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Writing
and Talking About History > Resources for
Writing Papers > Proofreading Checklist
Proofreading
Checklist
ALTHOUGH
SOME ITEMS ARE COVERED IN LATER CLASS MEETINGS,
refer to this checklist for all papers.
General
Rules
Some Rules for Clear Writing
Some Rules on Mechanics and Punctuation
General
Rules:
1.
Do not use a TITLE PAGE unless otherwise instructed.
2.
Double SPACE and use one-inch MARGINS.
3.
NUMBER all pages.
4.
PROOFREAD or be penalized if paper averages
more than one typo per page.
5.
Turn in all REQUIRED MATERIALS or be penalized.
6.
Do not ignore this CHECKLIST or repeat EASY-TO-CORRECT
ERRORS noted on graded papers or be penalized.
7.
Take advantage of the WRITING CENTER; acknowledge
you did so within your honor pledge.
8.
Ask a classmate or friend to read your paper
and to provide general FEEDBACK; acknowledge his/her
contribution within your honor pledge.
9.
Keep a BACK-UP COPY of your work.
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Some
Rules for Clear Writing
10.
Use VERB TENSE logically and consistently.
Past tense is the most widely used and logical
tense for historians, but present tense is standard
in some situations (e.g., "in his book, historian
John Doe argues that"). Be especially careful
when using different tenses for different aspects
of your paper (e.g., "Doe asserts that the
Puritans were").
11.
Use PASSIVE VOICE carefully
(e.g., "the decision was made." By whom??).
Passive voice is NOT past tense, and it is not
by its nature wrong; however, passive constructions
are usually vague, lifeless, and uninformative.
12.
Always provide FULL NAME AND IDENTIFICATION
when referring to a person for the first time.
13.
Always IDENTIFY THE AUTHOR OF A QUOTATION
AND PROVIDE A BRIEF IDENTIFICATION (e.g., "as
presidential candidate Mary Smith explained").
14.
Write in THIRD PERSON.
Avoid "I," "our," "we,"
"us," "you," etc. in most
history papers.
15.
Avoid "THIS" without a reference word.
("This
was a problem." What was?) Do not assume
that what is clear to you is clear to your "ignorant"
reader.
16.
Avoid:
SLANG, COLLOQUIALISMS, AND CUTE EXPRESSIONS.
JARGON AND TECHNICAL LANGUAGE that does not fit
a general reader.
STUFFY, WORDY, LECTURING PHRASES, e.g., "it
is important to note that."
17.
Avoid overrelying on "FEEL/FELT"
when you mean "think/thought" or "believe/believed."
Avoid overuse of "VERY" and "EXTREMELY."
18.
Never use:
- "A
LOT" in formal writing.
- CONTRACTIONS
or ABBREVIATIONS in formal writing.
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Some
Rules on Mechanics and Punctuation
19.
Do not confuse HYPHENS with DASHES.
- Both
are created through use of the hyphen key, and
neither has spacing around it. But the DASH--made
with two strokes of the hyphen key--is used
to add words/phrases to a sentence, much as
parentheses are used; a HYPHEN (one stroke)
is used to break words, etc. (Turabian, 3.91,
1.1012, 3.12-53, 2.67)
20.
Do not use SINGLE QUOTATION MARKS unless you
are indicating a quotation within a quotation.
(Turabian, 5.11)
21.
PERIODS and COMMAS:
always go INSIDE quotation marks.
COLONS and SEMICOLONS: always go OUTSIDE.
22.
Do not confuse the following:
- it's
= it is; its = possessive
- There
is no such thing as its'.
- affect
= verb; effect = noun (except when used to mean
caused)
- accept
= verb; except = preposition
- lead
= present tense; led = past tense
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