1) Read your partner’s paper silently to yourself, all the way through.
2) Read the paper again, more slowly. Underline the thesis and write “thesis” in the margin.
3) In the introductory paragraph, identify the main pieces of evidence supporting the thesis. Number them.
4) Now, take a look at the body paragraphs. Put a squiggly line under the topic sentence of each paragraph. After you have done that, take a look back at the evidence introduced in the first paragraph. Does each piece of important evidence get its own paragraph? Is each paragraph about one idea?
5) Take a look at the conclusion. Compare it to the introduction. Do the main ideas match? Make sure the topic and argument haven’t drifted.
6) Looking at the essay together with your partner, read the essay carefully outloud. You might automatically correct mistakes as you speak. Mark any areas where you say something different than what is written, or where you find that you get tangled in the words.
7) Working together with your partner, try using “The Paramedic Method” on a few sentences to clarify and refine the writing.
