Research Paper Checklist

Choose a Topic

• Pick a topic which interests and challenges you.
• Focus on a limited aspect.
• Obtain teacher approval for your topic.
• Re-read your assignment sheet carefully to be certain you know what is expected.
• Select a subject you can manage.
• Avoid subjects that are too technical, learned, or specialized.
• Avoid topics that have only a very narrow range of source materials.

Find Information

• Use search engines and other search tools as a starting point.
• Pay attention to domain name extensions (if it ends with edu or org)
• Be selective of com (commercial) sites.
• Be wary of personal home pages - their quality vary greatly.
• Check out public and university libraries, businesses, government agencies.
• Contact knowledgeable people in your community.
• Write down full bibliographical information.

Your Thesis

• Write your thesis statement down in one sentence.
• Find arguments to support and defend this belief.

Outline

• Think through your topic carefully and organize it logically
• Include in your outline an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
• Make the first outline tentative.
• In the introdutions, state your thesis and the purpose of your research.
• State how you plan to approach your topic.
• Explain briefly the major points you plan to cover.
• In the body, present your arguments to support your thesis statement.
• In the conclusion, restate or reword your thesis and summarize your arguments.

Draft

• Thesis statement is concise and clear.
• Arguments are presented in a logical sequence.
• All sources are properly cited.
• Your intentions and points are clear in the essay.
• Read your paper for grammatical errors.
• Correct all errors that you can spot.
• Get someone else to read it over.