NAME:

RESEARCH PAPER CHECK LIST

MLA Format

12 point, Times New Roman font

MLA heading (on the first page only)
Last name and page number in the header
Double spaced

Centered
12 point, Times New Roman Font
No extra space before or after

Remove ALL contractions (cant, dont)

Subheadings

Remove ALL boring words

Justified to the left

Underlined
One for each section (4 total) plus conclusion

From each of your five (min.) sources

You should not have a source on the Annotated
Bibliography that was not cited in your paper

Every time you use information from a source,

direct quote or paraphrasing

Your Own Words

Last page of your paper

Should start a separate page
Sources in alphabetical order
Use the CITATIONS from your Bibliography

Correct ALL grammatical errors

Parenthetical Citation

Title

Direct Quotation and Paraphrasing

Works Cited

70-80% of the paper should be written in

YOUR OWN WORDS
Only 20-30% of the paper should come from
outside sources (i.e., direct quotations)

Check Originality Report (on first draft)

1200 Word Count (including the works cited)

Remove the second person (YOU, YOUR)

a lot
very
good
great
big
okay
starting sentences with the words Well or
So or Now

To properly format direct quotation, You must make sure to put any
information that is directly quoted in quotation marks and follow
that direct quotation with parenthetical citation so I will know which
source the information comes from (Svien).
When you paraphrase, you are putting information into your own
words and, therefore, not using ANY direct quotation. You must still
use parenthetical citation to note that the information comes from
another source (Svieny Times).
You should not use direct quotation that is longer than three
lines, but if you do, the quotation should be set off from the
rest of your paper in block format and you still have to use
parenthetical citation to note which source the information
comes from (SvienRocks.org).
Your parenthetical citation should always be the shortest possible
way to give credit to the source. For your interview, this will be the
last name of the person you interviewed. For websites, it will be a
shortened version of the page title (English III).

Name:

Honor Statement:
By signing this page, I verify that I have written this RESEARCH PAPER myself. I have not plagiarized
other sources or another student in any of these assignments. I also verify that I understand how I will
be graded (the rubric) and have made every effort to improve my essays through revision.

Sign and Date

THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM RESEARCH PROJECT

Research Paper Rubric

INTRODUCTION and CONCLUSION

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THESIS STATEMENT
0 1 2 3 4 5
TOPIC 1 History or Other Topic
0
5
10
15
20
TOPIC 2 Application/Financial or
Other Topic
0
5
10
15
20
TOPIC 3 Field of Study or Valid Topic
0
5
10
15
20
TOPIC 4 Career Opportunities or
Other Topic
0
5
10
15
20
LENGTH 1800-2000 Words
0
3
5

DEDUCTIONS:

Plagiarized Material (Automatic

ZERO)
Essay Not in MLA Format (-10)

ESSAY GRADE
=
Academic Achievement

Name:

PROCESS POINTS:

Less Than 7 Sources (10 points)

Annotated Bibliography (20 points)

Works Cited Not MLA Format (10 points)
Source Print Outs (25 points)
Note Cards (25 points)

Originality Report Over 30% (10 points)

First Draft (10 points)

Peer Review (10 points)

PROCESS POINTS EARNED

Final Draft On Time (10 points)

TOTAL IN DEDUCTIONS

DEDUCTIONS:
Grammar/Usage Errors (1 pt. each)

PROCESS GRADE
=
Academic Achievement