The Writing Center

Progress Checklist for Argumentative Research Paper

Below is a list of activities that you need to complete in order to practice all the stages of writing an argumentative research paper.

Pre-Writing Activities

Research Log:  entries about how much time you are spending doing your research and what you are finding

Good                 Comments:
Adequate
Fair
Incomplete

Notecards  or slips of paper that indicate the information you’ve collected for your paper

Good                 Comments:
Adequate
Fair
Incomplete

Annotating Cards  or slips of paper that indicate the bibliographic information and skimming notes you made

Good                  Comments:
Adequate
Fair
Incomplete

List of Titles:  the original list of sources you found in your library search

Good                  Comments:
Adequate
Fair
Incomplete

List of the BEST Sources:  the ones you isolated after skimming the bigger list

Good                  Comments:
Adequate
Fair
Incomplete

OVERALL GRADE FOR PRE-WRITING ACTIVITIES: 

Comments:

First Version (1= lowest score and 5= highest score)

Focus:  clearly stated argument found in the introductory pages

1     2     3     4     5

 

Development: 

  • Comprehensiveness (enough good sources)
  • Strong reasoning from writer
  • Rebuttals handled well
  • Introduction contains background information (such as history, definitions, information needed to understand the arg.)
  • In-text citation done well
  • Language used and amount of development reflect respect for audience
  • Length of paragraphs is good

 

1     2     3     4     5

1     2     3     4     5
1     2     3     4     5
1     2     3     4     5

 

1     2     3     4     5
1     2     3     4     5

 

1     2     3     4     5

Organization:

  • Transitions made from one argument to the next
  • Introduction contains the background information
  • The overall order of the argument is good
  • The internal ordering of individual paragraphs is good

 
1     2     3     4     5

1     2     3     4     5

1     2     3     4     5

1     2     3     4     5

Style: 

  • The language is academic/formal
  • Sentence patterns are varied

 

1     2      3     4    5
1     2      3     4    5

Mechanics:

  • Block quotes are correctly cited
  • Use of ellipses and brackets is correct
  • Introduction of sources done properly (signal phrases)
  • References cited correctly using MLA formatting

 

1     2      3     4    5
1     2      3     4    5

 

1     2      3     4    5
1     2      3     4    5

OVERALL GRADE FOR FIRST VERSION:

Comments:

Second Version

Grading for the second version will be done with the above scoring sheet; however, your first version will factor into the grade you receive for the research paper. You will also receive a grade on the peer review you write for another student in class.

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