At the top level, you want to think about content and organization (what you are saying and how your are saying it). 

  * Content 
    - pointed title defines your purpose
    - clear thesis in the introduction
    - takes a position, arguing/persuading the reader towards your goal
  * Organization
    - Each paragraph has a coherent central idea;
    - each links with those before and after through appropriate transitional phrases or sentences
  * Sources
    - Your source should be credited (with an author named or listed in parentheses); direct language in "quotation marks" etc.
    - but **most important** is that you integrate this source well, weaving it into the fabric of your argument (conceptually and syntactically).