Freshman Preceptorial Writing Guidelines
The writing reference for the Preceptorial is:
The Easy Access Handbook A Writer's Guide and Reference
by Michael Keene and Katherine Adams
Mayfield Publishing
Suggested Writing Checklists for Preceptorial Papers
Overall Organization Checklist
- Is the paper's topic sufficiently limited, or is the student trying to cover too many things?
- Does the paper have a single controlling idea or thesis, as opposed to a general topic?
- Can the controlling idea or thesis idea be summarized in a single sentence?
- Is the controlling idea or thesis clearly announced in the introductory paragraph?
- Does the paper have a distinct introduction, body, and conclusion?
- Is the body of the paper divided into distinct paragraphs?
- Does the paper develop its main idea or thesis, or does it merely repeat it again and again?·Does the paper support its general ideas with sufficient specific examples?
- Does the paper have a sense of logical development and progression?
- Does the final paragraph draw a conclusion or merely repeat what has already been said?
Paragraph Checklist
- Is each paragraph related to the paper's overall controlling idea or thesis?
- Does each paragraph have an explicit or implied topic sentence?
- Is each paragraph limited to one main topic, or do any have multiple topics that should be divided into additional separate paragraphs?
- Is each paragraph long enough to allow for sufficient development of its topic?
- Is any paragraph too long for the reader to keep track of its main topic?
Sentence Checklist
- Is the sentence complete or is it a fragment?
The old aluminum boat sitting on its trailer. (lacks verb)
Helped bring on the French Revolution. (lacks subject) - Does the verb agree with the subject?
My brother and his friend Larry commutes from Westchester. (commute) - Does the pronoun agree with its antecedent:
With tuition on the rise, a student has to save money wherever they can. (he, she)e a run-on?
Original: She doubted the value of medication she decided to try it once being pleasantly surprised. (lacks punctuation)
Corrected: Although she doubted the value of medication, she decided to try it once. She was pleasantly surprised.
Original: Marx and Engels both wrote The Communist Manifesto, Engels wrote the preface by himself, it was first published in 1848. (comma splices and ambiguous pronoun reference)
Corrected: Although Marx and Engels both wrote The Communist Manifesto (first published in 1848), Engels wrote the preface by himself. - Does the sentence contain dangling participles or modifiers?
Original: Rotting unburied on the plain, Antigone grieved for her dead brother.
Corrected: Antigone grieved for her dead brother, whose body lay rotting unburied on the plain.
Original: A ruthless and powerful ruler, Machiavelli would have praised Mussolini.
Corrected: Machiavelli would have praised Mussolini as a ruthless and powerful ruler. - Are the sentences sufficiently varied in length and complexity?