BBCHS English Department

THE REVISING PROCESS

1. The paper may be handwritten (on one side only of the paper) or typed. It must contain 1000 - 1500 words.  Typed papers must use a standard 12 point font.  If the paper is written by hand, make sure it is legible and in dark blue or black non-erasable ink.

2. Leave a one-inch margin all the way around the page.

3. If you must use spiral paper, be sure to cut off the fuzzy edge.

4. Use standard paragraphs of at least three sentences.  Do not skip lines between paragraphs.

5. Do not use words or phrases such as “you,” “I think,” “I believe,” or “In my opinion.”

6. Do not write sentence fragments or run-ons.

7.  Use correct spelling and grammar.

ú       Title page

ú       Outline

ú       Body of Paper

ú       Works Cited

ú       Parenthetical Documentation (citations)

 Appearance

ú       The paper is legible.

ú       The paper is written in cursive, in blue or black ink OR is entirely typed in 12 point font

ú       The pages have writing or typing on only one side of the page

ú       If typed, the entire paper is double-spaced

ú       The paper is not missing any pages

ú       The pages are stapled in the correct order

ú       The paper is stapled once in the top left corner

ú       Each page has a one inch margin all the way around

Title Page

ú       The author’s name is centered on the page

ú       The title is interesting and longer than one word

Outline

ú       The outline has a thesis statement on top

ú       The outline is indented correctly

ú       For every letter “A” there is a “B”

ú       For every number “1” there is a “2”

ú       The outline is written in all phrases or all sentences

Works Cited

ú       The words “Works Cited” are centered on the top line

ú       All entries are alphabetized by the first word

ú       All entries are indented correctly

ú       All web addresses appear in the same color as the rest of the page

Parenthetical Documentation

ú       All sources cited in the paper appear on the Works Cited list

ú       The first word inside the parentheses is the word used to alphabetize that source in the Works Cited list

ú       Every direct quotation is followed by a citation.

ú       Every fact that is not common knowledge has a citation

ú       At the minimum, every paragraph has a citation at the end (except the introduction and conclusion)

ú       All citations are inside the sentence’s end punctuation.

Body of Paper

ú       The thesis statement is the last sentence in the introduction

ú       The introduction is so general that it does not require any citations

ú       All words are spelled correctly

ú       Every sentence is complete, with a subject and a verb

ú       No sentences are run-ons

ú       Each new paragraph has a transition

ú       Each paragraph has a minimum of three sentences

ú       The following words or phrases are not used:  “you,”  “I think,”  “I believe,”  “in my opinion”

ú       With the exception of dates and measurements, all numbers that are less than four words long are written in words

ú       All dates, measurements, and numbers four or more words long are written in digits

ú       There are no more than two direct quotations in each paragraph.

ú       This paper is easy to understand and it makes sense.