Focus, Content, Organization, Style, and Conventions

 Is the ability to stay on topic  Is the ability to keep from straying off topic  Is the ability to emphasis the thesis  How do stay focused?  Repeat your thesis often  Repeat your thesis at the end of each paragraph  Reread the prompt often and make sure that it connects to your text  Avoid tangents that relate to the topic but do not emphasize the prompt and your thesis

 Is the use of appropriate facts, statements, and supporting details  Is the incorporation of a large number of facts, statements, and supporting details  How do I include appropriate content?  Be sure to include a minimum of five paragraphs  Include an introduction that provides background information, educating the reader  Include several body paragraphs, adding meat and substance  Include a conclusion that sums up the information presented

 Is the ability to establish order and to maintain that order  Is the logical and/or meaningful organization of paragraphs  How do I establish good organization?  In the introductions create a statement that will foreshadow the order of your body paragraphs  Use transitional terms like, first, next, and last  If appropriate, order your paragraphs according to meaning or importance  Maintain the order established in the introduction

 Is the use of advanced vocabulary  Is the use of literary terms  Is the use of dialogue  Is the use of varied sentence structure  How do I create style?  Use varied vocabulary terms from a thesaurus  Use literary terms, like imagery, simile, etc.  Use dialogue  Use different sentence structures, including transitional words

 Is the use of proper grammar  Is the use of proper capitalization, spelling, and punctuation  How do I incorporate proper conventions?  Proofreading