WritePlacer cheat sheet

The six scored characteristics are Purpose and Focus, Organization and Structure, Development and Support, Sentence Variety and Style, Mechanical Conventions, and Critical Thinking.

A response that does not address the prompt's central issue falls to the lowest score band no matter how polished its sentences are.

The thesis is the controlling claim; it is stated in the introduction and governs every later paragraph.

Purpose is the essay's overall goal, usually to persuade or explain, and it remains constant from start to finish.

Focus is maintained when each paragraph's content can be traced back to the thesis with an explicit link.

WritePlacer prompts typically ask for a 300-600 word essay; substantially shorter responses limit demonstrated development.

The intended audience is an educated general reader, so unexplained jargon and specialized references weaken focus.

When a prompt asks whether the writer agrees or disagrees, a definite position produces clearer focus than a neutral survey of both sides.

A conventional academic structure is an introduction, two or three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The introduction names the issue, states the thesis, and previews the line of reasoning.

A body paragraph opens with a topic sentence that names the single idea the paragraph will develop.

Evidence and explanation follow the topic sentence, and a closing sentence links the paragraph to the thesis.

Transition words signal relationships: addition (also, moreover), contrast (however, yet), cause (therefore, because), and example (for instance).

Paragraph order should follow a stated plan such as strongest-to-weakest, chronological, or problem-solution.

A conclusion restates the thesis and its implications; it does not introduce new evidence or a new main point.

One-sentence paragraphs and paragraphs that mix two unrelated ideas both disrupt structural clarity.

Development is the amount and quality of evidence used to support each main point.

Each body paragraph contains at least one specific example, fact, observation, or reasoned illustration.

A generalization such as 'everyone knows' is unsupported until the writer supplies a concrete instance.

The warrant is the sentence that explains why the evidence supports the claim; omitting it leaves the support implicit.

Personal experience is valid evidence when it is brief and explicitly connected to the argument.

Repeating the thesis in different words is not development; each paragraph adds new support.

Two or three main points developed in depth usually score higher than many points treated superficially.

Hypothetical examples are acceptable but must be clearly labeled and logically consistent with real conditions.

Sentence variety means mixing simple, compound, and complex sentences rather than repeating one pattern.

A compound sentence joins two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

A complex sentence uses a subordinating conjunction such as because, although, while, or since to show a relationship.

Sentence fragments lack a subject, a verb, or a complete thought and are scored as mechanical errors.

Active voice, in which the subject performs the action, is generally clearer and more direct than passive voice.

Parallel structure requires items in a list or comparison to share the same grammatical form.

Repeated sentence openings, especially 'I think' or 'The author says,' create monotony and weaken style.

Formal academic register excludes slang, texting abbreviations, and most contractions.

Subject-verb agreement requires a singular subject to take a singular verb and a plural subject to take a plural verb.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement requires a pronoun to match its antecedent in number and person.

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; use a conjunction, semicolon, or period.

A run-on sentence joins independent clauses without any punctuation or conjunction.

'Its' is possessive; 'it's' is the contraction of 'it is' or 'it has.'

Apostrophes mark possession (the writer's idea) or omitted letters; they do not form ordinary plurals.

Capitalize sentence beginnings, proper nouns, and the pronoun 'I.'

Verb tense remains consistent unless a shift reflects a genuine change in time frame.

Critical thinking in an essay means examining the prompt's assumptions, not merely restating a reaction.

A claim states what the writer believes; evidence supplies the facts or reasons that support it.

A counterargument names an opposing view and a rebuttal explains why the writer's position remains stronger.

Ad hominem attacks the person rather than the argument and counts as a logical fallacy.

A false dilemma presents only two options when others exist.

Correlation between two events does not by itself establish that one causes the other.

Vague terms such as 'success' or 'fairness' should be defined so the argument has a fixed meaning.

Qualifiers such as 'often' or 'in most cases' make claims more defensible than absolute words like 'always.'