Argument Essay: Tips for Revision

As you revise your essay for submission, consider the following tips:
1. Consider your audience.
-Who is your intended audience?
-Have you considered your audience in taking into account elements of DIDLS?

2. Review your thesis.
-Do you have a clear argument?
-Where do you state your thesis?  Is this the most effective place?  Do you give it away too soon?

3. Review your evidence.
-Do you have SPECIFIC, clear, vivid examples, anecdotes, and direct quotations that illustrate your point?

4. Consider the counterargument.
-Do you address the counterargument somewhere in your essay?

4. Consider transition words and phrases.
-How do you move from one idea to the next?
-Do you use transition words and phrases to show contrast when addressing your counterargument?  (ex: however, in contrast, on the other hand, on the contrary, nevertheless)
-Do you use transition words or phrases to emphasize a point or add on additional points?  (ex: additionally, furthermore)

5. Have you made intentional selections about your diction, syntax, and language?  How do these choices contribute to your tone?
-What connotations do your words have?
-Have you used any figurative language?  If so, to what effect?
-Have you varied sentence and paragraph lengths?  Do you italicize words, use parenthesis, dashes, and/or quotation marks?
-Do you use powerful verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs?  (Note:  powerful does not necessarily mean big and fancy.)

6.  Have you edited for comma rules, punctuation, capitalization, parallel structure, subject/verb agreement, pronoun/antecedent agreement, apostrophes, spelling, etc.?