Identifying and Prioritizing Writing Strengths and Weaknesses
Doug Hesse

Try to identify the highest level problems first. Generally, these consist of idea development, logic, or clarity. This doesn't mean that you should ignore surface features, but do recognize their place. The following questions might help you identify why papers strike you as strong or weak.

1. Is the student doing the task assigned? If not, does the task that the student is doing have sufficient merit that you can sanction it?

2. Are there fundamental misreadings or misrepresentations of information or ideas? Does the student accurately summarize and represent readings or sources?

3. How effective, appropriate, or ambitious is the main idea or focus of the paper? Is the thesis or topic:
1. clearly established and maintained?
2. worth addressing?
3. susceptible to coverage or demonstration in the situation available?

4. How well does the paper fit its intended audience?
1. Are the ideas "new" or relevant enough to intended readers?
2. Does the writing assume the right things of readersor too much, too little, or the wrong thing? Consider in terms of information, facts, basic assumptions but also beliefs and values?
3. Is the tone appropriate? Is it pitched too high or low or simply off?

5. Does the paper have the right kinds and amounts of evidence for claims?
1. Are evidence and support present or are they missing or inadequate?
2. Does the paper have the right kinds of evidence, suitable to the task and audience?
3. Does the writer explicitly connect evidence to claims, or does he or she merely deploy it, leaving it to the reader?
4. Does the writer address countering positions or confounding information or alternative interpretations? Or are these slighted or missing?
5. Does the paper treat complexities or subtleties?

6. Is the structure of the paper effective?
1. Does the introduction provide enough context or clearly signal purpose, without being padded or gratuitous? Is the introduction appropriate engaging?
2. Is the paper balanced in development? Do important ideas or elements get relatively more attention than less important ones?
3. Is the organization clear to readers? Does the sequence of parts the most effective one?
4. Is the conclusion apt and engaging, or is it absent, superfluous, or perfunctory?

7. Is the style of the paper effective?
1. Are word choices and sentence types appropriate for the audience?
2. Is the paper free of stigmatized grammar, usage, and punctuation errors?
3. Is the style appropriately economical and lively? Does the voice of the paper emulate the voice associated with good professional writing in this are?

8. Do errors, carelessness, or presentation so interfere with your reading that the student needs to turn in a "clean" copy before your can respond to the writing? Is the paper in the proper format? Note: You might decide that papers having this problem might more effectively be returned, perhaps with a grade reduction.

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