The 88 Keys for identifying problems in logic and expression of thought in texts.

It is very useful to have a paper version of the list under the eyes.

Title, beginning or end of text

1. 1- Title or subtitle
   1. Necessary but absent
   2. Little or no relevance to the rest of the text
2. 2- Introduction
   1. Necessary but absent
   2. Too strong / Not elegant / Subject badly led
   3. Subject or objective given too late / not clearly
   4. Subject or objective does not correspond to later development
   5. Too elaborate / Exposes ideas proper to later development
   6. Must indicate all ideas that will be presented later in development
3. 3- Conclusion
   1. Text ends too dryly
   2. Conclusion badly begun
   3. Conclusion does not restate the central idea
   4. Weak relation with preceding development
   5. Too elaborate / Exposes ideas proper to preceding development

Words, terms, or definitions

1. 4- Word or expression
   1. Vague or equivocal
   2. Not specific enough
   3. Improper / Inappropriate
   4. Acronym or abbreviation badly defined / badly used
   5. Confused with other terms
   6. Used too much
   7. Superfluous ou redundant [no sheet]
2. 5- Term or concept
   1. Requires definition
   2. Does not have the same sense throughout [no sheet]
   3. Requires distinction from another term or concept [no sheet]
   4. Obscure pronoun / Obscure possessive or demonstrative pronoun
3. 6- Definition
   1. Too vague / Too large
   2. Too narrow
   3. Circular
   4. Negative
   5. Metaphoric / Obscure
   6. Badly structured
   7. Does not give the essence
   8. Does not consider recent knowledge

Sentences or paragraphs

1. 7- Sentences or parts of sentences
   1. Ambiguous / Awkward / Not elegant
   2. Incomplete / Not a true sentence
   3. Shallow (does not say much)
   4. Incorrect syntax [no sheet]
2. 8- Paragraph
   1. Should be divided
   2. Combine or merge with another
   3. Include this element in another paragraph

Ideas and development of thought

1. 9- Insufficient development
   1. Important omissions / Badly documented
   2. Ignores contrary positions / Avoids valid questions
   3. Weak or inconsistent argument (see #15)
   4. Absence of arguments / Just a series of impressions
   5. Passage or development incomprehensible
   6. Passage shows bad comprehension of subject
2. 10- Inconsistent content
   1. Weak division or grouping
   2. Free assertion / Allegation presented as certain / Needs example, explanation, justification
   3. Lack of nuance
   4. False idea / Contrary to evidence / Absurd
   5. Commonplace / Banal repetition of known facts
   6. Little or no personal analysis / Too many citations and references
   7. Apparent contradiction with what has been said elsewhere
   8. Passage or ambiguous statement / I do not understand what you want to say
3. 11- Problematic citation or reference
   1. Useless / Adds nothing
   2. Badly supports what it should support
   3. Badly integrated / Misused
   4. Incomplete / Inexact / Badly understood
   5. Quotes not marked or indented
   6. Source too vague / not mentioned
   7. Inexact or non-conforming reference
4. 12- Essential and accessory ideas
   1. This seems superfluous / badly linked with main idea
   2. Idea too developed / It is not that important
   3. Too many words: go straight to the essence / Going around the subject without explicitly saying the essential
   4. Not quite the point / Beside the point
   5. Voilà the essential idea! Link everything to this
   6. This important idea should be developed further
   7. Idea too important. Don't put in parenthesis or footnote
   8. Put this detail in a footnote
5. 13- Inappropriate links between ideas
   1. Bad succession / Linking word (or another linking word) needed
   2. This idea should have come up earlier
   3. Jumpy / confused passage
   4. Link not clear or different from that expressed
6. 14- Explanation or justification inadequate or insufficient
   1. Vague or too general / Sources not given
   2. Unimportant details / Confusing the essential with the accessory
   3. Confusion between example and explanation
   4. Explanation has no real link to the subject
   5. This does not really explain or justify that
7. 15- Inconsistent or weak argument
   1. Circular reasoning
   2. Data too limited / Overgeneralization
   3. Weak evidence presented as rigorous proof
   4. Argument based on a badly chosen example
   5. Argument based on an unjustified analogy or comparison
   6. Argument based on bias or on a naive or simplistic point of view
   7. False or non-credible premise
   8. Based on non-credible authority or source

Tone and punctuation

1. 16- Inappropriate tone or style
   1. Uselessly complex or scholarly
   2. Naïve / Style not appropriate to this field
   3. Too familiar or personal
   4. Seeks too much to persuade
   5. Abusive or inappropriate use of metaphors, poetic expressions, appeals to sentiment
   6. Not elegant, unreadable, does not flow
2. 17- Deficient punctuation
   1. Too many commas / Bad use of the comma
   2. Absence of a necessary comma
   3. Absence or bad use of the semicolon
   4. Other defective punctuations

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