CRITERIA FOR JUDGING THE RESEARCH PAPER
What does a teacher look for in a research paper? The following criteria are pretty universal, so keep them in mind as you write.
A. Clear Focus
Is your topic clear? It is relevant to the course? Is it clearly introduced at the beginning of the paper? Are the body of your paper and its conclusion clearly related to your topic?
B. Research
Does your paper contain enough information to back up your ideas? Have you found enough sources of information? Are your sources reliable? Are they recent? Are they varied and balanced, especially on controversial issues? When appropriate, have you used different types of sources, such as books, journals, newspapers, interviews, or the Internet?
C. Reasoning and Organization
Are your key concepts defined and presented in a clear way? Does your argument follow a logical outline? Are the parts of your paper coherent? Are they logically connected?
Do you present your information clearly? When appropriate, do you use statistics, tables and/or graphs?
Do you quote only when necessary? If so, so you quote exactly, word for word? Do you introduce every quotation and cite its source?
D. Documentation
Is your information documented in the body of your paper? Are your sources cited in the MLA Style? Are they in the right places?
Does your "Works Cited" page list ALL the works you have cited in your paper, and no others? Are they cited correctly?
E. Writing Mechanics
Is your paper free of grammatical, spelling, and typing errors? Are your sentences short, clear, and free of unnecessary jargon?
THE SECOND VERSION OF YOUR PAPER
Does the second version of your paper show real improvement in those areas that were weak in your first paper?