Draft & Structure
An Example Should Demonstrate the Claim Beside It
Check the bridge between a paragraph’s claim and its example: identify what the example proves, what it merely suggests, and which sentence is missing.
A place to follow a sentence
Notes for the writing life
Draft & Structure
Use a Question to Find the Centre of an Essay
Find an essay’s working question by comparing its strongest paragraphs, then use that question to decide what belongs in the next revision.
Draft & Structure
Choose the Right Place for a New Character’s Name
Introduce a character with enough context to make the name memorable, then check whether description and action compete for the reader’s attention.
Draft & Structure
Turn a Research Note into Your Own Explanation
Draft from a research note without borrowing its sentence structure, then return to the source to check accuracy and preserve clear attribution.
Second Look
Make a List Earn Its Place in a Paragraph
Use a list within prose deliberately by choosing an order, testing its final item, and cutting details that repeat the same job.
Draft & Structure
Give a Flashback a Clear Way Home
Revise a short flashback by making its trigger and return point easy to follow while keeping the remembered scene relevant to the present action.
Second Look
A Title Should Promise What the Piece Actually Gives
Test a working title against the draft’s actual question, example and ending so it attracts the right reader without promising a different article.
Second Look
The Reader Should Not Have to Guess Which “She” You Mean
Find ambiguous pronouns in a draft by tracing who each sentence refers to, then make the smallest revision that restores clarity.