10 areas to be evaluated
provisional grading:
temporary until finalized


Content (0.5 each)
Presence of certain
component/element/
skill required



Style (0.5 each)
Quality of the
performance/
execution
MLA sample cover page
Header; page number, etc.
http://uwch4.humanities.washington.edu/~WG/~134/MLA
%20Sample%20Paper.pdf





Without the cover
page, on the upper
left hand, doublespaced:
Student’s full name
Professor’s full
name
Course number
Date (see notes)




Upper right
Header: last
name/page number
In Microsoft Word,
click Insert.
so that it is easy to
re-assemble your
essay even if it got
loose;
1. Worthiness of your choice
Ripple Effect of an Artwork
Something that makes us think




Is the text culturally
significant and/or
intellectually
challenging?
Make use think
Change our
perspective
Impact on art
history, direction


Evidence:
Where and how the
author has
convinced us the
text chosen is
important to us
2. Title
Focal point of Disagreement






Inviting, enticing, interesting, intriguing
Does the title offer some hint on the
direction for the forthcoming thematic
exploration in the essay?
Informative vs. Argumentative
Handicapped by History
Eveline’s Dilemma: Trapped or Trashed?
“The Road Not Taken”
3. Thesis statement/
Main idea/central claim









What and where is the central idea?
Informative vs. Argumentative
Original
Interesting
Fresh
Risk-taking
Raise some eyebrows
Ripple Effect
Avoid using “I think”
4. Coherence

Does the conclusion go along with the
introduction? Are there any loose
threads that don’t belong to this essay?
5. Organization
Unity vs. Variety
See Paragraph Writing

What sequence has the author used to
organize the text as a whole: Inductive,
deductive, progressive, climactic,
chronological, etc.? What structure has the
author employed: the block method, the
alternating structure, juxtaposition,
appositional or oppositional? What patterns
of inquiry in DiYanni’s words are present:
description, narration, critical analysis,
comparison and contrast, interpretation,
argumentation, etc.?
6. Compositional approach/
Technical analysis
Don’t look for a formula!

focal point, the figure/ground contrast,
lighting, movement, perspective, unity
vs. variety, (symmetricalformal/asymmetrical-informal) balance
and harmony, proportion and contrast,
leading lines, internal frames, picture
within pictures, rule of thirds, depth of
the field, etc.
Balance & Naturalness
The Rule of Thirds

If you place points
of interest in the
intersections or
along the lines that
your photo becomes
more balanced and
will enable a viewer
of the image to
interact with it more
naturally.
Eye to Eye
placement of points of interest
Dynamic vs. Static
7. Biographical notes


Did the author offer some biographical
information about the artist? Are the
facts and details well summarized and
accurate? How do you know they are
accurate?
See the example
8. Contextual information


What kinds of information is present in
the essay: biographical, historical, or
technical? Is the information relevant,
representative and revealing?
See the example below
9. Transition from paragraph to
paragraph/cohesiveness
at the sentence level

Identify two or three strategies the author
has used in transition: transitional
phrases, anadiplosis, etc. Does the
prose flow smoothly? Are there any
instances when the author jerks around
for no reason?
10. MLA Style
Documentation/Citation/Quotation





Is everything properly quoted or
documented? Check the cover page,
header, page number,
footnotes/endnotes/Works Cited, etc.
1. In-Text Citation
2. Notes: Footnotes/Endnotes
3. Bibliography/Works Cited
MLA sample paper online