Checksheet for research papers
- __ I have footnoted any ideas and quotations that are not mine.
- __ I have a thesis statement that does not contain the verb TO BE in
any form.
- __ I have met with Professor Rath to develop my research topic (optional
for short papers).
- __ I have checked that my footnotes are in Chicago full note style (NOT
parenthetical: must use footnotes or endnotes).
- __ I have used at least {one (for short paper) | three (for term paper) |
five (for senior thesis)} journal articles taken from one or more of the
following databases:
- __ America: History & Life (EBSCOHost)
- __ Project Muse
- __ JSTOR
- __ Web of Science
- __ I have used at least one primary source upon which my paper is based.
- __ I have used at least {one (for short paper) | three (for term paper) |
five (for senior thesis)} *scholarly books in addition to the
assigned texts and my primary source.
- __ I have included the author (where known), the title, and the URL of
any web site I have used.
- __ I have read about common errors
and proofread my paper to make sure everything is spelled right and
grammatical.
- __ If this is my second or later draft, I have included the first draft
with the professor’s comments on it.
* scholarly books: Books from a reputable
scholarly publisher (often a university press). One
indicator is that the book will have footnotes, parenthetical citation, or some
other form of bibliographic citation.