Writing hints
Levels of Good Writing
Excellent
- No overwhelming problems with grammar
- Concise topic sentences which are clearly linked to the thesis/assertion
- Thesis/main point is well-developed in a full paragraph
- Fully responds to the assignment in content and format
- Evidence is explained/claims are supported with illustrative examples
- Evidence/assertions are fully and clearly developed
Very Good
- Only minor problems with grammar
- Topic sentences adequately structure paragraphs
- Thesis is clear, but perhaps, undeveloped in the first paragraph
- Fully responds to the assignment in content and format
- Evidence is adequately explained/developed
Good
- Minor problems with grammatical structures
- A few sentences are hard to follow/understand
- Thesis is clear but may need more development
- Mostly fulfills the assignment
- Some evidence to support claim
Average:
- A fair number of problems with grammatical structures throughout the paper
- Some problems with word choice
- Thesis is clear, but not developed/maintained throughout the paper
- Addresses the assignment, but doesn't fulfill it altogether
- Some paragraphs are missing topic sentences
- Paper needs some work on structure/organization
Below Average:
- Recurring problems with grammar
- Undeveloped/unclear thesis/ main point
- Lack of evidence/support for assertions
- Does not address the assignment
- Lack of division between ideas (more than one idea per paragraph)
Poor:
- Doesn't address the assignment
- Many grammatical problems
- Unclear thesis (or lack of a thesis)
- No clear division of ideas
- Evidence not developed
Failing:
- Incomprehensible thesis
- Fails to fulfill assignment
- Lacks thesis/main point
- Many grammatical problems
- Evidence for claims is lacking
Frequent Writing Errors
- Write your name on the paper!
- Too short -- make sure you are writing the required number of words.
- Provide full references
- Indicate which question you are answering
- Is your position focused?
- Is your position supported?
- Don't bury the lead! The first sentence and first paragraph should tell me what the rest of the paper is about.
- Is the progression of ideas organized well within each paragraph? Within the entire document?
- Construction and punctuation
- Antecedent unknown
- PASSIVE VOICE IS A NO NO!
- Word choice
- Simplify your sentence structure: OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS!
Sample writing
To better illustrate some of the above points to good writing, here are some sample essays on the topic of "What is Computer Science?". Read the essay, looking for things you think are good and things that are not so good. Then look at my short list of comments about each essay. I comment mostly on the overall structure of the essay in what makes good writing, and don't dwell much on specific sentences.
- Sample 1 ; comments
- Sample 2 ; comments
- Sample 3 ; comments
Of course, I'm sure I didn't find everything that was good or everything that was bad about the essay- if you critique these essays and have comments, tell me about it!.
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