Cheat sheet
Essay editing pass
Ten things to check in the last five minutes.
Five minutes isn’t enough to rewrite anything — it’s enough to catch the things that cost marks for no good reason. Work through both lists, in order. And remember, the five minutes proof-reading at the end of each hour in the exam is infinitely more important than the extra five minutes writing.
Content
- Does every paragraph still serve the contention?
- Is there any plot/content summary you can cut for analysis instead?
- Does the conclusion avoid introducing new evidence?
- Have you addressed the specific wording of the prompt, not a generic version of it?
- Are quotes short, embedded, and followed by analysis — not left to speak for themselves?
Mechanics
- Consistent tense throughout — literary present unless there’s a deliberate shift.
- No sentence fragments — check for a subject and a verb.
- Its/it’s, their/they’re/there, your/you’re — scan for these specifically.
- No sentence longer than two lines without a clear reason.
- Text titles italicised or underlined consistently.
How to spend five minutes
Read the introduction and conclusion first — they’re what the examiner reads last and remembers most. Then skim only for the mechanics list; content fixes rarely fit in the time left, but a missing apostrophe takes two seconds.
Want these taught, not just read?
Weekly tutoring turns these lessons into habits.
See tutoring & pricing