1. Read the entire paper at one go, without talking to the author.

 THESIS              2. Identify the thesis statement. Is it easy to locate? What are the clues you used to find it?
                            3. Evaluate the thesis statement. Is it narrow, arguable, and challenging?
                            4. Considering the whole paper, suggest improvements to the thesis statement.
 

 STRUCTURE     5. Identify the forecast statement. Is is easy to locate? What are the clues you used to find it?
                            6. Check the accuracy of the forecast statement by outlining the topic sentences of each paragraph.
                            7. Suggest improvements to the structure.

ARGUMENT       7. Identify the logical structure of the paper by checking the transitions between paragraphs.
                            8. Is the argument structure explicitly revealed? Is this the best possible arrangement of topics?
                            9.  Does the paper avoid merely listing topics? Suggest improvements to the argument.

EVIDENCE        10. Is the evidence relevant? Sufficient? Convincing?
                            11. Is each bit of evidence introduced by the "5Ws": Who, what, when, where, why?
                            12. Suggest improvements to the evidence.

OVERALL           13. Is the thesis clearly demonstrated by a well-structured argument backed by sufficient evidence?

STYLE                14. Circle instances of excessively passive, wordy, or pretentious writing.
                            15. Circle mispellings and grammatical errors.