Checklist - Sectional Outline

Invention

• References section
  • Does it have enough references
    • 4 for draft 0 (Japanese OK)
    • 8 for draft 1 (50% English)
    • 12 for draft 2 (50% English)
    • 12 perfect for draft 3 (50% English)
  • Is the references section in APA?
  • Is the APA OK
• Citations in the outline
  • If there is a fact, does it have a citation
  • Is it APA style?
• Are there enough ideas to fill the word minimum (1500 words)

Arrangement

• Is there an Introduction?
• Is there a Conclusion?
• IS the rough outline OK?
  • There should be at least 2 other sections.
    • e.g. Background, Comparison
    • e.g. Background, Case Study (Studies)
    • e.g. Background, Problems, Solutions
    • e.g. Background, Problem1, Problem2, Problem3
  • See Examples-RoughEssayOutlines for other examples
• Does each section have the right number of paragraphs?
  • Intro - one paragraph
  • Conclusion - one paragraph
  • Background - 1-3 paragraphs
  • Other sections - 2-3 paragraphs.
• Are the sections and paragraphs in a sensible order
  • e.g. time order
  • e.g. problems getting bigger from 1-3
  • e.g. general background, then specific case study
• Don’t forget the structure sentences. Don’t delete them from the template
  • Check the start of sections and paragraphs.
    • Does each section have a section thesis statement? No content, just plan to have one!
    • Does each paragraph have a topic sentence? No content, just plan to have one!
    • Check again! Does the FIRST paragraph of each SECTION have BOTH thesis and topic sentences e.g. “This section describes three penguin species - Emperor, Adele, and Galapagos. The first species is the Emperor Penguin.”
  • Check the end of paragraphs
    • Between similar paragraphs (Problem 1- Problem 2 - Problem 3) you SHOULD NOT have a link or summary. Summarise at the END of the SECTION.
    • Between different paragraphs (Similarities-Differences, Problem-Solution) you CAN have a link/summary, but it’s not necessary, and only needed if if the paragraph is really long
  • Check the end of section. Except Intro and Conclusion you need both a link and a summary. No content, just plan to have one!
• Check the body sentences and content
  • Does each paragraph have 2-3 main ideas (problems, solutions, differences, similarities, topics (health/education, size/effectiveness)
  • Does each main idea have at least two detail sentences. FOr example:
    • “Problem 1: Pollution.
      • 1A: Air pollution
      • 1B Water pollution
  • Are all the points ON TOPIC?

Style/Delivery

• Spellchecked
• Keywords, not sentences
• Everything indented at the correct level
  • No indent for sections
    • One indent for paragraphs
      • Two indents for main ideas
• Title in Title Case
• Font is 12pt Times New Roman font