Research Paper Guidelines -
1) Your paper has meaningful content and strong focus:
a. You write an exceptionally clear, focused, interesting thesis.
b. You include strong, rich supporting details and examples that prove thesis.
c. You write a meaningful conclusion explaining the importance of the research and how it can be used.
2) Your paper is well organized:
a. You write a strong introduction and conclusion.
b. Your paper follows a consistent and coherent logical progression.
c. You use clear and skillful transitions.
3) Your paper is written with style. It is classy:
a. You write in formal language (and avoid slang completely).
b. You employ elaborate and colorful language.
c. You use consistently strong and varied sentence structure.
d. Your direct quotes support your ideas.
e. Your paper is written in your own words (You are a class act).
4) Your paper cites sources and respects formal formatting style.
a. You follow APA or MLA guidelines (your choice: APA is typically for the social sciences; MLA typically is for the humanities):
i. Uses five or more cited sources, at least two of which are from peer reviewed scholarly journals. Using the MCC library databases is strongly recommended.
ii. All parenthetical documentation is APA or MLA correct (author's name, pg. #, etc.).
iii. "Works Cited" page is MLA correct or "References" page is APA correct.
iv. All researched information is documented.
5) Your paper respects formal writing conventions:
a. You are a superior editor of your own work.
b. You rarely make errors in the following areas:
i. Spelling and mechanics.
ii. Usage and grammar.
1) Content and focus:
a. Your thesis statement lacks clarity and focus.
b. Your supporting details are inadequate or missing.
c. You fail to include a summarizing conclusion.
2) Organization:
a. You exclude an introduction and fail to articulate a conclusion.
b. Your paper lacks consistency and order.
c. Your paper shows little or no transitions between paragraphs.
3) Style:
a. You frequently use informal language.
b. Your use of language is not appropriate to your topic.
c. Your message is unclear.
d. The majority of your paper is plagiarized (Zero on the paper; probable expulsion from MCC, so cite your sources!)
4) Sources and format:
a. Your formatting fails to follow APA or MLA style.
b. Your paper cites less than five sources.
c. Your paper cites less than two sources from peer reviewed scholarly journals
d. Your paper includes little or no parenthetical documentation.
e. Your "Works Cited" or "References" page is not understandable.
5) Conventions:
a. You edit your paper poorly for errors.
b. Your spelling and grammatical errors make it difficult for the professor to read your paper.