SELF-EDITING CHECKLIST FOR ACADEMIC WRITING

On average, students make a high number of trivial mistakes which are unacceptable at advanced level. Therefore, in order to help you prepare your written papers, I suggest that you review your tasks thoroughly and accurately. This self-check list may help you spot the most common catch-you-out problems.

LANGUAGE Have I used the computer spell-checker and syntax checker?

(If you have Word, click on “Review” and then “Spelling&Grammar”; an easy tutorial is available from Word 2010 Basic Proofing Tools)

Is the spelling of all words correct? Check double consonants, final -e, final -ies, compounds and derivatives, affixes, etc.

Are there any basic grammar errors? Check for the following: do all finite verbs have a subject? have I used the -s ending for third person singular in the present simple? have I omitted it for the other verb forms? have I checked all irregular verb forms? do regular plural countable nouns end in -s/-es? uncountable nouns with no -s and appropriate determiners (a little/any/much etc.) do pronouns and possessives (especially it/its/they/their/itself/themselves) agree with their

references? have I avoided using the present perfect to write about past actions? have I avoided using “in fact” to mean “infatti”? have I used the affirmative form of the verb in indirect questions? have I used the appropriate preposition after nouns (e.g. composed of/by), adjectives (e.g.

interested in), verbs (e.g. listen to)? are gerunds and infinitives used appropriately?

Is punctuation correct? Does every sentence end with a fullstop? Have I avoided using the semicolon (;) too often? Have I avoided using the colon (:) to introduce explanations? Have I used the comma to separate the thousands from the hundreds (100,000) and the period

to separate decimals (0.34)? Have I used a comma after sentence linkers (e.g. However,)? Have I used a comma between compound sentences? Have I used commas to separate the elements of a list? Are titles of books and dictionaries in italics? Are titles of articles between quotes (“”)?

Is capitalization correct? Are names and titles capitalized? Are acronyms (e.g. LDOCE) all caps? Are headings capitalized? Is the first letter of each sentence capitalized?

Is spacing correct? Have I deleted any spaces before/ left one space after: full stops, commas, colon, semicolon,

question marks, closed inverted commas, closed parentheses? Have I left one space before/deleted any space after: open inverted commas, open

parentheses? Have I deleted all double spaces?

CONVENTIONS Does the front page contain all the required information (i.e. institution, course, academic year,

teachers, student’s name & matriculation number, title, date)? Does every page have a header and/or a footer with the required information (i.e title, author, page

number)? Is the format uniform? Do all titles and paragraphs have the same format and font size? Is all body

text in the same format and size? Is all body text either justified or aligned to the left?

STYLE Have I avoided using the pronouns “I” and “we” when unnecessary? Have I avoided using short verb forms, e.g. “isn’t” “don’t”? Have I avoided using informal and slang lexis, e.g. “boss” “kid”? Have I used a formal tone? Have I used a wide range of precise vocabulary? Are my sentences concise and clear? If they are confused, simplify them and put different concepts

in separate sentences. Do my sentences link to each other logically? Have I used a wide range of sentence patterns (e.g. simple sentences, complex and compound

sentences) and sentence connectors (e.g. For instance, conversely, therefore, furthermore, in conclusion)?

ORGANIZATION Is my report/essay well organized? Are contents organized into paragraphs? Do all paragraphs flow from sentence to sentence, from paragraph to paragraph?Introduction Does my introduction explain the contents of the task, and illustrate the reasons of my choices?Body Paragraphs Does each paragraph contain a topic sentence that indicates what the paragraph is about? Are there transitions from paragraph to paragraph so that my discourse flows smoothly from one

idea to another? Have I given evidence/examples from my sources? Are my examples quoted appropriately, i.e. using quotation marks or italics? Have I explained my evidence/examples? Are my ideas/observations/comments fully developed and argued? Is there a concluding sentence for the paragraph which wraps up the argument?Conclusion Does the conclusion summarize the arguments presented in the body paragraphs? Does it highlight the results of your analysis? Does the conclusion open up to new perspectives? (e.g. “On-line dictionaries will/will not replace

paper dictionaries, because…”)Works Cited/References Are entries listed in alphabetical order? Are they graphically identifiable, e.g. the first or second line is indented, an empty line is left

between entries, etc.? Is the information/punctuation for books (author, title, city, publisher publication date) and Internet

(author, article title, Website, date posted, access date, URL) according to APA style format?

ROUND-UP Did I fully understand all the points in this checklist? Have I examined all the points in this checklist with due consideration? Have I also examined those that I know to be my weakest points? What are they? Have I shown my work to someone (e.g. fellow student, language expert, relative, friend, etc.) for a

second opinion before submission? Am I convinced my work looks its best?

Has this checklist proved useful? How?