Is your paper the right length?
Your goal is 1500-2500 words, which is roughly 6-10 pages double-spaced, using 11
or 12 point Times New Roman font.
Your paragraphs
generally should be 4-8 sentences each, with just a few exceptions. A simple for pattern for writing
good paragraphs is to make a point at the beginning of the paragraph, then explain the point
with another sentence or two, if necessary, and support it with research you've found in
your sources, such as examples, facts and statistics, and quotations.
Have you avoided plagiarism?
Remember: Whenever you copy word-for-word from a source, you must
include quotation marks and documentation. An exception would be a very, very basic wording or phrase.
Also, when you put an idea or fact into your own words, you must use
documentation unless it's (a) common knowledge,
or (b) common to a number of sources on your topic.
Do you understand what common knowledge is? It
is information that the average person doesn't necessarily know but can easily find out because it is available to the
public. Therefore, you don't have to give credit to any particular author if you use that information. However,
you do have to use quotation marks and documentation if you copy it word-for-word!
Here's a suggestion for avoiding plagiarism: use the
"Match and Mix" process. Find two or more sources
about the same sub-topic and match
them together.
Then you can mix their wordings
with your own
wordings and create
sentences that are signifcantly
different from the sentences in
the sources you used.
Are you including quotations (either the author’s exact wording or quotations from others that the author has
included)?
How many quotations should you have in your paper? A
good guideline is to aim for an average of
one quotation per paragraph, which would be roughly 15% of the final paper.
Remember that every sentence you quote is one less sentence that you have to write yourself.
But don't overdo it, or it will seem to your reader that you yourself have written only a few sentences per
page of your paper.
When are the best situations to use quotations?
- For strong support to
a point you're making
- When you have an expert’s ideas and opinions
- When the wording of the
quote is particularly nice
- When the quote adds “human interest” to your
paragraph
- Just to have a change of pace from your
own writing
Have you included transition words in most paragraphs?
Have you written a strong opening page (paragraphs #1 and #2)?
Your goals for the first two paragraphs of your paper
should be to (1) interest your reader in the general topic, (2) make it clear what the paper will be about, and (3) begin including your research,
quotations, and documentation.
