1. Highlight the thesis
statement
Does the thesis give you a clear
picture of the situation and the
focus of the argument?

2. TOPIC/TRANSITION
SENTENCES
Highlight the topic sentence
of each body paragraph
 sentence should be general – if
sentence includes detail note on
side of paper
 The second (and subsequent) body
paragraphs should also include a
transition (pull from prior paragraph)

3. WORD CHOICE
Circle the word there if it
begins a sentence.
Circle the verbs “is” or “are
You may make suggestions
on rewording the above

4. NUMBERS
Look for all numbers in the paper. If any are
incorrect, highlight them.
Spell out a number that begins a sentence.
Spell out a number that expresses order (i.e.
first, second, third, etc.)
Spell out a number that tells how many if it is one
or two words. If it is longer than two words, write
it numerically.
Use numerals to express numbers in
conventional situations (like percentages, dates,
addresses, times, etc.)

5. CITATIONS
Highlight all parenthetical citations in your paper.
Then check for…
…the period. It should go only after the
parentheses. Not before and after. Not just
before. Just after. Like this  Mrs. Stewart is the
weirdest teacher ever (“Weird Teachers”).
…the titles. Titles must be capitalized! No, I don’t
mean IN ALL CAPS. The major words should be
capitalized like such  The Social Network.
Notice that the title was italicized because it’s a
major work. If it’s an article title, it should be in
“quotation marks.”

6. Works Cited/Citations
Make sure the first word of the citation
matches the first word of the Works
Cited entry.

7. FORMAT
Check for MLA formatting—this should be the
easiest part of your research paper grade! Make
any corrections with a red pen.
Margins should be 1”
4-line heading (Name, Teacher’s Name, English
II, Date [24 October 2012])
Double spaced (with no extra lines between
paragraphs)
Header (in same font—Last name and page #)

8. POINT OF VIEW
Highlight ALL instances of first (I, me,
my, we, our, us, etc.) or second (you,
your, etc.) person. Eliminate these from
your paper.

9. CONTRACTIONS
Search for any contractions in your
paper and highlight them when you spot
‘em. Uncontraction these. Okay, so
that’s not a word, but you know what I
mean.

10. CONJUNCTIONS
There’s nothing wrong with conjunctions; you
just don’t want to start a sentence with one. To
refresh your memory, the coordinating
conjuntions are: for, an, nor, but, or, yet, so
(FANBOYS). If you started any sentences with
one of these words, highlight and fix it. Usually
it can just be taken out of the sentence. If it
doesn’t make sense that way, change the
period before the conjunction to a comma.
**Hint: the most common sentence-starting
conjuctions are “and,” “but,” and “so.”

11. Conclusion
Restate solution
Persuasive call (call to action)
Final insight

12. GENERAL TYPOS
If you haven’t already, switch papers
with someone else.
Read carefully for general typos,
spelling and punctuation errors, etc.
Mark in red ink.