Revision Guidelines

Introduction and Body Paragraphs

o Introduction
Highlight in PINK: Attention-grabber (First sentence(s) of
introduction)
Is the attention-grabber strong?
Does the attention-getter connect to the subject of
the paper? Is the connection clear to the reader?
Is there a smooth transition from the attention-getter
to the thesis/preview or does the introduction drag
on?

Underline: Thesis/Preview (last sentence of introduction)

Is the thesis/preview one sentence?
Does it adequately preview the topic/main ideas of
the paper?

o Body Paragraphs
Highlight in YELLOW: Topic sentence of every body
paragraph (first sentence)
Is the topic sentence clear?

Highlight in BLUE: Distracting or irrelevant

details/examples
Do all details pertain to the main idea of the
paragraph?
Do any details/examples require further explanation?
Are any details repetitive or distracting to the
reader?

o Style
Circle: Repetitive words/phrases, weak words,
contractions, and/or declarative statements
o Grammar
Correct: Misspelled words, capitalization, grammatical
errors
***Write any other comments/observations in the margins.