective; the examples are
not vague.
3. The examples are explained in relationship to the adjective.
4. The paragraph contains a quotation from the novel to support the
adjective.
5. The quotation is detailed, appropriate, and well-chosen; it is
specific.
6. The quotation is lead-into and explained.
7. The quotation is formatted properly with quotation marks,
commas, etc.
8. The quotation is cited with proper MLA documentation.
Example: Antonio tells Shylock, “quote here” (III, ii, ix-xi) or
(3.2.4-6).
9. The paragraph is 6-8 sentences in length.
Comments:
Yes
No