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Paper
Priorities
After you
have written a draft of your paper, think about each of the following
questions, one at a time. If you are not sure about any of your answers, ask
your professor, a friend, or a writing center consultant for help.
Does the
paper respond appropriately to the ASSIGNMENT? Is it the proper form? Does
it answer the question?
Does the
paper have a specific focus or controlling idea? Is that focus expressed
accurately and concisely in a THESIS STATEMENT? Does the thesis "fit" the
paper? (Is it too broad, too narrow, or misleading?)
Is the
paper WELL-ORGANIZED? Does it have an introduction, body, and conclusion? Do
the paragraphs flow logically and smoothly?
Is the
argument (or discussion, or story...) WELL-DEVELOPED? Are there sufficient
examples, reasons, or details? Does it leave any relevant questions
unanswered?
Does all
the information RELATE TO THE THESIS? Is it all necessary? Are any of the
examples or statements irrelevant or extraneous?
Is the
TONE appropriate? Is it too informal for a research paper or too stuffy for
a personal narrative? Is it bored, sarcastic, or offensive?
Does the
paper have a sense of AUDIENCE? From its topic to its language, is the paper
geared toward its probable readers?
If the
paper uses sources, does it CITE them properly? Is it clear which words and
ideas are from other sources, and which are your own? Do you follow the
citation format assigned by your professor? (For example, the English
Department uses MLA.)
Does the
paper end with a sound CONCLUSION? Does it have any loose ends? Does it feel
finished? Does the conclusion restate or somehow answer to the thesis?
Remember:
Grammar,
punctuation, and other sentence-level concerns are very important. Before
you turn in your paper, be sure that you do not have any mechanical errors.
However, DO NOT start worrying about sentence-level problems until you are
sure you have covered all the "global" concerns described above.
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