Before you submit the revised version of your writing project, there are a number of editing and formatting details to consider. Failure to pay attention to these details or handing in sloppy work can affect a reader’s response to your overall argument. Students who are not scrupulous about the presentation of their ideas are often not scrupulous about the intellectual rigor of the ideas themselves. So, slow down on both accounts and carefully consider what you write and how you write it, using this checklist as a guide. (Download a PDF of this checklist.)
Name: Your name, the course number, the instructor’s name, and the date should all appear in the top right corner of your first page.
Title: Every paper must be titled. The title should be relatively short, but not too short. A two word titles reveals nothing about the contents of your paper. The title should be descriptive and compelling.
Font: Use a common 11- or 12-point serif font.
Spacing: Double-space all text, including block quotes and your bibliography.
Margins: Papers should have 1” margins.
Numbers: Your pages should be numbered, with the numbers appearing in either the bottom center or bottom right side of the page.
Spelling: Spellcheck your document. Be careful about easily confused words like its and it’s, their and there, and too and to.
Punctuation: Watch out for inappropriate commas or incorrect usage of semicolons.
Tone: This is an academic paper and it requires a certain sophisticated tone. Avoid colloquial language and informal speech. At the same time, do not try to adopt an artificially bloated and stilted style.
Citations: Use the correct MLA format to cite your sources. Include a Works Cited page.
Titles: Journal names, book, and film titles should be italicized, while article and essay titles should be enclosed in quotation marks.
Read Aloud: Reading your essay aloud is the best way to catch awkward sentence construction, missing words, or even holes in your logic.
File Name: Because you are submitting this document electronically, be sure that you name your file appropriately. Include your first and last name in the file name, as well as the assignment name. For example, “John Smith Project 1”