After you have completed one or more drafts of your classification essay, use the following checklist as a revision and editing guide to prepare the final version of your composition.
- In your introduction, have you clearly identified the subject you are classifying and your purpose in doing so?
- In the opening sentences of your essay, have you provided the kinds of details that will evoke your readers' interest in the topic?
- Does each body paragraph begin with a topic sentence that identifies and briefly explains a particular type, style, or approach?
- Have you adequately supported each topic sentence with specific informative and descriptive details?
- Have you drawn clear distinctions between and among the different types, styles, or approaches?
- Have you followed a logical plan in arranging the body paragraphs in your essay?
- Have you focused your essay by eliminating unnecessary or repetitious information?
- Have you used clear transitions to tie your points together and guide your readers from one point to the next?
- In your conclusion, have you emphasized the value of your classification or recommended one type, style, or approach over the others?
- Are the sentences throughout your essay clear and direct as well as varied in length and structure? Could any sentences be improved by combining or restructuring them?
- Are the words in your essay consistently clear and precise? Does the essay maintain a consistent tone?
- Have you read the essay aloud, proofreading carefully?
See also:
Revision and Editing Checklist for a Critical Essay
