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