The following is a key to my shorthand comments on your essay.

Thesis? What is your thesis statement? Thesis statement is either unclear or non-
existent.

TS Topic Sentence is either unclear or non-existent or it does not adequately

or logically relate to your thesis statement.

IQ Introduce this quote or textual passage. Provide a lead-in to the quote by

providing the situation in the novel and/or saying who is speaking, to
whom, and in what situation.

DQ Discuss this quote or passage before moving on. Make sure to explain its
significance and/or what it is that you want the reader to understand or see
in this passage.

CT What is the connection between this thought, idea, textual passage, quote,
etc. and your thesis statement? How does this thought, idea, etc. support
your thesis statement? Make sure to explain the relevance of this thought,
idea, etc. to your overall argument (thesis).

P#? What is the page # on which this quote/ passage/ paraphrase appears?

MLA This quote or passage is formatted incorrectly (it does not conform to the
MLA guidelines.)

WC Word choice is incorrect or ambiguous

? What are you trying to say here? Your meaning is unclear either because
of incorrect word usage, grammatically incorrect sentence structure, or
some other problem at the sentence level.

 Good point, nicely phrased, logical idea, good connection, etc.

LC? Logical connection? How are these two sentences or ideas logically
connected? How does this sentence (or idea) logically follow the previous
one?

CS Comma Splice. Two independent clauses have been fused together with a
comma, which is grammatically incorrect.
TE? Textual Evidence? You are making an interpretative claim (usually a
claim about how a character feels or thinks) that needs to be illustrated
with a piece of textual evidence.

Trans? How are you transitioning between ideas/paragraphs? (Transition

problems usually occur when you move from one paragraph to the next,
but do not provide a bridge between topics or a segue from one idea to the
next.)

Frag Sentence fragment (incomplete sentence, usually due to a lack of a verb.)

EP Use the “eternal present” verb tense.

Awk Wording is awkward, making your meaning obscure.