Criteria for Evaluating an Essay

Author:
Reviewer:

1. Is the topic and content appropriate for the audience?  Is it aimed at
the right level, not being too complex or simplistic?  Is the vocabulary
right for a reader at this level?



2. Is it clear what the goal of the essay is?  Does it achieve its goal?
(If, for example, the goal is to make a point, does it make its point
clearly and convincingly?)



3. Is there too much or too little content?  (As this essay is only 2000
words, an author might attempt to squeeze too much content into the space.)



4. Is the piece well organized?  Does it proceed in a logical manner?



5. Does the introduction capture the reader's interest?



6. Is the conclusion effective in helping to achieve the goal of the essay? 



7. Are the sentences clear and concise?



8. Is the text free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors?



9. Are tables and figures used where they would help the essay achieve its
goal?  Are they used in an effective manner?  Are they correctly cited in
the text?



10. Are citations to the literature given where appropriate?  Are the
references well-chosen?  Are the citations and reference correctly formated?



11. Is the essay effectively divided into sections, if this is appropriate?



12. Is the paper formatted effectively and printed clearly?  Are the
submission requirements met?  (Publications often have page limits and
specify formatting requirements.  In this case, the only requirement is that
the piece is at most 2000 words and that it is about computing.)