Yes

No

Do you have an introductory paragraph which re-states the questions and tells the reader what to expect in the main body of the essay/report?

Is there a conclusion that sums up your answer and refers back to the title?

Do your ideas follow each other in a logical order?

Have you really answered the question?

Yes

No

Is the essay/report broken up into several paragraphs?

Does each paragraph contain one main idea?

Do you link from one paragraph to the next?

Yes

No

Does the essay/report sound right - does it flow?

Is it written in what you would call 'academic' rather than 'everyday' language?

Yes

No

Are there clearly defined sentences which start with a capital letter and end with a full stop or question mark?

Does each sentence have a subject (a noun or pronoun) and a verb?

Is the verb in the right tense: that is, in the past, present or future?

Have you used the singular or plural appropriately; is everything in the sentence consistent?

Have you followed the conventions for using commas, semi-colons, quotation marks?

Yes

No

Do you use a variety of words, rather than repeating the same words over and over again?

Have you used your own words rather than copied them from the course material or a book?

If you have used others' words then have you enclosed them in quotation marks and given a reference to say where they have come from?

Have you spelt all the words accurately? If in doubt, check in the dictionary.