1. Revising the Rough Draft
Research Paper

2. General Comments RE-VISION Rough Draft grade  Final draft
1st half corrections  2nd half
Errors once identified may not be marked throughout the paper
SEE ME – Conferences are mandatory
3rd Hour, 5th Hour, After school

3. The Big 6 Writing Style Organization Use of evidence Documentation
Transitions
Clarity and Fluidity

4. Writing Style Word Choice (REP) (Inf) Sentence variety Contractions
Wrong word, too vague, informal (huge, lots)
Sentence variety
This shows
Contractions
3rd person
Verb tense
Biased
“This disgusting statistic …”

5. Organization Order of arguments Paragraphs: Topic sentence
Explanation/expansion of that topic sentence
Introduction to evidence
Explanation of evidence
Concluding sentence

6. Use of Evidence
Evidence should not appear in first sentence of paragraph
Introduce the evidence
Explain the evidence

7. Use of Evidence Do not state the obvious in your explanation
“36 states passed the law the first year, only 2 the next” (Smith, par. 6)
Fewer states passed the law the second year than the first.
A change in public opinion after the tragedy in Illinois led to the reduction of states passing laws of this nature.

8. Documentation All quotations All paraphrased material
More than one sentence, back to back, document at the end
(Mason 1)
(Mason, par. 1)
(Mason, par. 4-6)

9. Transitions Introduction to thesis paragraph
How does the story illustrate the subject of this paper?

10. Clarity and Fluidity Combine sentences Read aloud to yourself
Read out loud to someone else
SS- Sentence Structure

11. A 123 Proofreading Do not damage the integrity of your work! Format
Spelling
Punctuation
Capitalization
Numbers A
123

12. Abbreviations D
Awk SS
Inf. RO A SF a
I-E T
EX-EV
TS? WC CS

13. Although
Although is NOT the same as HOWEVER

14. Although
We decided not to wear our jackets when we went for a walk, although the weather was rather chilly.
Although the weather was rather chilly, we decided not to wear our jackets when we went for a walk.

15. Common English Errors
Use of the apostrophe The boys are going to find a dog. The boy’s dog at his homework. The boys’ dog ran away.

16. Common English Errors
Run-on sentences He seemed to recover just fine but the effects were to last a lifetime. The cops had discovered who the culprit was he was long gone by then.

17. Common English Errors
Effect/Affect What are the various effects of the depletion of the ozone layer? The effects include: How will the earth be affected by the depletion of the ozone layer?

18. Titles Italicize books, magazines, journals, movies
“Quotation marks for articles and abbreviated titles”
Capitalization of titles
The Turn of the Screw by Henry Miller

19. Acronyms, Abbreviations and More
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
United States NOT U.S.
Names of experts
John Smith
Smith
Ruhland says that the changes have been hard for people. WHO?

20. Numbers
Arabic numbers for numbers that cannot be spelled out in one or two words (543, 3 ½ )
Numbers below 10 grouped with higher numbers should be written in Arabic numbers (3 out of 50 subjects)

21. Numbers Number vs. Amount (Can be counted) vs (Cannot be counted)
Combining large numbers (3.5 million)
Use words for numbers when beginning a sentence.
Dollars $43, $3.4 million
Percent–thirty-four percent

22. Conclusions Do not say “I” or “You” Length = Introduction
DO NOT SAY “In Conclusion”
Logically follow the rest of the paper

23. Cause/Effect Causes Effects Solutions1 2 3
Conclusion = Which will be recommended and why?

24. Arg For/Against Review/summary necessary? Alternatives?
Recommendation and why?

25. Other Options
Continue the case study or the hypothetical situation to its conclusion
How does the solution to the problem go beyond the scope of the immediate issue? Explain.