Problem Areas in "No-Pass" WPE essays
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Tips for Passing the WPE

1)
Problem: In the student’s essay, it is unclear to the reader which reading and question the writer has chosen for response.

Tip: Be sure to mention the article title and author in your Introduction.

2)
Problem: The essay does not briefly summarize the reading for the reader before the writer responds.

Tip: Remember that the essay you are writing is your response to another’s view.
Background your response with a brief summary of the reading to which you are responding. Give your reader some context for what you are saying. Use signal phrases when referring to the author’s ideas (ex. according to Smith, Smith states that, Smith asserts that, Smith proposes).

3)
Problem: The essay does not provide a thesis at the end of the Introduction, providing a direct response to the question that follows the reading.

Tip: One of the most important conventions of an academic essay is a clear thesis. Be certain that your thesis is directly related to the prompt or question. If you are asked to take a position, be certain your position is clear. It is effective to place your thesis at the end of the Introduction, after you have introduced the article by name and author and briefly summarized what that writer is saying. Use the terms of the question to help you write your thesis.

4)
Problem: The essay strays far away from the question and does not stay in focus.

Tip: Reread the question and your thesis as you are writing to make sure you are answering the question and staying on topic. Brainstorm: take time for brainstorming and planning. If you begin to write the essay immediately with no planning, you might easily lose focus and stray off topic, perhaps even writing yourself into a corner. Although you only have 3 hours to write the essay, it is better to take time upfront, as much as an hour perhaps, to do some brainstorming and planning: listing, clustering, free-writing, creating a flow chart of ideas. Then try to formulate a thesis after that discovery process. Also, after you have completed a draft, read your Conclusion. Often writers finally say what they mean in their Conclusions of drafts, and then they move that clarity to the Introduction where it belongs in a final draft.

5)
Problem: The essay does not go beyond what the author of the reading is saying, using the reading’s information as support, rather than extending and going beyond the text with the writer/responder’s own support.

Tip: Be sure not to rely on the support in the text, but rather use your own experience, readings, and observation of others for support. Do take on the author’s points by quoting and paraphrasing, but use the author’s words as springboards for your support, in contrast to or in agreement with the author.

6)
Problem: The essay does not provide concrete support for the essay’s thesis, if there is a thesis.

Tip: It is very important to back up a thesis with support. This support can come from personal experience, reading (in and out of classes), and observation of others. Include specific examples from your own experience (e.g. not what "everyone" does, but what you did at a specific place and on a specific date).The more specific, concrete, and detailed the support, the better.

7)
Problem: The essay presents an oversimplified argument supported primarily by generalizations.

Tip: Be sure to allow for the complexity of issues. Provide thoughtful commentary and relevant examples in well-developed paragraphs that offer concrete support (vivid examples and details from your own readings, experience, and observation of others), rather than unsupported generalizations and oversimplifications.

8)
Problem: The essay lacks cues for the reader from idea to idea and paragraph to paragraph.

Tip: Provide transitional words and sentences as you move from idea to idea and paragraph to paragraph to show the relationship between ideas and paragraphs (ex. first of all, also, in addition, in contrast, consequently, for example, in other words, furthermore, similarly, therefore).

9)
Problem: The essay contains far too many errors at the sentence-level.

Tip: Print out a copy of your draft and read it aloud to find errors. Do not rely on the computer to catch all errors. It won’t.