Checklist for
Papers
Paper topic
State your chosen paper topic in full.
Although there is no easy recipe for a successful essay, the following
suggestions may help you familiarize yourself with the expectations of academic
writing, and provide you with organizational strategies to structure your
argument more effectively.
Title
Be sure there is an appropriate title to your paper!
Introductory/Thesis
paragraph
Include an
introductory paragraph or thesis statement.
A thesis paragraph
states what the purpose of your paper and how you will accomplish it.
The introductory
paragraph tells what the paper is about.
The introduction
of your paper should not simply repeat or rephrase the essay topic, and should
avoid long digressions and generalizations. Try to interrogate the topic, and
to isolate the elements of a specific and pertinent issue that you will develop
and discuss in the body of the paper.
In the introduction
you need to define your object of study,
to illustrate the method of your
analysis, and to formulate your thesis
statement. Since the thesis will shape your overall
investigation, try to make it interesting, original, and focused enough.
DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR IDEAS
Your ideas should
progress around a coherent and clearly described project argument that you will
develop in your paper’s paragraphs. The body of your paper should organize the elements of your analysis
and interpret the results.
A balance of
pertinent textual evidence (examples and quotations) and analysis is essential
to substantiate your inquiry. Avoid a simple, a critical summary of the texts.
However, make sure your observations are not in a vacuum. Suppose that your
readers have not read the text(s) you are writing about, and try to provide
enough information so as to contextualize your point.
The development of
the essay should not lead to a sequence of self-contained, juxtaposed
paragraphs. In each paragraph, try to focus on a master idea that can represent
a logical step in your overall argument. You should also do your best to
provide transitional expressions that can clearly highlight the kind of
connection you are trying to establish between the various paragraphs of your
paper.
In the case of a
comparative essay, remember that a comparison involves both similarities and
differences. However, it is not enough to highlight similarities and
differences per se. You should also
ask yourself what the implications of those relationships are for a deeper
understanding of the topic at stake. What do we gain by comparing texts?
When you structure
your comparison, try to avoid discussing texts in sequence. Each step in your
analysis should involve all texts at stake, so as to make them interact more
effectively.
Establish an
appropriate tone for your essay from the beginning.
Conclusion
The conclusion
brings the ideas of your paper back into focus. You may do some summarizing but
the intent should be to reflect your ideas in the light of your introductory
ideas and your thesis development in a way not possible without having read the
main ideas developed in your paper.
Without being a
mere repetition of the introduction, the conclusion replies to the questions
set up at the beginning of the essay, in the light of your overall discussion.
It should show how your analysis has enriched the knowledge of the text(s) and
topic(s) at stake, and offer a new perspective on the object of investigation.
Format for
References
Follow the appropriate format for your subject as per the course text.
Mechanics
Spelling
Run your paper through a spell-checker before you submit it.
Run-on and
incomplete sentences
Avoid sentences
that are too long. Check to make sure that you do not have incomplete
sentences.
Tenses
Be consistent in your use of tense, especially past and present.
Style
Conversational
English
Use conversational
l English; avoid overly technical language and obscure wording.
Conjunctions
Avoid using too
many conjunctions and qualifiers, such as "however,"
"then," and "thus.".
Gendered
pronouns
It is now widely
considered that the exclusive use of male pronouns to refer to both sexes is
unacceptable. Use an appropriate strategy to avoid gender bias.
A FINAL CHECKLIST
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INTRODUCTION
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·
Am I analyzing the essay topic?
·
Does my introduction define an object, raise a specific issue, and formulate
a thesis statement?
·
Do I clarify a method and announce a pertinent plan?
·
Does my plan show a progression?
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|
DEVELOPMENT
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·
Is every paragraph centered around a master idea?
·
Is the development of my argument balanced and clearly articulated?
·
Is there a logical progression that my readers can perceive?
·
Do I elaborate on quotations and textual examples?
·
Have I avoided summaries?
·
Does each paragraph interpret the results of my analysis and provide a
partial conclusion?
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CONCLUSION
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·
Does the conclusion of my paper synthesize the findings of my overall
analysis?
·
Does it answer and enrich the questions I raised in the introduction?
·
Does it leave my readers with some new ideas?
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