Do you give your reader a sense of what people concerned with the problem are saying in the media?

English by Geoffrey

Checklist for Exploratory Section

 

Here’s a list of questions related to the major objectives for the Exploratory Section. It will help you ensure that you’ve meet all the key goals of the assignment.

 

  • Is the introduction (first paragraph) effective? Does it clearly identify a problem and give an accurate idea what’s coming later in the paper?
  • Do you have a clear and detailed policy claim at the end of the first paragraph? Will a reader know exactly who you think needs to do what to address your problem after reading the intro?
  • Do you have a clearly defined target audience? Do you tailor your arguments to that audience throughout the paper by appealing to their interests, values, beliefs and emotions?
  • Do you provide enough background and contextual information for your target audience to understand the problem? Consider carefully what you can expect them to already know and what you need them to know.
  • Are there any terms or concepts that still need to be defined?
  • Do you give your reader a sense of what people concerned with the problem are saying in the media?
  • Are you confident your reader will believe there is a serious problem that urgently needs to be addressed? Have you outlined the costs or harm caused by the problem clearly? Can you do more to show the scope of the problem?
  • Can you do more to show who exactly is being harmed and how much? Do you need to “put a human face on the problem”?
  • Do you make clear who is responsible for the problem and who has the power and authority to enact a solution? (These aren’t necessarily the same.)
  • Are there any additional causal relationships—such as the root cause of problems, or the consequences and costs of a problem—that you need to discus (or discuss in more detail)?
  • If challenged, could you make a case why each of your sources is credible? Are there any sources (or types of sources) that might strengthen the paper? Is there any evidence that seems to be lacking?
  • Is quoted and paraphrased material integrated successfully? Is it effectively framed and introduced for the reader when appropriate? Are all sources properly cited?
  • Do the paragraphs have clear topic sentences and serve a clear purpose in the paper? Are the paragraphs unified and sufficiently developed?
  • Do you see any problems in the organization of the paper? Does the sequence of paragraphs make sense?