Criteria for Evaluating a Paper(*)

Title:
Author:

Reviewer:

Brief summary (approx. 200 words):





Analysis:

o Is the paper's topic and content appropriate for the intended audience?
  Is the paper aimed at the right level, not being too complex or simplistic?
  Is the vocabulary right for a reader at this level?


o Is it clear what the goal of the paper is?  Does it achieve its goal?
  (If, for example, the goal is to make a point, does it make its point
  clearly and convincingly?)


o Does the paper's abstract communicate the main topic and results?


o Does the introduction capture the reader's interest?


o Are the key technical concepts and notation clearly defined or explained?
  Are the defined/explained at all?


o Is the piece well organized?  Does it proceed in a logical manner?


o Is the paper effectively divided into sections, if this is appropriate?


o Is the conclusion effective in helping to achieve the goal of the paper? 


o Are the sentences clear and concise?


o Is the text free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors?


o Are tables and figures used where they would help the paper achieve 
  its goal?  Are they used in an effective manner?  Are they correctly
  cited in the text?


o Are citations to the literature given where appropriate?  Are the
  references well-chosen?  


o Is the paper formatted effectively and printed clearly?




(*) Adapted from "Criteria for Evaluating an Essay" by Alan Frisch, University of York, 2001.