ENGL 4603, ENGL 5613, AMST 5853: American Drama                                    

Checklist for Final Essay                               Student’s SSN: __ __ __- __ __- __ __ __ __

 

MANUSCRIPT FORM                                                                                                                    S          T

1.   Is the entire paper double-spaced, left-justified (NOT right-justified), and

      printed in Times New Roman 12, with one (1)-inch (NOT 1.25-inch)

      margins on all four sides of the page?                                                                                                           __   

2.   Have you omitted the four-line heading that would ordinarily appear in the

upper left of the first page?                                                                                                             __           

3.   Does your nine (9)-digit SSN followed by one (1) space and the page number

      appear in the upper right of each page?                                                                               __        __                                                                                                       

4.   Is the title of your paper a fragment rather than a complete sentence, and is it

      correctly capitalized, punctuated, and centered?                                                                              __

5.   Is the first line of each paragraph indented one-half (0.5) inch from the left

      margin?                                                                                                                                          __        __

         

CONTENT                                                    

6.   Does the essay discuss an approved theme, technique, or other literary,    

      dramatic, or cultural element found in the assigned American plays?                         __        __                                                                                                                           __

7.   Is your topic adequately narrowed and focused to be the subject of such a

      short essay on so many plays?                                                                                                    __        __

8.   Does the essay integrate specific references to at least eight (8) different

      assigned plays (or fewer if you have advance approval from the instructor)?             __           

9.   Does the essay demonstrate your comprehensive understanding of the

      assigned plays by including references that are numerous, brief but very

      specific, and logically relevant?                                                                                            __        __                          Does the essay reflect your original thinking about the works, not merely

10. Does the essay reflect insightful, original thinking about the topic and plays, 

      not merely repeating textbook commentary, class discussion, or outside

      sources?                                                                                                                                         __        __                 

11.       Do you avoid mere plot summary of the plays?                                                                                      __            

12. Is your essay as a whole logical, convincing, and well supported?                 __        __         

 

ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT

13. Does the title clearly identify the topic of the essay by including key words

      of the thesis and the phrase “in American Drama” (or something similar)?                 __

14. Does the introductory paragraph

      a. catch the reader's interest?                                                                                                                      __     

      b. mention American drama?                                                                                                           __        __                                                                    

      c. provide any necessary background information?                                                              __

      d. smoothly lead into the thesis?                                                                                          __        __   

      e. avoid unnecessary length (being no longer than about one-half page)?       __        __                                                                        

15. Does the last sentence in the introductory paragraph clearly and concisely  

      state a well-focused, insightful thesis (the central idea that the essay

      develops about the topic)?                                                                                                                          __            

16. (Optional) IF the thesis lists the main points to be covered in the body of the

      essay, are they in only one sentence, parallel structure, and the same order as

      in the body?                                                                                                                                               __            

17. Do the main points of the body of the essay avoid illogical overlapping with

      each other?                                                                                                                         __        __

18. Does each body paragraph begin with a topic sentence that clearly relates to

      the thesis and summarizes the content of the entire paragraph (and therefore

      does NOT mention only one play or character)?                                                                                          __           

19. Is each body paragraph fully developed with enough specific evidence from

      the plays to support the thesis, topic sentence, and generalizations made in

      the paragraph?                                                                                                                                          __            

20. Does each body paragraph integrate references to at least three (3) plays

      rather than discuss a single play separately and at length?                                          __          

21. Are the body paragraphs arranged in the most effective order, with the most

      convincing, most important, or most fully developed paragraph last?             __        __                   

22. Are body paragraphs no shorter than about one-half of a page and no longer

      than about one full page?  (Divide excessively long paragraphs.)                   __            

23. Throughout and at the end of each body paragraph, do you always make clear

      how your discussion relates to the thesis and topic sentence?                       __        __                                                                   

24. Does each body paragraph begin (NOT end) with a transition that flows

      smoothly from the previous paragraph?                                                                                           __            

25. Does the concluding paragraph begin with a restatement (in different words)

      of the thesis, then answer "So what?" and make the essay sound finished?                __            

26. Is the essay no shorter than four (4) full pages and no longer than seven (7)

      pages?                                                                                                                                                        __            

 

DOCUMENTATION

27. The first time you refer to the title of a play, do you use its full title?              __        __

      (Thereafter, if you wish, you may use the following shortened titles: Desire,

      Menagerie, Salesman, Zoo Story, Raisin, Glengarry, Angels, How I Learned,

      and Laramie.)              

28. Do you underline or italicize the titles of the plays?                                                  __        __ 

29. Do you use brief quotations and brief but very specific references to the plays

      in your own words to support your thesis and topic sentences?                                __       

      (A direct quotation is NOT always the best supporting evidence.)   

30. Do you smoothly introduce each quotation or paraphrase from a play by 

      identifying the title and the context of the material (such as the speaker

      and/or situation in the play)?                                                                                                                        __   

31. Do you use correct punctuation following introductions to quotations?                                  __

      (The correct punctuation may be a comma, or a colon, or no punctuation,

      depending on the wording of the introduction and of the quotation.)     

32. Do you accurately copy all direct quotations?                                                                                  __

33. Do you correctly use ellipsis marks and square brackets when you quote?               __            

34. Do you avoid using quotations of more than four (4) typed lines, which

      would have to be indented?                                                                                                 __        __

35. Do you avoid plagiarism by placing in quotation marks all direct quotations 

      of phrases and sentences from the plays and by putting all paraphrases and

      summaries completely in your own words?                                                                                      __            

36. Do you document each quotation by placing the page number in parenthesis in

      correct form after it?                                                                                                                                   __            

      (Do NOT also include the author or title of the play inside parenthetical

      documentation. Instead, introduce each quotation with the title of the play.)

37. After the essay, do you include a Works Cited page listing the authors and

      titles of the assigned plays to which your essay refers?                                             __        __

      (MLA form is NOT required for this list; just list the authors and titles.)

 

[This is not intended to be a research paper.  If, however, you choose to include research from secondary sources, you are responsible for the following italicized items:]

38. Do you avoid plagiarism by providing parenthetical documentation for every

      reference to a source’s words or ideas (except for common knowledge)?                      __   

39. Are your parenthetical documentation and the punctuation following it in

      correct MLA form?                                                                                                                                   __           

40. Do you avoid plagiarism by placing inside quotation marks all direct

      quotations of phrases or sentences?                                                                                                         __   

41. Do you avoid plagiarism by putting paraphrases and summaries of sources’

      ideas completely in your own words?                                                                                                       __

42. Have you accurately represented the ideas of each source?                                            __           

43. Do you smoothly introduce every quotation?                                                                                           __           

44. Do you make clear where your use of each quoted or paraphrased source

      begins by introducing it?                                                                                                                          __             

45. Does the Works Cited page alphabetically list in correct MLA form all

      secondary sources documented in the body?                                                                                                       

 

EDITING AND PROOFREADING

46. Have you read your essay aloud to edit it sentence by sentence?                                         __

      (Date and time you read your essay aloud: ____________________)                                               

47. Have you edited your essay to eliminate awkward, unclear sentences and

      to ensure effective word choice?                                                                                                                  __   

48. Have you edited your essay to eliminate wordiness?                                                            __   

49. Have you eliminated serious errors: sentence fragments, comma splices,

      run-on sentences, agreement errors, and verb errors?                                                                      __            

50. Have you eliminated errors of spelling, grammar, and punctuation?                           __   

51. Have you used spell-check on the final draft?                                                                                  __            

52. Do you correctly spell and punctuate names of authors, titles, and characters?                      __           

53. Do you consistently use present tense verbs to refer in your own words to the

      characters and events of the plays?                                                                                      __        __       

54. Do you consistently use past tense verbs to refer to historical events?                                   __