Your Name __________________________
Author's Name _______________________
1. Consider the title of the paper.
Without reading further than the title, write down what you think the author
will be discussing:
Return to this question when you finish
the paper. Did the title help you determine the thesis of the paper?
Does it accurately reflect what the paper is about? Could you suggest
a better title?
2. Read the introduction. Without
reading further than the introduction, state the thesis of the paper:
How will the author develop the thesis?
The following questions should be answered after you finish reading the entire paper.
3. Is the thesis presented in the
body of the paper the same as you summarized from the introduction?
If not, how does it change?
List the main arguments the author uses
to develop her/his thesis:
4. Does the author provide sufficient
facts/details/evidence to support his/her arguments throughout the paper?
If there are areas where you think more supporting material is needed,
list them here:
5. Consider the style of the paper.
Indicate errors in mechanics (sentence structure, punctuation, voice, person,
tense, spelling, proofreading, etc.) on the paper itself. Are these
excessive?
6. How appropriately and correctly
does the author use quotations? Are most quotations from primary
or secondary sources? If a quotation is from a secondary source,
is it necessary to quote the author verbatim or could the material be paraphrased?
Indicate quotations that could be paraphrased on the paper itself.
7. Look at the bibliography and endnotes.
Are the endnotes and bibliography in the proper humanities format?
If not, indicate errors on the paper.
Is the use of documentation appropriate
and sufficient? Put an “EN” by references in the paper which you
think need to have a citation.
Do large numbers of citations seem to come
from the same source? If so, list the source here:
8. Does the paper use at least five
primary sources? List the titles below.
Are the primary sources used by the author
crucial to the arguments of the paper? Why or why not?
9. Consider the secondary sources
used by the author. Are different interpretations considered?
If so, how does the author deal with discrepancies among the sources?
10. Re-read the conclusion.
Are the thesis and the main arguments restated in the conclusion?
Are they the same as those presented in the introduction? If not,
what alterations might you suggest?
Did the author prove what she/he claimed
to prove? What recommendations would you make to the author to help
rewrite the paper?