Checklist and Grading Rubric for Academic Papers

Before printing your paper, please double check to make sure that you have paid attention to the following requirements. Check for each requirement and when you are sure that you have satisfied it, check it off below. Once you have addressed all of these requirements, sign the checklist, print your paper, and attach this checklist to your paper.

Your paper will be graded according to content as well as these grammatical and stylistic requirements. Consult the “tips for academic writing” handout for additional information on the grammatical and stylistic requirements.

General Formatting:

_______  1.  Do I staple my paper? (minus 2-points if the instructor has to staple it)

_______  2.  Does my paper have page numbers? (minus 2-points for no page numbers)

_______  3.  Does my paper touch page five, but not exceed page five (double-spaced)? (minus 10-points per page over or under)

_______  4.  Do I format long quotations correctly (single-space, smaller font, indented, and no quotation marks)? (block quotations 3 lines or longer)

_______  5.  Are my introductory and concluding paragraphs concise?

Grammar and Style:

_______  6.  Do I eliminate contractions from my paper?

_______  7.  Do I avoid the second person (i.e. the words “you” and “your”)?

_______  8.  Do I avoid rhetorical questions?

_______  9.  Do I avoid vague use of the words “this”, “these”, “that,” and “those”?

_______  10.  Do I avoid passive constructions (i.e. “it is clear that,” it should be noted that,” etc.)?

________11.  Is my writing fluid and easy to read? Do I use a variety of sentence structures? 

[see other side]

Content and Argument:

________12.  Is my thesis specific and narrowly focused?

________13.  Does my paper have a title that reflects the specifics of my thesis? (minus 3 points for no title)

________14.  Do I use the specific language of my thesis in every single topic sentence?

________15.  Do I arrange my paragraphs in a coherent and logical manner?

________16.  Do I have sufficient evidence (i.e. at least one citation) in every single one of my body paragraphs (not counting the introduction or conclusion)? (A-level should have at least 8-9 quotations from the primary source)?

________17.  Do all my quotations provide a page number to the Third Edition of the Seton Hall University: Christianity and Culture in Dialogue Reader? (minus 3-points for each citation without a page number or to an alternate edition of the text)

________18.  Does my paper avoid making significant use of sources other than the primary source?

________19.  Do I present evidence of my own critical analysis and my own logic?

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