1. Rainbow Revising/Editing
ESSAY REVIEW
Rainbow Revising/Editing

2. **AS A REMINDER:
If you are missing any of the following steps/aspects/or elements to your paper, you need to be making notes to yourself in the margins of your essay in order to see what needs to be changed/included in the future

3. STEP 1: Re-Read your essay
Briefly skim over your essay once again to remind yourself of what you wrote.

4. STEP 2: Review the Prompt
Write a letter to your legislator arguing what, if any, restrictions should be placed on drones and the information they collect. Your essay must be based on ideas, concepts, and information from the passage set.
Manage your time carefully so you can:
Plan your essay;
Write your essay; and
Revise and edit your essay.
Be sure to:
Include a claim;
Address counterclaims;
Use evidence from multiple sources
Do not over rely on one source

5. STEP 2: Review the Prompt
What type of style and genre of writing is this going to be?
What phrases in the prompt indicate this to you?
“Letter”
“Arguing…”
Who is the audience of your writing?
How does this particular audience change your tone?
What are you supposed to be addressing in your letter?
“Arguing what, if any, restrictions should be placed on drones and the information they collect”
Do you address both parts in your essay?
Are your ideas in your essay balanced between your own argument and ideas, concepts, and information from the passage set?
Do you rely heavily on yourself or the documents?

6. STEP 2: Review the Prompt
STEP 2: **IF YOU DID NOT MEET THE PREVIOUS REQUIREMENTS, make a note to yourself at the top of your paper:
“Need to….”
Change the style of my paper
Change the tone of my paper to address my audience
Answer the prompt more fully
Include more documents / OR include some of my own argument

7. Colors you will need…
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Brown
Black

8. What is a Thesis/Claim?
This is taken from the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
The thesis statement is a sentence that summarizes the main point of your essay and previews your supporting points (minor claims). The thesis statement guides your readers from the beginning of your essay by telling them the main idea and supporting points of your essay.
Generally, the thesis statement is the final sentence of your introduction and only one sentence.
Sometimes, it is a good idea to use two sentences. For example, you might identify your main point in one sentence and then identify your supporting points in a second sentence. (Some might call this second sentence a preview sentence.)
Other times, your thesis statement will only be one sentence. Either is acceptable, but remember that you need a clear thesis statement at the end of your introduction so that your reader understands your main point and knows what to expect from the rest of your essay.

9. STEP 3: Thesis/Major Claim
Find your claim/thesis. Underline it in RED. It will most likely be only one sentence for a paper of this size.
It is also most likely located at the end of your first paragraph.
IF IT IS TWO SENTENCES….the 2nd one better be good. It better preview your points.
Have you outlined the supporting points that you will be discussing in your essay? (there will most likely be two to three of them) – number them in red
HOWEVER:
“English class is my favorite class. It’s my favorite because we read great books, we write papers, and we have the best teacher ever” is NOT the way 10th graders should be identifying their supporting points. It’s too simplistic.

10. STEPS 4-5: Introductory Paragraph
Think TRIANGLE: Start broad, then narrow to this particular text, then narrow to exactly what in this text you are going to be addressing
STEP 4:
Look at your introductory paragraph. Underline the attention getting stuff (anything that could be part of the HOOK) in ORANGE
What type of hook did you use?
Question?
Context?
Quotation?
Interesting fact/statistic?
Anecdote?
Setting the Scene/Vivid Description?
Look at your attention-getter. (It’s in orange.) Does it direct the reader’s attention to your topic? Is it appropriate in tone for an academic paper
HOOK (Attention Getter / Interesting Beginning)
Bridge (group of sentences
that smoothly shift focus
from hook to thesis)
Thesis
STEP 5:
Now underline the bridge information in GREEN
This can be a brief summary of some of the debate around the topic or connects the hook to the thesis

11. STEP 6: Topic Sentences/Minor Claims
A. The first sentence of each of your body paragraphs should connect back to the thesis/claim you laid out in the introductory paragraph.
It should focus the entire paragraph and tell your reader what you are proving in that essay. (WITHOUT actually saying, “I am going to prove…”)
B. You should also use key words to show that it is a from your thesis/claim and the prompt or that it is another idea being presented
STEP 6: Underline your topic sentences/minor claims in RED ONLY if you’ve done steps A and B

12. STEP 7: Evidence (Quotes)
Your evidence in each body paragraph should connect back to the topic sentence/minor claim.
It should support your argument for that paragraph, and not just be a rephrase of your argument.
It should also be embedded correctly and in a way that is easy to read.
It should come from one of the articles from the passage set given to you
Be careful you used more than one source, and didn’t depend disproportionately on one source!
STEP 7:
Underline your evidence in YELLOW
If there is only one article used in the essay, write “Needs more sources” next to that paragraph

13. Evidence Examples (from Dating prompt)
GOOD
NOT-SO-GOOD
Teenagers who start to date too early can experience developmental problems. In a chart “States of Healthy Adolescent Development” published by the Oregon Health Authority, they explain that dating early can lead to autonomy problems such as “challeng[ing] authority, loneliness, [and] wide mood swings.” These are all significant problems that could negatively impact a teenager who begins to date before they are developmentally ready…
Teens who start to date too early can experience problems. “If teenagers start to date at they could have side effects like challenging authority, loneliness, and wild mood swings.” Teens shouldn’t start dating too early.

14. STEP 8: Articles & Source Material
You need to correctly state the source materials you used.
Go through and circle in PURPLE any article titles. Are they in “quotation marks”?
Add the quotation marks if not there!
(Quattlebaum).
In Quattlebaum’s article…
Go through and circle in PURPLE any author’s or source’s names.
Have you attached an author’s name to each title? If not, add them!

15. STEP 9: Elaboration (Reasons/Warrants)
Do you have an explanation as to why your evidence supports your argument?
This could be explaining why that quote is significant,
How it connects to your topic sentence/minor claim for that paragraph
AND how it connects to the main thesis/claim?
STEP 9: Underline your reasons/warrants in BLUE.
Only underline if it follows the requirements outlined above
Look at the following transition phrases to help introduce your elaboration:
In making this comment, (the author) argues that
The essence of (the author)’s argument is that…
This is significant because…
These facts work together to show…
This is irrefutable evidence that…
All this proves…
This shows…
This illustrates…
The fact that (rephrase your evidence) illustrates that…
This matters because…

16. STEPS 10-12: Counterclaim and Rebuttal
STEP 10: Does your paper address things people would say against the claim to disprove your argument?
Underline the counterclaim in BLACK
STEP 11: Does your paper include a rebuttal that refutes, disproves, or makes their idea invalid?
Underline the rebuttal in BROWN
STEP 12: Does your paper have evidence or an example to support the rebuttal?
Underline this evidence in YELLOW

17. STEP 13: Conclusion
Please, please, please tell me: Is it, at the very least, three sentences?
Does it neatly sum up your paper? Including your main argument and how you proved it?
STEP 13: If NO, make note of this on your paper next to your concluding paragraph
Don’t be that person…

18. STEP 14: Works Cited/Bibliography
Is there a works cited page?
Does the works cited outline at least two articles that their evidence came from?
Does it include the necessary information for the source? (see MLA Quick Tips handout)
STEP 14: If there is not works cited/bibliography, write “Needs Works Cited” and make note of other necessary changes

19. STEP 15: STYLE
Skim your paper. Is there any slang? Words that are “conversation” words but not “sophisticated, academic” words? Circle them.
This could be things like “we, us, you, I, our” etc.
Look at the last sentence of each body paragraph. Does it transition the reader to your next topic sentence/minor claim?
Sentence variety: Do you have a variety of sentence lengths? If they are all about the same number of words, that’s not very fun!
Do the sentences start in different ways? Look at the first word of your sentences. They should start differently. If they’re mostly the same, or similar, that’s bad.

20. STEP 16: Reflection Time!
WRITE THE FOLLOWING AT THE END OF YOUR ESSAY:
Do you feel that you improved from your last paper or do you feel that you did about the same?
Why or why not?
What do you feel you did well on in your paper?
Write it at the bottom of your paper
What is one thing that you feel you need to improve on for next time?
YOU ARE A CHAMPION!
Write it at the bottom of your paper 