Dr. Caeti’s Top Ten Typical Problems and Revision Recommendations
1. NEEDED TO PROOFREAD: Read your paper out loud--if it doesn't make sense when you say it aloud, it doesn't make sense on paper.
2. EXPAND OR EXPLAIN: Need to expand your paper such that your points stand on their own.
3. CLARITY OR CONCISENESS PROBLEMS: Your paper is generally unclear or hard to read. Write like your audience is a room full of third graders. This doesn't mean write down, it means make everything clear by explaining your points in lurid detail. Make your writing make sense.
4. CITATION PROBLEMS: When in doubt, cite it out. Cite all facts, statistics, points, and arguments from your sources. If you are using a direct quote, you must include the page number where the quote appears.
5. REFERENCING PROBLEMS: Your referencing format must be consistent. If you use APA you cannot switch to MLA in the middle. Further, if you use author / date you cannot change to author / page number.
6. SUBHEADS: You should have subheads for each section and subsection. This lets the reader know what you are doing at all times. Use transitions, introductions, and conclusions. Make your paper flow from beginning to end.
7. PASSIVE PROBLEMS: Wherever possible, use the active voice. It makes writing clearer.
8. WRITE IN THE THIRD PERSON. Do not use I or me.
9. STAND ALONE PROBLEMS: Each sentence must stand alone. Each paragraph must stand alone. Each section must stand alone. If I read any part of your paper (sentence, phrase, thought, section, paragraph) it must stand on its own.
10. MARGINS AND FONT: Use 1" margins all the way around, 10p or 12p font. If I flag this, change it.
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URL: http://www.unt.edu/cjus/wcaeit2.htm