ENGL 1302

Heuristic: Self-Evaluation, Experiment Essay Check List

1. Does the first sentence of your first paragraph either contribute to the essay’s main point or provide
some kind of meaningful information to your reader? If not, consider deleting it or replacing it with
something that does.

Yes, the first sentence of my paragraphs contributes to the essay’s main point or provides some kind of
meaningful information to the reader.

2.After assessing your first sentence using question 1, go back and read over your introduction. Try to
explain, in two sentences or less, what the introduction adds to the paper. If you have a hard time doing
this, consider working on the introduction to make it more substantial.

The introduction of the paper introduces the topic to the audience and gives a bit of information on the
experiment.

3. Find your thesis statement. Is it the answer to your research question? Does it make clear to someone
who is reading the paper for the first time exactly what will be included in the paper and what kind of
claims it will make? If it raises more questions than answers, if it is a question and not a statement, and/
or if it is extremely nonspecific about the paper and its topic, consider rewriting it.

Yes, it is the answer to my research question. Yes, it does make sense to someone who is reading the
paper for the first time.

4. Read through the body of the paper. Can you find a sentence that does not include any details? As you
edit, try to make sure that almost every sentence carries with it some concrete piece of information.

No, I do not see any sentences that do not include any details.

5. Does your paper describe your experiment in reasonable detail? Is it clear about how the experiment
was done, what was required to do it, and what kind of results it had? Your results should be more
specific and better quantified than, say, “after sleeping less, I felt bad the next day, but after sleeping
more, I felt good.” This example would be improved by stating exactly how long you slept each day and
listing details regarding your productivity for the next day—how many assignments you were able to
complete, how many reps you did in the gym, how far you ran, etc.—and/ or recording your impressions
of how you felt each hour drawn from your experiment journal (just an example—yours is likely very
different).

Yes, my paper describes my experiment in reasonable detail. It is clear about how the experiment was
done, what was required to do it, and what kind of results it had.

6. Look for each instance of source-work in your paper (i.e. every time you quote or paraphrase directly
from your secondary sources). First, do you have *two* secondary, peer-reviewed sources in your paper,
as per the instructions? Second, do you reference each of the sources listed on your works cited page at
least once? Third, if you only reference each one once, see if you can find a place in the essay that will
allow you to add one more reference per source.
Yes, I have two secondary, peer-reviewed sources on my paper. I did use the sources listed on the works
cited at least once. I have used one of the sources twice and the other one; however, I am still writing the
literature review.

7. Are your engagements with your sources meaningful? Do you name and introduce your sources,
explaining them to your reader, or do you simply draw one-off quotations from them and then move on?
Do you explain how those sources relate to your own experiment?

Yes, my engagement with my sources is meaningful. Yes, I introduce my sources, explain them to the
reader, and explain how they relate to my experiment.

8. Jot down the main idea next to each body paragraph and/ or titled section in your essay. Then,
consider:
are these paragraphs in the best possible order? Could there be a more logical way of arranging these (i.e.
which one comes first, second, etc.)?

Yes, they are in the most logical order.

9. Does your essay end abruptly, or does it include a meaningful conclusion / discussion of results? If it
does contain a substantial conclusion, does this conclusion do more than just restate what the paper has
already said elsewhere?

I still have not finished my conclusion yet. However, I will be adding a meaningful ending to my essay.

10. Is your essay under or over length (1000-1200) words? What can you do to fix this? Are there any
areas that could be expanded? Are there any areas where you repeat yourself or provide little-or-no detail
that could be cut?

My essay is under 1000 words because I still need to complete 3 of my paragraphs.