Self-Evaluation Checklist

You’re a busy college student, so you probably have several other assignments you are working on in addition to the narrative essay. Because of this, you will be tempted to spend minimal time revising your essay once you’ve written it. However, know that your grade will inevitably suffer if you spend little or no time revising your first draft. This section is dedicated to helping you revise by showing you what specific outcomes you should aim for with your final draft. The outcomes are broken down by category and are listed in the form of questions you should ask yourself when you have finished your first draft.

Content

• Do you have a clear thesis that is strong supported by your narrative?
• Are the details in your narrative cleared relevant?
• Is your narrative thoroughly developed or does it lack certain necessary points or narrative structure features (setting, climax, resolution, etc.)?

Organization

• Does your sequence of events and details clear and logical progression?
• Does your essay have a clear focus both within each paragraph (coherence) and across your essay as a whole (unity)?
• Is your title informative and original?

Sentence Structure/Grammar/Vocabulary

• Are there any grammar issues that need to be addressed (e.g. subject-verb agreement, article usage, sentence fragments/run-on sentences, tense sequencing, etc.)?
• Do you have an effective blend of short, medium, and long sentences, or does one category dominate?
• Does your vocabulary demonstrate variety or do you use the same terms repeatedly throughout your essay?
• Is your meaning clear in each sentence?

Mechanics

• Are there any spelling errors that need to be addressed?
• Have you capitalized proper nouns and the beginning of each sentence?
• Do you have the proper punctuation within each sentence and at the end of each sentence?
• Does your essay adhere to the proper formatting guidelines?

Useful Links

• University of Vermont Blog: Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) Writing (http://blog.uvm.edu/intrdisc/)
• Capital Community College Foundation: Verb Tense Sequencing (http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/sequence.htm)
• LAHWFextra: Telling People Pointless Stories (https://youtu.be/3zsM3jBwWIM)
• Purdue OWL: Starting the Writing Process (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/index.html)
• Purdue OWL: Proofreading and Revising (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/index.html)