Research Paper Checklist

  1. Does the paper have a focus that is clearly established at the start and maintained throughout?
  2. Does the writer have a thesis or a consistent point of view?
  3. Does the introduction create a useful context for the thesis: interest the readers in the issue addressed, inform the readers of the thesis' significance, create a sense of orientation and anticipation about what's ahead?
  4. Does each paragraph have one clear topic? adequate support? pertinent discussion? transitions between ideas? relevance to the thesis?
  5. Is the paper logically organized and coherent? Is the reader given organizational cues like forecasting, headings, transitions, etc?
  6. Does the writer indicate the relative importance of topics? Are the emphasis strategies (topic sentences, headings, visual aids, etc.) useful and sufficient? Does the writer design the document for the readers' use?
  7. Does the paper have a useful balance of ideas and information (claims/support, abstracts/specifics, points/details)?
  8. Does the writer synthesize the research and the original perspective into a unified whole?
  9. Does the reader get a sense of the relative importance of the sources? the breadth of research? the writer's mastery of the sources' ideas, information, and significance?
  10. Are the citations useful in number and placement? Is it clear how much of the paper is derived from sources?
  11. Is there a useful proportion of original thinking and evidence from research? Does the paper do more than report? Is the writer a central contributor to the analysis offered in the paper? Does the paper offer a useful and coherent perspective, an understanding of the relationships in the subject matter, a well-supported conclusion, or some other evidence of originality and insight?
  12. Does the writing style contribute to the paper’s success with consistent and appropriate diction, varied and functional sentence structure, and useful emphasis?
  13. Are the details correct? data and grammar presented correctly? pages in the right sequence?
  14. Is the paper good: interesting, readable, precise, vivid, appropriate to the audience, concise, clear, and correct?