REVISING CHECKLISTFor the Odyssey Analytical Essay

STEP 1: CHECK TO SEE IF YOU ADDRESSED THE PROMPT CORRECTLY. The mistake that you do not want to make on

your essay is not addressing the prompt at all, not addressing the prompt fully, or not addressing the prompt correctly.

If you fail to follow the prompt, you will fail the assignment.

STEP 1: CHECK TO SEE IF YOU ADDRESSED THE PROMPT CORRECTLY.

Prompt: According to the Odyssey, is it the internal or external forces that hold Odysseus back most on his personal journey?

Ask yourself: Does my paper analyze the forces in the

Odyssey? Does my paper select state my claim of which

forces hinder Odysseus most? Does my paper define which “journey” of

Odysseus’s I am addressing?

STEP 1: CHECK TO SEE IF YOU ADDRESSED THE PROMPT CORRECTLY.

Does your essay examine how TWO types of forces hinder Odysseus’s journey?

You should have one body paragraph devoted to each example of the force.

STEP 2: MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ALL OF YOUR COMPONENTS Do you have FOUR paragraphs?

If you do not, make sure you add whatever you are missing. Failure to meet the paragraph requirements will result in failure of the assignment.

These paragraphs should consist of an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

The Title

Your title should be original and creative.

If you have chosen something like “Odyssey Analytical Essay,” try again. You can do better than that.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraph 1: The Introduction The introduction’s purpose is to capture your reader’s

attention and to introduce the subject of your paper.

Length: Is your introduction at least 3 sentences long?

Flow: Does each sentence of the introduction clearly progress into the next? Make sure that sentences that are next to each other

have something in common. Make sure you are transitioning.

Organization: Does it begin with a statement that is going to grab your reader’s attention and end with your thesis statement?

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraph 1: The Introduction Does your introduction end with your thesis

statement? Underline your thesis statement.

The thesis statement should explain to the reader the purpose of the essay and provide an outline of the points you will be making in your body paragraphs. Make sure you have listed the two paragraph topics.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraphs 2 and 3: The Body ParagraphsUse the following steps for both body paragraphs

Each of your body paragraphs should explain how and why one of the forces (either internal or external) affect Odysseus on his journey.

Is this the focus of your body paragraphs? If not, you need to make sure that you adapt

your body paragraphs to meet this requirement.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraphs 2 and 3: The Body ParagraphsUse the following steps for both body paragraphs

Each of your body paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence. The purpose of the topic sentence is to

explain what that paragraph will be about. EXAMPLE: Odysseus’s treacherous crew

impedes Odysseus’s journey home.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTSParagraphs 2 and 3: The Body Paragraphs

Use the following steps for both body paragraphs

Each of your body paragraphs should contain at least 3 concrete details (6 quotations total).

Concrete details are quotations from the text which are used as evidence to prove the point you are trying to make in that paragraph.

Your concrete details must be embedded. If you don’t know how to do this, look at your writing basics packet.

Quotations should be relevant and have substance you can analyze.

You may change minor words in the quote for clarification as long as they are placed in brackets.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraphs 2 and 3: The Body ParagraphsUse the following steps for both body paragraphs

Your concrete details should be followed by commentary. This is where you make the bulk of your argument. The purpose of commentary is to explain HOW the

quotation you used helps to prove the point of your paragraph, and WHY that is important to your thesis.

In other words, if your body paragraph is about how the Odysseus’s men prevent him from coming home in a timely manner, your commentary should explain why the men act in this way and how it causes Odysseus to be delayed.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraphs 2 and 3: The Body ParagraphsUse the following steps for both body paragraphs

Does each of your commentaries contain at least 2-3 sentences? If not, you have probably have not explained yourself

well enough and points will most likely be deducted. Suggestion: Sentence 1 may explain how the quote

supports the point of the body paragraph (how is this quote an example of the literary element). Sentence 2 may explain how the quote supports the point of the essay (how does this quote support the thesis of the story).

Things to watch out for: Your commentary should not simply explain what the

quotation already says. Avoid clichés like “This quote shows…”

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraphs 2 and 3: The Body ParagraphsUse the following steps for both body paragraphs

Your body paragraphs should end with concluding sentences. The concluding sentence should emphasize the point

you are trying to make by combining the ideas presented in your body paragraph.

For example: In all of these situations, the crew gives in to its

greed which ultimately delays Odysseus’s homecoming.

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraph 4: The Conclusion The conclusion is the final paragraph of your

essay. It should revisit your main points and serve to emphasize the main idea you are trying to get across in your essay.

It should give a sense of finality.

It should NOT introduce any new information. (No new quotes from the text)

STEP 3: CHECK YOUR COMPONENTS

Paragraph 4: The Conclusion

Is your conclusion at least 4 sentences long? If not, expand. You haven’t said enough.

Does it start with a restated thesis? If not, do it.

Does it repeat any of the exact wording from elsewhere in the essay? If so, change it.

Does your essay feel unfinished? Is there something you have left unanswered? If so, make sure you address anything left unsaid.

Do you provide new quotes, introduce a new element, or say something unrelated to what you have already mentioned. If so, remove it.

STEP 4 CHECK YOUR FORMATTING AND CITATION Page formatting in MLA is straightforward. Your font needs to be Times New Roman size 12.

Make sure that the font of your last name and page number matches.

Your paper should be evenly double-spaced with no additional spaces between paragraphs, titles or headers.

Margins should be 1-inch on all sides All paragraphs should be left aligned and

indented ½-inch. Your last name and page number should appear

on the right-hand side of the header of every page.

STEP 4 CHECK YOUR FORMATTING AND CITATION Your first page should contain an MLA Heading which should be

left aligned and double spaced. It should also include you title which should not be bolded,

italicized, underlined, or in quotes. Your first page should look like this:

Doe 1

John Doe

Mrs. Alston

English I Pre-AP–2

21 October 2011

Odyssey of Hardship

Proper MLA in-text citation for the Odyssey looks like this:

(9. 251-253)

Book #| Line #

STEP 4 CHECK YOUR FORMATTING AND CITATION

STEP 4 CHECK YOUR FORMATTING AND CITATION You need to include a works cited page. This should include all of the works to which you make direct reference

in your essay. The words works cited should function as a title for this page and all

citations should be reverse indented. Works cited page should look like this:

Doe 3

Works Cited

Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Group, 1997. Print.

STEP 5: CHECK FOR ACADEMIC TONE Identify any use of first person point of view

(I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) and eliminate them.

Find and eliminate all uses of second person (you, your, yours, and command sentences)

Find and eliminate all contractions (can’t, don’t, it’s, etc.).

Do not use the exclamation point. It conveys the tone of yelling at your reader. Use stronger words for emphasis, not punctuation.

STEP 6: CHECK FOR SPELLING, CAPITALIZATION, PUNCTUATION, AND GRAMMAR ERRORS

Always proofread your work. Little mistakes can kill an otherwise good paper.Make sure that whenever you mention the

Odyssey it is in quotes, not underlined or italicized.

Capitalize all proper nouns.Check the spelling of words you are unsure of. Read you paper out loud to make sure that

what you have written makes sense when spoken.

Have someone else read your work to look for mistakes for the best results.