Mrs. Atkinson’s Writing Checklist

When writing papers, be sure to check for the following:

¨ I used paragraphs.

¨ My writing is typed in Arial or Times New Roman, 12 point font.

¨ I double spaced the paper.

¨ I wrote in complete sentences.

¨ I put my heading in MLA format at the top of the page.

¨ My verbs are consistently in literary present tense when writing about literature.

¨ My thesis statement is clear, precise, and identifiable.

¨ I used strong verbs and did not rely on the same one in all my sentences.

¨ I correctly cited my quotations using MLA style.

¨ I have one quotation in each body paragraph.

¨ I stapled the pages together.

¨ I printed my essay in black ink.

¨ I checked my spelling.

¨ My analysis is factually accurate to the novel or short story.

¨ I did not use slang, e-mail emotion symbols such as this ;) or other Instant Messenger jargon.

¨ My vocabulary is precise and I use interesting adjectives.

¨ I put the author’s full name on first reference and underlined the title of the work. I used the author’s last name on second reference.

The Grammar Gaffes

Failure to do ANY of these tasks – once we’ve covered them – will result in -5 points taken off the final grade of your paper.

¨ I did not use contractions.

¨ I did not use indefinite you.

¨ My pronouns agree with their antecedents.

¨ I did not use first person (I, my, me, we, us, our) unless Mrs. Atkinson said it was OK.

¨ I put commas after introductory dependent clauses.

¨ I used semi-colons correctly.

¨ I used colons correctly.

¨ I put punctuation inside the quotation marks when necessary.

And, finally, the most important element of this checklist:

¨ I can proudly say that this work is my own. I did not copy it from another student or the internet. Turning in plagiarized work will result in a zero on the assignment. If you allow another student to copy your work, you will receive a zero as well. You also will write a letter to your parents explaining why you received the grade and why you chose to plagiarize.