An essay revision checklist, with a worked example

1. Check the assignment before changing the draft

What does this assignment ask me to do?

List its main requirements in your own words: the question, audience, evidence, and any required form. Point to where your draft meets each one. Mark anything you have not addressed.

2. Find the claim your draft actually supports

What should a reader believe or understand by the end?

Underline your main claim, then read your conclusion. If they promise different arguments, decide which one your evidence can support. Narrow a claim that reaches beyond what your draft establishes.

3. Give each paragraph a job

How does this paragraph move the argument forward?

Write a short label beside each paragraph: introduce a problem, establish a reason, examine evidence, address an objection, or explain a consequence. Reorder or combine paragraphs when the same job repeats without developing the idea.

4. Match evidence to the claim

What does this example, quotation, or result actually show?

For each main reason, locate the supporting detail and check its source. Separate what the evidence establishes from what you infer. One example can illustrate a possibility without establishing how common it is.

5. Explain the step between evidence and conclusion

What connection am I asking the reader to make?

Read the sentence after each quotation, example, or result. Does it explain why the evidence matters to this argument? Add the missing connection, or revise the conclusion if the evidence cannot support it.

6. Take a reasonable objection seriously

Where might an informed reader disagree?

Choose an objection that would matter if it were true. Explain whether it changes your claim, limits where it applies, or needs a response. Acknowledging a limit can make a recommendation more precise.

7. Read for clarity after the argument holds together

Can a reader tell what each sentence refers to?

Read aloud. Check vague references such as “this” and “it,” unfamiliar terms, and sentences carrying several ideas. Then check quotations, citations, grammar, and the required format.

Worked example: a full bus is not the same as fewer cars

In Inline’s fictional campus essay, the writer recommends a Saturday grocery bus to reduce car use. One sentence moves from evidence of demand to a claim about driving:

Since the bus was full, a weekly service would reduce the number of cars on the road.

The seats being full tells us that students used the trip. It does not tell us whether those students would otherwise have driven, walked, taken another bus, or stayed on campus. That missing comparison matters because reducing car trips is the stated goal.

Inline’s feedback on this passage asks:

A full trip shows demand, but it does not show that riders would otherwise have driven. How does that detail connect to fewer cars on campus?

To revise, the writer needs to choose what the paragraph can establish. They could use the trip as evidence of student interest and qualify the claim about driving. Or they could find evidence about how riders would otherwise have traveled. Changing “would reduce” to a more cautious phrase may help, but the underlying explanation still needs attention.

The same essay later proposes counting passengers and asking how they would have reached the store. That plan addresses the missing comparison. During revision, the writer can connect that plan to the earlier claim and make clear what remains to be tested.

Read the sample and its feedback together.

Turn comments into a revision plan

For each comment you decide to use, write down three things: the passage it concerns, the reader’s unresolved question, and the change you will try. If you disagree with a comment, identify what in the draft already answers it.

Start with the change that affects the rest of the essay. If your main claim changes, revisit the paragraph order and conclusion before polishing sentences you may remove. Keep a note of what already works so you do not lose useful evidence or a clear explanation while revising.

Before you submit

• I can point to where the draft answers the assignment.
• The evidence supports the scope of my main claim.
• I explain why the evidence matters and acknowledge relevant limits.
• I checked sources, quotations, citations, and formatting.
• I can explain the decisions I made in this revision.

This checklist is a starting point. Your assignment and professor’s expectations determine what the essay needs. For questions tied to passages in your own draft, see how Inline’s writing feedback works.