Final

Once you have completed the drafts of your paper, it is a good idea to let your paper sit for a few hours or a day (if you have the time) before you begin the process of analyzing it and making revisions.  When you are ready to begin the job of critically scrutinizing the piece, follow these guidelines:

· Read the draft through quickly to reacquaint yourself with all the subject matter you have included within the paper. Then read it again with your mind attuned to these questions.

· Does the draft seem to fulfill the criteria listed in the rubric?

· Is there a clear, arguable thesis that merits development, elaboration, and substantiation?

· Does the abstract adequately and succinctly supply an overview of the paper?

· Is there an introductory paragraph that grabs the attention of the readers?

· Have the needs of the readers been kept in mind?

· Are terms clearly defined and is precise language used?

· Is your position conveyed in the academic third-person voice without addressing the reader, and without referring to yourself directly?

· Is the tone formal and objective enough to keep from devaluing the message?

· Does the presentation avoid overly-emotional delivery, and histrionic tropes such as exclamation points, all capital letters, etc.?

· Is the writing free of clichés, sexist language, inflated language aimed at impressing, or language that might offend?

· When evidence is presented or testimony of authorities offered, is it clear and effective?

· How clear is the analysis of the issues involved, and is the analysis rooted in well-documented sources?

· Are any and all assumptions you put forward backed by credible evidence?

· If you offer a resolution to a problem, do you discuss other possible solutions as well? Are the ramifications of the solution discussed?

· Can you find any evidence of fallacious arguments, misuse of statistics, or biased or distorted argument by authorities?

· Since good organization is essential to a successful paper, can you perceive a significant level of organization in the paper?

 Analyzing Meaning and Mechanics

If you look at each paragraph separately, can you:

· Find a basic point made by the paragraph?

· See that the paragraph relates to the essay's main idea and to the previous paragraph?

· Determine if some paragraphs should be deleted, divided into two or more paragraphs, be combined, or, perhaps, put elsewhere?

· Conclude that each sentence is clearly related to the sentence before it and to the sentence that follows?

· Decide that each paragraph has been adequately developed with sufficient details?

· Are proper citations in place to document paraphrasing, summarization, and/or quotations? If there are quotations, are they delineated by quotation marks? Are they introduced properly and their significance noted?

· Is there a conclusion that wraps up the paper and restates your argument?

· If you read the paper aloud, would you stumble over any of the sentences because they do not make sense or because you have expressed yourself conversationally, in the same way you might if you were talking to your friends?

Even though your main task in evaluating the rough draft is to work with the presentation of ideas, you should also be aware of basic grammatical errors such as sentence fragments, run-ons, lack of subject-verb agreement, etc. Problems like these, as well as punctuation errors, can easily distract from the message you wish to convey. If you note such troublesome areas, mark them for correction as you begin the revision process.

As you revise your paper and move to the stage of final editing, keep in mind that even though the spell checker feature on your computer is a wonderful feature, it will not save you from an incorrect word that is correctly spelled. Knowledge of errors of this type must come from a careful scrutiny of the document you have produced.

 How to Use the Research Check-off Sheet

When an artist paints a picture, he or she uses a series of steps. In fact, if the artist tries to do too much at one time the result is often a mess. In the same way, writing a paper requires multiple steps and an attention to a specific set of tasks at each step.

In a first draft, the tasks are organizing materials for clarity, formulating arguments that are persuasive while avoiding fallacious claims, and providing the results in a way that is consistent with standard conventions of English grammar so that the reader can easily understand what is said.

In the second draft, your task was to offer support for your claims. You are still the primary author, and the support showed that you know what you are talking about—that you are reliable and professional.

Now you are ready to turn in your final paper. Go through the paper for errors in reasoning, areas where the materials are disorderly, and areas where your intentions are not clear. Can your writing be misread? Then remove all materials that do not directly relate to your thesis statement.

Unrelated materials simply confuse a reader and misdirect his or her attention. Sloppy formatting can cause lack of credibility.

Here is a thorough list of things that you should look for in your final paper:

1. You have a single, main point (thesis statement), and all sentences in your paper directly relate to and support your thesis statement.

2. Your main point is an original, clearly defined claim and is consistent with current research on the subject selected.

3. Your word choice and language level show that you have a formal, academic, university-level audience in mind.

4. You support your initial claim with the university-level evidence gathered during your research, and occasionally with personal experience, objectively, presented from the third-person point of view. 

5. Your reader can easily determine which words are quotes, which words are summaries or paraphrases, and which words are your own ideas.

6. You present the strongest arguments against your claim; you avoid the "straw man" fallacy and argue as hard for the other side as you argue for your own.

7. You evaluate each possible objection and reply appropriately; not all objections can be refuted but all must be addressed.

8. Your title page is double spaced, as is the rest of the paper. You have a header with a running head and page number; headers are one half inch from the top of each page, and all margins are one inch. The words "Running Head:" should appear in the header on your title page, left aligned, and be followed by your running head in capital letters.

9. Your title is in standard text, not bolded or in italics, and should be centered on the page. Dates are not part of the title/cover pages for APA papers.

10. Your abstract is titled "Abstract" and is not in bold text, or italics; it contains 120 words or fewer, is numbered page two (with numerals in place of word numbers), not first-line indented, and is double spaced.

11. You correctly cite every claim that is not your own or common knowledge and include all necessary information. If the item cited contains quotes, you correctly use a page or paragraph number.

12. The title of your references page is "References," not "Works Cited," and the text on the page does not contain boldfaced type, or italics, or all caps.  It is in hanging indent format. Check that you have not used authors' first names, only initials.

13. Personal communications are only cited within the paper, not on the references page. All other sources match with a references citation for every source used in the paper and an in-text citation for every source listed on the references page.

14. You have correctly capitalized the titles of your reference works. You have included all needed information for each type of citation according to your text.

15. Your resources are trustworthy and current. You have used the appropriate abbreviations as presented in your text.

16. Your sources are peer reviewed; you have few or no sources that end in “.com” or “.org”.

17. You offer the exact address of any cited Web page, not the home page of the sponsoring organization.

18. If your reader cannot access the page, you have included a complete citation to the Web page's location.

19. You have removed artifacts (underlining, colored text, etc.) from the Web address and any period at the end of the citation.

20. You correctly quote and paraphrase using the criteria in your text. You include a page or paragraph number for every quote. If a quote is more than 40 words, you remove the quote marks, block indent five spaces from the left-hand margin, and include the parenthetical citation in the block.

21. Any changes or commentary you add are included in brackets. You use p. for a single page and pp. for multiple pages.

22. You give full credit for all the work produced by someone other than yourself.

23. You use appropriate language, avoiding wordiness, while giving the reader all necessary information in strict APA style.

24. You have no spelling, punctuation, sentence, apostrophe, or homophone errors.

25. You deliver your findings objectively, in the academic third person voice, and avoid contractions, and any other conversational and informal tropes.

26. The paper meets the length requirements of 8–10 pages of actual text (excluding the title, abstract, and reference pages). The work is not padded to meet the length designation, and the discussion in all areas is detailed but succinct.