write an essay

2. What is the author’s purpose (inform, persuade, entertain, what)?

3. Who is the intended reader (audience), the general public or is it targeted to a specific reader (e.g., a scientist, artist, student, gamer, etc.)?

4. Is the subject of the essay timeless (always important) or stale (dated, too old to be relevant anymore)?

5. Name three keywords the author uses in the essay:

6. Write one sentence naming the subject in #1 and use the keywords in #5 to describe the essay.

7. What are two critical points that the author makes?

8. What is the author’s point of view on the topic (their stance for, against or neutral)? Is this obvious in the tone of their writing (that it is informative/neutral or opinionated)?

9. Name at least three rhetorical strategies the author uses (narrative, description, process, examples, definition, analysis, classification, compare and contrast, analogy, cause and effect) and cite the page number in the text:

Questions for the Close Reading of an Essay (cont.)

10. Is the first sentence a ‘hook’ that makes you want to read more? Does the last sentence leave you with a good impression that the essay was written well?

11. If there is a thesis, what is it?

12. Is the author persuasive? Are the claims supported by evidence such as facts and personal experience and not from a crowd-sourced site like Wikipedia?

13. Is the author credible (an expert or a journalist or someone writing about their own true personal experience?

14. What content do you agree with? What content do you disagree with?

15. Did you learn anything from the content (what)?

16. Is the essay easy or difficult to read and understand? What vocabulary words are not familiar?

17. Is it well-written and demonstrates the author’s skill as a writer (flows, keeps your interest, informs)? Why or why not?

18. Would you recommend this essay to a friend? Why?

19. Is this essay memorable? Two years from now, will you recall anything about this essay?

20. What is your one word impression of the essay?