This essay certainly warranted an A grade for a myriad of reasons. Primarily, the paper deserved its grade because it followed not only the Writing Rubric, but also adhered to the “Tips for Writing For Me”  document. More specifically however, I believe that the greatest strengths of this paper lie with the author’s effective thesis statement, his or her logical organization, the literary and grammatical aspects, and the topic sentences for each paragraph.

Regarding the introduction, several important factors serve to establish not only the author’s thesis statement and argument, but also provide enough context to adequately enable an uninformed but intelligent reader to understand the material. A good thesis statement keeps focus, and is organized and logical. This thesis was of “A” material because it not only clearly stated what the author would discuss, but was arguable and complex, not simplistic.

Regarding organization, the author followed a chronological format for this paper, and it worked perfectly. Rather than simply stating information, the author was able to craft his or her paper into a story that flowed extremely well.  Furthermore, the author was extremely consistent in the format of each individual paragraph, starting first with a strong topic sentence, followed by a brief description of the document, and then the subsequent analysis. The author always concluded each paragraph by reiterating the initial idea stated in the topic sentence. The author didn’t rely to heavily on quotes, and instead uses them briefly to further support her argument (listed succinctly in the topic sentence). This organization helps the reader to stay focused and organized.

The varied sentence structure ensured that the paper was never boring to read at any point. Grammatically, there are no noticeable errors that would distract a reader or prevent a reader from understanding the information. Furthermore, the author cites everything in a consistent, thorough manner. What I think I appreciated the most however regarding grammar and literary aspects, was the author’s voice. The confidence in the writing is evident, and creates an extremely strong paper. One could not tell the difference between the information derived from the primary source itself, from the author’s subsequent inferences because the language was consistently assertive.

The final strength I noticed in this paper was the author’s topic sentences for each paragraph. They were easily identifiable, and clearly related back to the original thesis statement. As a writing tutor, I notice that oftentimes, I will forget what the writer’s thesis statement is, for lack of effective topic sentences to remind me. This was certainly not the case with this writer. The examples within the paragraph could be tied back to the topic sentence, and subsequently the thesis statement, thus demonstrating that the author never lost focus once throughout the assignment.

It is obviously clear why this paper deserved the grade it received. The essay serves as a perfect example of what other writers should strive for with this type of assignment. Fantastic job, and congratulations!