E S SAY C H E C K LI S T

HEADING
1. The heading is MLA style on the left side. _____
2. It mentions student, teacher, class, & date. _____
3. I hit enter only once between the heading and title. _____
4. The title is a phrase and related to the thesis. _____
5. The title is NOT UNDERLINED or boldfaced. _____
6. I hit enter only once between the title & first Para. _____

INTRODUCTION
1. There is a related Attention Grabber. _____
2. There is a Transition Sentence (mentions author & work) _____
3. There are at least two Background Sentences. _____
4. There is a Thesis/Focus Statement. _____
5. The Thesis/Focus statement is an opinion, not a fact. _____

6. All personal pronouns are eliminated. _____

7. All contractions are eliminated. _____
8. I did not use ANY “to be” verbs in the introduction. _____
9. The title of the work is properly formatted and punctuated. _____

BODY PARAGRAPH #1
1. The first sentence starts with a transition or hook. _____
2. The first sentence contains the First Focus Point. _____
3. Next 1-2 sentences are text-based facts, insights, etc.
in your own words which support topic sentence. _____
4. There are two (2) direct quotations. _____
5. The quotations are properly introduced or “set-up.” _____
6. The quotations are properly formatted into the paragraph. _____
7. The quotations are cited properly. _____
8. Next, there are explanations of the quotations. _____
9. It explains the importance and significance of the
quotations in relation to the topic sentence. _____
10. There is one simple tie-in sentence which connects the
paragraph to the thesis. _____
11. All personal pronouns are eliminated. _____
12. All contractions are eliminated. _____
13. Subject/verb and pronoun agreements are correct. _____
14. No “to be verbs” in the first and last sentences of the paragraph. _____
15. No Two Words Start The Same Sentence in the paragraph. _____

BODY PARAGRAPH #2
1. The first sentence starts with a transition or hook. _____
2. The first sentence contains the First Focus Point. _____
3. Next 1-2 sentences are text-based facts, insights, etc.
in your own words which support topic sentence. _____
4. There are two (2) direct quotations. _____
5. The quotations are properly introduced or “set-up.” _____
6. The quotations are properly formatted into the paragraph. _____
 7. The quotations are cited properly. _____
8. Next, there are explanations of the quotations. _____
9. It explains the importance and significance of the
quotations in relation to the topic sentence. _____
10. There is one simple tie-in sentence which connects the
paragraph to the thesis. _____
11. All personal pronouns are eliminated. _____
12. All contractions are eliminated. _____
13. Subject/verb and pronoun agreements are correct. _____
14. No “to be verbs” in the first and last sentences of the paragraph. _____
15. NTWSTSS in the paragraph

BODY PARAGRAPH #3
1. The first sentence starts with a transition or hook. _____
2. The first sentence contains the First Focus Point. _____
3. Next 1-2 sentences are text-based facts, insights, etc.
in your own words which support topic sentence. _____
4. There are two (2) direct quotations. _____
5. The quotations are properly introduced or “set-up.” _____
6. The quotations are properly formatted into the paragraph. _____
7. The quotations are cited properly. _____
8. Next, there are explanations of the quotations. _____
9. It explains the importance and significance of the
quotations in relation to the topic sentence. _____
10. There is one simple tie-in sentence which connects the
paragraph to the thesis. _____
11. All personal pronouns are eliminated. _____
12. All contractions are eliminated. _____
13. Subject/verb and pronoun agreements are correct. _____
14. No “to be verbs” in the first and last sentences of the paragraph. _____
15. NTWSTSS in the paragraph. _____

CONCLUSION
1. The conclusion starts with a transition (not “in conclusion”). _____
2. The first sentence is a re-worded thesis & underlined. _____
3. The next sentence is the First Topic sentence, reworded. _____
4. The third sentence is the Second Topic sentence,
re-worded. It starts with a transitional word or phrase. _____
5. The fourth sentence is the Third Topic sent. re-worded. _____
6. The final sentence is a clincher related to attention grabber. _____
7. There are no 1st or 2nd person personal pronouns in the paragraph. _____
8. No “to be” verbs anywhere in the conclusion. _____

*A properly formatted Work(s) Cited page is included (last page). _____

*The paper is in the correct TNR12 font and double-spaced. _____