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Title: It should reflect the main theme or idea of the essay and intrigue the reader.
Beginning: it should attract the reader’s attention. Does it? Would some other part of the essay make a better beginning?
Unity: A main idea that is clear and consistent (but never boring) should be apparent in the essay.
Focus: The main idea or theme should have a slant, an angle a way in to the material that interests the reader.
Narrative: Specific stories, anecdotes can illustrate points and show rather than tell ideas.
Dialogue: It can make the writer’s points seem real, immediate.
Analysis: It can link narrative and dialogue to the main idea.
Concrete specific details: These make a draft come alive, make it particularly the writer’s. Generalizations could be about any one or any thing.
Time and place: These orient the reader. Without them, the reader might find an exit and leave.
Conclusion: This should pull the threads of the piece together. (It might circle back to an early thread, anecdote, word, or theme.) It should keep the reader thinking, but never be heavy-handed or obvious.