essay editing checklist high school

The Ultimate Essay Checklist

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Getting Started

Essay writing: it might not be your favorite thing in the world, but the essay editing experts at Scribendi are here to change that by making it a little less scary and a lot more fun! (Okay—perhaps "fun" is a bit strong. How about "bearable"?)

While there are four main types of essays—expository, persuasive, analytical, and argumentative—the basic structure of any essay is the same:

• An introductory paragraph
• At least three body paragraphs
• A concluding paragraph
• A bibliography

Generally, the higher your level of education, the more complex your essay structure will be. While high school students typically stick with the five-paragraph essay, university and graduate students are expected to discuss topics that require more than five paragraphs to flesh out. Whatever type of essay you're writing, following this basic format will help you accomplish your intended goal.

This ultimate essay checklist will provide you with everything you need to unleash your knowledge and express your creativity while following standard essay-writing conventions. This essay checklist will show you how to write a stellar essay of any style, and it will give you the confidence to explore and write about any topic.

General Tips

• Get an early start. It's much easier to come up with and organize your ideas when you're not pressed for time and are able to conduct proper research. The earlier you start, the easier it will be . . . so don't procrastinate!
• Choose a topic. Your instructor will likely give you a handful of topics to choose from or a general topic area. Depending on the instructions you're given, you will have to select and refine the topic. You can choose something you're already interested in or something you know nothing about—either way, you'll be doing your research and learning along the way.
• Use various sources of information. With the vast amount of information available today, you're far from limited when it comes to choosing your sources. Use books, websites, journal articles, research studies, interviews—the world is your oyster! Just remember to keep track of your sources so that you can cite them properly and add them to your bibliography. Also check what kinds of sources your professor wants: primary, secondary, or both?

• Do not plagiarize. Cite your work and give credit where it's due. Do not take credit for others' thoughts or ideas, and make yourself aware of the basic rules for avoiding plagiarism .
• Create an outline. Make a rough outline of the sections and points of your essay. Writing your ideas down will help you organize your thoughts and see what you need to add, change, or rearrange.
• Provide evidence. Use evidence from your research to support your ideas. Each body paragraph will contain an original idea, but you will need to back it up with evidence to make it credible.
• Don't use "I" statements or make sweeping generalizations. Stay objective, and be specific.
• Grab your audience's attention. Come up with an attention-grabbing title and introduction that will make your reader want more.
• Use logic. Within each paragraph and throughout your essay, keep your ideas coherent and linear.
• Use an essay style that complements your content (and is in accordance with your professor's guidelines). There are four main types of essays:
• Expository : The writer explains an idea or issue to the reader.
• Persuasive : The writer tries to convince the reader to take his or her position on an idea, issue, or topic.
• Analytical : The writer examines and analyzes an idea, issue, or topic.
• Argumentative : The writer tries to prove that his or her position is correct.
• Answer what , why , and how . Regardless of the type of essay you write, it should answer each of these questions.
• Don't feel obliged to write your first draft in order, from introduction to bibliography. It can be difficult to write a completely linear essay when you have lots of different ideas, so start by writing whatever you're ready to write—you can put all the pieces together later. This will make the process easier and less stressful.

Introduction

The introductory paragraph broadly introduces your topic by giving your reader an overview of what your essay will be about and the points that will be discussed. It often starts with a general statement that acts as the topic sentence for the paragraph, and it provides a general discussion that leads to a specific thesis statement at the end of the paragraph.

• Do not explicitly explain your intentions. For example, do not say, "The purpose of this essay is to . . ." Instead, allow the topic sentence to help your reader identify and determine your purpose. By the time readers get to the end, they will have a comprehensive understanding of your essay and its intent.
• Choose a thesis statement that the body of your essay will be able to support. This thesis will be the "hook" of your essay, and it is often one of the last sentences in the introductory paragraph. A hook is a line that grabs the reader's attention—it "hooks" them, just like a fishing hook grabs a fish. The goal of the hook is to keep your reader interested and to clearly indicate the purpose of the essay.

The body of the essay develops the argument that was outlined in the introduction.

• Use topic sentences. The topic sentence of each paragraph provides a brief summary of what the paragraph is about.

• Set up the transition to your next point. The concluding sentence of each paragraph should function as a hook and transition into the next paragraph.
• Discuss and support a different idea in each paragraph. Limit each paragraph to one main idea. The topic sentence of each paragraph will help you organize your own thoughts and let the reader know what that paragraph is about. If you're writing a five-paragraph essay, follow this general outline:
• The first paragraph contains the strongest argument and ties into the hook at the end of the introductory paragraph. Discuss your first point, elaborate on it, and provide evidence in support of it. Close with a transitional hook.
• The second paragraph contains a more neutral argument, and it ties into the hook at the end of the first paragraph. Discuss your second point, elaborate on it, and provide evidence to support it. Close with a transitional hook.
• The third paragraph contains another strong argument and ties into the hook at the end of the second paragraph. Discuss your third point, elaborate on it, and provide evidence to support it. Close with a transitional sentence that leads smoothly into the concluding paragraph.

In contrast to the introductory paragraph, the concluding paragraph starts out specific (by reintroducing the thesis) and becomes more general. It ties your ideas together and brings your paper to a culmination.

The concluding paragraph provides a general discussion of your findings and shows the reader that you have accomplished what you intended to at the outset.

• Restate your thesis (though not necessarily using the exact same words). In contrast to the introductory paragraph, the concluding paragraph starts out specific (by reintroducing the thesis) and becomes more general. It ties your ideas together and brings your paper to a close.
• Discuss your findings based on your research and evidence. Has your thesis been proven?
• Don't introduce any new ideas. The point here is to sum up and wrap up your essay, not to confuse readers by providing new information.
• End on a high note. You can finish the essay in a variety of ways. For example, you might provide suggestions for future research, state a call to action, share a quote, or ask a question. Depending on the topic and purpose of your essay, choose a closing line that will fit well with the rest of your essay's structure and leave readers thinking " Wow! "

Bibliography/Works Cited

The Bibliography or Works Cited page is a list of all the references you used throughout the paper. It can be alphabetized or numbered depending on the style guide you are using. While a Bibliography includes every resource you consulted when preparing your essay, a Works Cited page includes only the resources cited in your essay. Find out which is required by consulting the style guide assigned by your professor.

• To make creating your reference list easier, use citation software . There are many different options out there, and several of the software programs are free (especially if you're enrolled in a university that has a subscription to one of the services). These citation software programs essentially create your bibliography for you, making the process fast, easy, and accurate.

Review, Revise, Rework

• Give yourself a day or two before rereading and revising your essay. This way, you will have a fresh set of eyes, making it easier to catch any mistakes.
• Don't be afraid to rearrange paragraphs, delete sentences, or add information. Reading through your essay a few days after writing it makes it much easier to see where and how the structure needs to be changed.
• Correct any errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Check the essay yourself, have a friend review it, or better yet, have your essay edited by a professional editing service .
• Avoid colloquialisms and contractions. ('Cause it just ain't professional in an academic setting. Lol.)
• Analyze the flow of your essay , and make sure that your ideas and paragraphs flow smoothly from one to the next.
• Cut out any extraneous information or fluff. We've all done it, but adding extra words to make a word count requirement doesn't fly with most professors, and it will definitely detract from the strength of your essay.

Now, it's Time to Write!

It may seem overwhelming, but writing an essay doesn't have to be stressful. After coming up with a topic, doing some research, and creating a basic outline, you're ready to start filling in the gaps. Using primary and/or secondary research, back up your ideas and support them with credible sources. Just don't forget to cite those sources! Once you've written your first draft, take a day or two away from your paper so you will have a clear head when you come back to revise it. As suggested, you may even want to have your paper edited by the professionals at Scribendi , who will not only correct any surface-level errors but will also check for consistency, clarity, and cohesiveness, providing comments and suggestions along the way.

Essay writing is so much easier if you're equipped with the right tools, and that's what we hope we've given you with this ultimate essay checklist. Now that you know how to write an essay (regardless of the style), we're confident in your ability to write an essay about any topic that your instructor might have in store for you. Happy writing!

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Revision and Editing Checklist for a Narrative Essay

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After you have completed one or more drafts of your narrative essay , use the following checklist as a revision and editing guide to prepare the final version of your composition.

• In your introduction, have you clearly identified the experience you are about to relate?
• In the opening sentences of your essay, have you provided the kinds of details that will evoke your readers' interest in the topic?
• Have you clearly explained who was involved and when and where the incident occurred?
• Have you organized the sequence of events in chronological order?
• Have you focused your essay by eliminating unnecessary or repetitious information?
• Have you used precise descriptive details to make your narrative interesting and convincing?
• Have you used dialogue to report important conversations?
• Have you used clear transitions (in particular, time signals) to tie your points together and guide your readers from one point to the next?
• In your conclusion, have you clearly explained the particular significance of the experience you have related to the essay?
• Are the sentences throughout your essay clear and direct as well as varied in length and structure? Could any sentences be improved by combining or restructuring them?
• Are the words in your essay consistently clear and precise? Does the essay maintain a consistent tone ?
• Have you read the essay aloud, proofreading carefully?
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A Foolproof Editing Checklist to Take Your Work from 0 to 100

You've just finished writing a blog post, sweat pouring from your brow much as words poured from your fingertips a second ago.

You're about to press publish when suddenly… a small, niggling voice pipes up in your mind.

“You should probably proofread that, at least…” the voice says snidely. 

You resist. Your writing feels good! Or at least, good enough to send. Why bother with the whole editing bit?

The voice is correct. Although many people think writing is the hard part, the toughest part of any writing process is the editing. Editing is what takes your writing from good to great.

If you're an academic, editing will help polish your work and make it more professional.

If you're a blogger, editing will help you earn more trust with your readers.

If you're into creative writing, editing helps you carve out motivations, characterizations, and tell a better story.

I'll break down exactly how I recommend incorporating editing into your writing process.

Understanding the Basics of Writing and Editing

Let's start by explaining the stages of the writing process. Though many people think the process is simply: write → publish, it's a little more complex than that.

Prewriting (Brainstorming)

Gather and organize your thoughts. Understand the assignment or purpose, consider your audience, and come up with ideas. Techniques like free writing, clustering, and mind mapping can be useful here.

Once you have your ideas, you start to put them into sentences and paragraphs. This is where you write your first version or rough draft. It doesn't have to be perfect; the main goal is to get your ideas down on paper.

Here, you rethink and reorganize your paper. You might rearrange sections, add or delete paragraphs, clarify ideas, and ensure that your argument is well structured and supported. The focus is on clarity and meaning.

Refine your draft by fixing grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical errors. You might also look at sentence structure, word choice, and consistency in style and tone. This is where you polish your work.

Proofreading

This is the final check before you consider your piece complete. You're looking for any last-minute errors or typos that might have been missed during the editing stage. It's often helpful to read the paper aloud or have someone else review it.

Publishing (or Sharing)

Finally, once you're satisfied with your work, you share it with your intended audience. This could mean turning it in to a teacher, posting it on a blog, submitting it to a journal, or any other way of making your writing public.

This isn't a linear process all the time. Sometimes you'll be editing and realize you need to go back to the revision portion, or even back to brainstorming. You may also find yourself proofreading as you write, instead of at the end. 

Writing for students in high school is slightly different to writing in academic settings – high school writing is more about foundational skills like clear sentences and organized thoughts. Academic writing requires specialized knowledge, critical analysis, and adherence to specific formats. Keep those standards in mind when editing your work.

Key Elements to Check in Your Writing

This is a bit labor intensive, but the best way to go through your piece and make sure it's perfect is by taking each section and sentence and making sure it fits and flows perfectly. 

Here are some of the biggest issues to tick off your list:

Check for complete sentences – no sentence fragment allowed.

Example: "Because I like to read."

Corrected: "I like to read."

Ensure each body paragraph has a topic sentence.

Example: "It's a popular sport. Many people love soccer because it's exciting and unites fans globally."

Corrected: "Soccer is beloved worldwide for its excitement and ability to unite fans."

Ensure each sentence conveys clear ideas.

Example: "She went to the place with the thing for that stuff."

Corrected: "She went to the library to borrow a book."

Avoid the passive voice – go for active voice.

Example: "The cake was eaten by him."

Corrected: "He ate the cake."

Scrutinize your word choice to convey the right message. 

Example: “She talked really bad.”

Corrected: "She spoke inappropriately."

Check for grammatical errors, grammar mistakes, and proper grammar.

Example: "She don't like chocolate."

Corrected: "She doesn't like chocolate."

Check for common spelling pitfalls.

Example: "I have a reciept."

Corrected: "I have a receipt."

Check punctuation, including exclamation marks and proper punctuation.

Example: "Its raining outside, isn't it!"

Corrected: "It's raining outside, isn't it?"

Avoid unnecessary words, filler words, and long sentences.

Example: "I just really think that, you know, maybe we should, like, consider going to the store or something."

Corrected: "Maybe we should go to the store."

Ensure proper capitalization. Each proper noun gets a capital letter.

Example: "i love paris in the springtime."

Corrected: “I love Paris in the springtime.”

Make your content interesting.

Example: "The Renaissance was an important time in history."

Corrected: “The Renaissance, a vibrant period of rebirth, profoundly influenced art, science, and thought.”

Advanced Editing Techniques

When you're ready to go a step further, there are a few final i's to dot and t's to cross to finalize your editing, both for students and professionals. These are a bit more big picture. 

Use body paragraphs to structure your writing . 

You want to ensure that each paragraph has a point, and that everything in that paragraph supports your main point. 

Sometimes on tricky pieces, I will print out my article, highlight my main point, and cross out any sentences that don't directly strengthen my main point.

You also need to understand the role of each phrase , word , and paragraph in enhancing readability. 

Short, clear sentences and paragraphs make content more scannable, especially online. 

Transition words help guide readers through an argument or narrative, and varied sentence structures can maintain reader interest. 

You should also think of editing skills not just as a checklist, but also as a way to improve your writing skill . 

As you consistently edit and refine your work, you begin to internalize the principles of good writing. 

Over time, you'll notice that you start avoiding common mistakes you used to make in your first drafts. It's very satisfying.

Formatting and Style

A boring but necessary item on any checklist for editing – make sure you're following the rules. Especially relevant for students, your teacher has probably assigned you MLA style or APA style. Students and professionals alike will have to adhere to font regulations, too.

Double check you're in Times New Roman, if that's what the assignment calls for. It's really annoying to get docked points for a simple format mistake.

Curious about the best Microsoft fonts? Read here.  

Resources for Effective Editing

Where to begin? Don't worry, you're not starting from a blank slate. There are tons of online resources and tools for editing. (Almost all of these are all free – I know what students' and freelancers budgets are like!)

Grammarly . It's a free Chrome extension, powered by AI, that finds spelling issues, grammar mistakes, but also can go into clarity and where to cut unnecessary words. Perfect for students, veteran marketers, and everyone in between.

ProWritingAid . This AI editor does a similar job – it will correct your misspellings, simplify jargon, and help trim your writing to be more concise.

Hemingway Editor . This resource is a free app that is all about picking out common writing issues, like if your sentences are too complex, or if you've got a lot of passive voice.

Readable is a great resource for giving you a sense of the reading level, either the well-known Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level or another metric. Great for students. 

OneLook Thesaurus. This will solve your overused word problem. Not only does it work as a traditional thesaurus, it's also good for finding that word that you can't quite remember. 

Students bonus: Your local writing center . Most colleges will have a center dedicated to helping you write. Here's a sample of what UMass Boston's will give you: “We offer individual writing consultations in person and online where we work collaboratively with writers and provide feedback on any writing, from class essays to cover letters to theses and dissertations to manuscripts for publication and anything in between.” Pretty great resource, huh?

Your friendly peer editor . If you're really stuck in the editing process, I recommend asking one of your fellow students or peers very nicely – or even hiring a professional – to give your piece a once-over. 

Final thoughts on this checklist

Running your piece through a checklist like this one is the best way to polish your article. It gives you a sense of professional pride. For students, it's a good way to keep grades up or just feel like your assignment is done. 

My last three piece of advice:

Read it out loud . This is the fastest, cheapest, and best way to edit. You'll find stale sentences, missing commas, boring bits, and forgotten clauses. 

If you can, print it and read it on a physical copy . Especially for students submitting an assignment, changing the format can really help your eye spot hidden errors. 

Have fun . Editing can feel like a drag, but I like to gamify it a bit with this kind of checklist. Remember, you're skilling up, like a video game character. Do your best and enjoy the process. 

How Does a Freelance Writer Make Money?

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Argumentative Essay Peer-Editing Checklist

I use the below checklist with my students so they can improve the drafts of their argumentative essays . Feel free to use it (or edit it as long as you don't redistribute it) if you find it useful for your class.  Note that there are APA-related questions.

There are two pages. The first page is for the prepared students who brought an essay draft to class to show their partners. The second page is for unprepared students who only have their essay in their heads (it's a verbal exercise). If your students are all prepared, then you can disregard the second page.

Peer-review Checklist Preview

Argumentative Essay Draft Peer-Editing Checklist

Pair-work : Answer the below questions based on your partner’s essay.

• The essay has a clear thesis statement presenting its stance at the end of the introduction paragraph. (YES/NO) If YES, write the essay’s thesis statement below:
• The essay presents a counter-argument to the author’s stance. (YES/NO) If YES, write the counter-argument points below:
• Can you easily find a refutation or response to each of the above points?

Point A: (YES/NO)

Point B: (YES/NO)

(Point C: (YES/NO))

• If YES, is the refutation persuasive? (YES/Somewhat/No)
• Does the essay ignore any obvious counter-arguments? (YES/NO) (Answer should be NO)
• Do the regular body paragraphs begin with a clear topic sentence that states the overall topic of the paragraph? (Example topic sentence: “ Furthermore, outsourcing can reduce company costs .” < If this were the topic sentence, then the whole paragraph would be about reducing costs.) (YES/NO)
• Does each paragraph have at least three sentences? (YES/NO)

If time allows…

• Does each in-text citation contain the author’s last name and the year of publication? (YES/NO)
• Count the number of authors cited. Do all of these authors appear in the References? (YES/NO)
• Are there any non-cited authors in the References? (YES/NO) (Answer should be NO)
• Are the References entries listed in alphabetical order?
• Do all sources accessed online have a DOI or URL?
• Are the sentences clear? Highlight the sentences you don’t understand.

Research Essay Worksheet – Verbal Explanation (Essay draft not Ready)

Part 1 (Pair Work) : Stance, Counter-argument, and Refutation

Present the below points to your partner about your essay. You do not need to write anything–explain it as clearly as possible verbally.

Stance/Thesis

• My essay argues that ….

Counter-argument

• Critics of this view argue that (1) ….
• Some people also might argue that (2) ….

Refutation/Response

• Point #1 is not (completely) true because ….
• Point #2 is not (completely) true because ….

Part 2 : Once finished, give feedback to each other. Consider the following points:

• Are the most obvious counter-arguments mentioned?
• Does the refutation address the specific points of the counter-argument?
• Is the refutation convincing

Part 3 : (Time Permitting) Verification of peer-reviewed sources

Paste a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources that you plan to use below.

Confirm with your partner that these sources are peer-reviewed, i.e. journal articles or published books.

Best of luck with your classes.

-- Peer-editing worksheet created by Matthew Barton (copyright) for Englishcurrent.com

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Proofreading, Revising, & Editing Checklists for Self- & Peer Editing

Nobody likes this part of the writing process. It seems that the assignment is complete, and you can do something else, but no. If the text quality is low, editing can take you as much time as the writing. Most high school and college students do not know that editing is just one of the three essential steps required for a successful essay. Revising, editing, and proofreading are the three stages that come after writing a text. None of them should be disregarded.

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This Custom Writing article will help you learn how to revise and edit. Checklists for each step can be for peer- and self- editing. There is also much information to consider in the writing process to make proofreading easier.

• 🤔 Revising, Editing, & Proofreading
• 📑 Revising Checklist
• 🔍 Editing Checklist
• 🔤 Proofreading Checklist

🤔 What Is the Difference between Revising, Editing, & Proofreading?

These are not synonyms. These are the stages of a revision, editing, and proofreading checklist. These stages will do both for a peer- and self-editing.

• Revising comes first. It is about the content, style, and structure of your paper. Re-read your essay for conflicting ideas, false conclusions, and out-of-place remarks. Check for any deviations from your thesis. Besides, check that every main body paragraph starts with a topic sentence.
• Then comes editing . It is about the clarity of the presentation. Are there any awkward or incoherent parts? Is your title attention-grabbing and relevant? Here you shall concentrate on the aesthetics, language, and meaning. Revise the meaning of words you are unsure about.
• Finish with proofreading . It is about grammar and spelling . Check each word and comma. Just make everything perfect.

📑 Revising Checklist: Content & Structure

This section deals with revising your ideas and editing their form. The questions are structured by their subject. The purpose is to make sure that you’ve presented your thoughts in the most effective and concise manner.

🔍 Essay Editing Checklist: Language Use & Clarity

This section of the checklist ensures that you employ correct sentence structure and grammar in your paper. The purpose of this stage is to make your text easily readable and understandable. It’s a good idea to utilize a sentence reworder to eliminate the possible issues at this step.

🔤 Proofreading Checklist: Spelling & Formatting

This section examines your vocabulary, spelling, and formatting. These are the most common pitfalls in middle school writing. However, older students can also struggle with these issues.

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In middle school, teachers start to approach our writing critically. It is human to make mistakes. But it is even more human to be able to find and correct them. Revising, editing, and proofreading are conventional stages for you to plan the post-writing corrections. But if you follow this plan, no mistake will persist.

✏️ Revising, Editing, & Proofreading FAQ

Proofreading is the final step of editing . It deals with spelling mistakes, inappropriate vocabulary, and formatting issues. It is especially critical in academic writing and business communication. After proofreading, a document is considered complete and ready for submission. That is why the final touch shall eliminate all the outstanding issues.

Revising means that you edit the content to improve it . You change the structure and style of your writing so that its meaning becomes more consistent and to the point. At this stage, you need to rearrange, add, and delete sentences and paragraphs.

Revising adjusts the informational focus of the text. It deals with the general picture of the paper, its meaning, and its style. Editing deals with grave mistakes in grammar and punctuation. It also helps to improve the clarity of your text. Editing takes a closer look at the language, while revising discusses the coherence of your ideas.

Read the text three times. First, pay attention to the overall meaning. This is the revising stage, which is responsible for harmony between the subject matter and its presentation. At the second reading, edit the grammar, punctuation, and structure of the text. The final task is for you to check the spelling, vocabulary, and formatting.

🔗 References

• Revision, Editing and Proofreading – Middlebury
• Editing and Proofreading – UNC Writing Center
• Revising, editing, and proofreading in academic writing | Simon Fraser University
• Steps for Revising Your Paper – Purdue OWL
• Revising the Draft | – Harvard College Writing Center
• Editing the Essay, Part One | – Harvard College Writing Center
• Proofreading – The Writing Center – UW–Madison
• Tips For Effective Proofreading – Writing Center
• Beginning Proofreading // Purdue Writing Lab
• Proofreading Your Paper | USC Libguides
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Informative and useful!

Thank you for the kind words!

Great tips! Thank you.

Thank you, David! Your opinion is important for us!

Thanks for the helpful post, this is what I need to edit my essays successfully. Once again, thanks for sharing these excellent guidelines!

I will bear in mind all the typical mistakes that students make when they edit their papers. Ten to avoid are enough to create an A+ essay or dissertation.

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College Essay Checklist: Are You Ready to Submit?

←Whom Should I Ask for Help with My College Essay?

How Long Should Your College Essay Be?→

The college admissions process is a human process. An admissions committee filled with real people will evaluate your application, and these people will choose whether to advocate for you to gain admission to the university. So in order to be accepted, you need to stand out from the other applicants and persuade the admissions committee to choose you over students with a similar academic profile. Luckily, college essays are specifically designed to be your tool to stand out in the admissions process. 

Given that college essays are so important, it’s important to make sure that they are absolutely perfect before you submit them. How do you make sure your college essays are ready to send to colleges? Make sure you’ve gone through this checklist before you hit that “submit” button! 

Why Are College Essays So Important? 

A college application has many components – test scores, grades and coursework, your extracurricular profile, recommendation letters, interviews, and, of course, your essays. So why are the essays such an important part if there are so many other components of your application to consider? 

Well, most colleges receive thousands of applicants, many of whom have similar academic and extracurricular profiles. In fact, for every spot in a selective university’s admitted class, there are at least four outstanding applicants with similar grades and test scores. So how do admissions committees choose among so many students who have such strong potential? They use their essays to decide who would best fit in with the campus community. 

For this reason, your college essays aren’t just about showing off your abilities and accomplishments. It’s about showing who you are as a person, what your values are, and what you’re passionate about. That’s no small task for a short essay. Every word is going to count, so follow the checklist below to make sure that your essay is as strong as it can be. 

College Essay Checklist: Before You Submit

1. does your essay share who you are and what you care about.

Your essay needs to be personal. It should share your personality, goals, and voice. Even if a prompt doesn’t explicitly ask you who you are and what you care about, you should use it as an opportunity to showcase your personal qualities. For example, take the following supplemental essay prompt from the University of Chicago’s 2020 Application: 

What can actually be divided by zero?

At first glance, this prompt may seem confusing. After all, didn’t we all learn in elementary school math classes that nothing can be divided by zero? More abstract, philosophical prompts like this one are actually ripe opportunities for students to showcase who they are and how they think. 

So if you answered a prompt like this very practically, e.g. explaining that the laws of mathematics prove that no real number can be divided by zero, you’re missing out on a key opportunity to show the admissions committee your capability for creativity and abstract thought. Instead of answering a prompt like this literally, you ought to think critically about your own life and see if you can metaphorically or rhetorically link the question to something you have gone through or accomplished. 

Alternatively, if you’re more of a logical person and want to answer the question analytically, make sure that you are showcasing your knowledge of various theorems and strategies, and be sure to cite where you learned them. Either way, you are showing the admissions committee how your brain works and how you go about solving problems. 

Remember: the goal of an essay is, first and foremost, to showcase yourself. There are no right or wrong answers in college essays, so as long your essay tells the committee something important about you. 

2. Do your essays form a portfolio that accurately represents you?

While having to write so many essays is a lot of work, there is an upside. Having multiple essays means you can use each essay to display a different aspect of yourself and your accomplishments. That way, holistically, your application will give a very representative picture of who you are, and you won’t have to leave anything out. 

So when you’re evaluating your essays, ask yourself: do your essays depict as many facets of yourself as possible? Specifically, have you repeated a story, experience or quality about yourself in any of the essays you’re going to send to the same college? If you have, then consider editing one of the essays to highlight something that you haven’t yet shared with the admissions committee. The more you can share with them in a limited amount of space, the easier it will be for the admissions committee to imagine how you would fit in at their university. 

3. Did you answer the prompt? 

Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about making sure that your values, passions, and accomplishments are showcased in your essays, even if the prompt is more abstract. This is certainly important, but it’s also important to make sure you’re showcasing yourself in the context of the essay prompt that was given to you. In other words, you should be sure that at some point in your essay, you answer the essay prompt clearly. If you don’t, you risk coming across as a student who doesn’t know how to follow basic directions. 

Moreover, you need to make sure that you answer every part of the essay prompt given. Some essay prompts will just have one part. Some will have many. If you have to answer an essay prompt with multiple parts, be sure you address all of them. Take the following essay prompts from the 2019-2020 College Application Cycle: 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 2019-2020: 

Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words)

University of California : 

What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?  (350 words)

In both of these prompts, you are asked to respond to two related questions. If you were to answer the MIT prompt, you would need to not only describe a significant challenge but explain how you overcame it. For the University of California prompt, you’d not only need to explain your greatest skill but outline how you’ve cultivated it over time. If you miss any of those parts in your response, you will not have fully answered the prompt. 

4. Did You Stay Within the Word Count? 

Most main college essays (like the Common App essays) have a word limit of anywhere from 250-650 words. Supplemental essay prompts generally have word limit of 100-400 words. Either way, you need to make sure that you stay very close to the upper word limit in your response. 

As a general rule, you should try to stay within 10% of the upper word limit. So if the word limit for one of your essays is 650 words, your essay shouldn’t be fewer than 585 words. Keep in mind that most online applications will cut off your essay at the word limit, so try not to go over the word count. However, on the other extreme, you don’t want to make your essay too short, as it may make it seem like you don’t care about the application. After all, every extra bit of space in your essays is an opportunity to further impress the admissions committee, so you should take advantage of it. 

For some more details on how long your college essays should be, check out our previous post entitled How Long Should Your College Essay Be? What is the Ideal Length?

5. Did You Proofread? 

Here are some things to look out for as you look over your essay:

Incorrect grammar and spelling mistakes. These can make a well-thought-out essay seem subpar in the eyes of an admissions committee. 

Awkward or formal wording. Read your essay aloud and listen to how it sounds. If it doesn’t sound natural, then you’re likely not displaying your authentic self to the admissions committee. Consider shifting some of the wording to sound more like something you would actually say, even if it means you have to take out a bit of the advanced vocabulary and complex sentence structure.

Instances of telling, instead of showing. One of the biggest mistakes students make is to tell, instead of show. Here’s an example of telling: “It was a rainy and gloomy day.” Here’s an example of showing: “The gray clouds hovered ominously above the lake. I felt a drop. Then another. And another. It began pouring, and I frantically tried to row the canoe back to shore.” It’s much more engaging to read the second example, as you feel as if you’re there with the writer. 

Repeated sentence structure and vocab. Do you use the same word over and over again? Do you begin lots of sentences in a row with “I”? As you’re reading your essay, make sure that you’re using varied language to keep things interesting.

Inconsistent style. While your language should be varied, your style shouldn’t. If you use contractions or acronyms, use them throughout the essay. If you begin the essay in past tense, keep it that way, or make sure there’s clear demarcation when you shift tenses.

Also, if you’re reused an essay from another school’s application, give it an extra read-through to make sure that you’ve replaced all of the mentions of and references to the other college. You don’t want the admissions committee from UC Berkeley reading about how thrilled you are to take advantage of the opportunities that Tufts has to offer. It would not bode well for your likelihood of acceptance to Berkeley. 

Of course, it is okay to reuse essays if the prompts are similar, but just be sure to double and triple-check that it doesn’t seem like you’re reusing an essay meant for another college. Also, if you’re answering the famous “ Why This College ” essay, we at CollegeVine recommend that you not reuse another essay. This essay should include specific resources and opportunities that you plan to take advantage of at each university, so you shouldn’t be able to use the same essay for two different schools. In fact, if you’re able to reuse a “Why This College” essay, that’s a sign that you need to rework the essay and make it more specific to the college. 

6. Did You Get a Second and Third Set of Eyes on Your Essay?

It’s important to get another person or two to read your essay before you submit. The best people to look at your essays are those who are well-versed in creative essay writing, but also people who know you well. Older peers who have gone through the admissions process successfully can offer some of the best advice. English or Communications teachers who know you well also make great proofreaders, as do writing-proficient friends and family. 

If you’re not sure who to ask, you can also use our free peer essay review tool . You can get feedback on your essays, and improve your own writing skills by reviewing others’ essays.

7. Did You Revise and Proofread Again?

Once you’ve read through your essays and had others give suggestions, make the necessary edits and corrections. Then, be sure you proofread your essays one more time before you hit submit. You should try not to submit an essay that hasn’t been read at least a few times all the way through, without any changes. Consider even reading your essay out loud and printed out (have a pen at the ready!), as you may catch things you missed when reading silently.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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