Checking for COHERENCE
Self-assessment or Peer-review
Instructions

1. Take out outlines, essays, highlighters/different colored pens. Review your own or your classmate's essay for coherence, not grammar.
   
   

2. If you don't understand a passage, put a snake line under it and add a question mark above the phrase/sentence.  You may add suggestions in the margin, e.g. "add an indentation," "add a keyword for the topic,", etc.
   
   

3. In your essay, find the THESIS STATEMENT => Highlight it in one color.
   
   

4. Find the TOPIC SENTENCES in the essay => Highlight them in the same color as the thesis statement.
   
   

5. Highlight the TOPIC, the CONTROLLING IDEA, ASPECT 1, ASPECT 2, and ASPECT 3 in the thesis statement in different colors.
   
   

6. Highlight all keywords in all paragraph in the corresponding colors. Keywords can take the form of nouns, pronouns, synonyms, or reference words (this, that, these, those).
   
   

7. Highlight all DISCOURSE MARKERS in another color.
   
   

8. At the bottom of the essay, write "Reviewed by: ________" and write your name.
   

9. Then write a comment about the essay regarding coherence.  Make 2-3 specific suggestions as to how the essay could be improved.