ResearchPaperChecklist.htmResearch Paper Checklist

(Use this once the rough draft of the report has been completed)

1. Last name with correct page numbers in the upper right-hand corner of every page.
2. Heading set up as follows:
1. First and last name of student
2. Teacher’s name
3. Name of class
4. Date complete with capitalization and proper punctuation
3. Title of the paper is centered two spaces below the heading and two spaces above the body of the report – not underlined or bolded – and uses the same sized font.
4. The entire paper is double spaced, through and including, the works cited page.
5. Paragraphs are indented exactly the same throughout the paper.
6. Parenthetical documentation within the paper is the first word of the source in the works cited entry, unless two sources begin with the same word, then the second word also appears in the parenthesis.
7. The period following a citation appears after the end parenthesis in the parenthetical documentation.
8. There is no period after the sentence before the parenthesis.
9. The paper has an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph that summarizes the information in some way.

10. On the works cited page, the student’s last name and a page

number are in the upper right hand corner.

11.The entire page is double spaced.

12.The Works Cited heading is exactly that: Works Cited – not bolded,

underlined, or a different sized font.

13. The first line of each works cited entry is to the left margin.

14. All other lines for each entry are indented and the indention is

exactly the same throughout the works cited document.

15. If an author is present for the work, his/her last name begins the

entry, followed by a comma, and finally the author’s first name.

16. There is a period to separate each type of information in the entry.

17. All book and magazine titles are underlined with proper

capitalization in each.

18. Check each works cited entry for accurate information based on

the guidelines for the various types of entries. (Note, too, how dates

are to be written)

Once peer editing is completed, check the following issues in your own paper:

Caution…. No use of the word “you”

No use of first person….I, me, my, mine, we, us

Remember: this is expository writing – delivering facts – use all THIRD PERSON PRONOUNS, if any at all………It, they, he, she, etc.

DO NOT BEGIN SENTENCES with the words And or But

Underline the first three words of each sentence to look for redundancy.

Read your topic sentence for each paragraph……..Then read each sentence in the paragraph and decide if it belongs there – with the topic sentence.

Read your report aloud to someone – then have that person read it back to you. Be sure to pause after each period. This will allow you to determine if you have written a complete sentence or not.