FAQS

When you revise or edit a paper, focus on the ideas, organization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

To check your ideas and organization, ask the following:

• Is my thesis statement concise and clear?
• Did I follow my outline?
• Are my arguments presented in a logical sequence?
• Are all sources properly cited to ensure that I am not plagiarizing?
  • Are all of the items in my reference page cited in my text?
  • Are all of the items cited in my text in my reference page?
  • Did I use the proper APA style?
• Have I proved my thesis with strong supporting arguments?
• Have I made my intentions and points clear in the essay? Are my arguments well-supported and well-reasoned? Did I have another reader review my paper?

For grammar, spelling, and punctuation, check the following:

• Are there ideas I could express more concisely and in fewer words?
• Do subjects and verbs agree?
• Do pronouns and their antecedents agree in number and gender?
• Words such as there, they're, and their are commonly misused. Did I use the correct forms?
• Did I avoid writing with I and you for an academic paper?
• To avoid repetition, I should vary my sentence beginnings. Did I avoid starting two sentences with the same word in the paragraph?
• Did I use transition words when moving from one concept to the next? These are words like:  first, second, then, however, therefore, in addition...
• Did I check for spelling?

 Use Grammarly to check your paper for grammar, punctuation, and plagiarism. Submit your paper to the Writing Lab for a full review.