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CHECK YOUR OWN PAPER

APA - Check Your Own Paper

  • Cover page is correctly formatted and includes:
  • Running head
  • Page number
  • APA requirements
  • Course requirements as listed in the syllabus (course number, course name, faculty name, faculty credentials)
  • First page of the text/body of the paper includes the title
  • All pages of the text/body of the paper are correctly formatted and include:
  • Running head
  • Page number
  • Margins are 1” throughout paper
  • Font is 12 point Times Roman throughout paper (including the running head)
  • Entire paper is double spaced (including cover page and reference page)
  • Quotes are in quotation marks or block format
  • Quotations must be tied to the paper with your own words (cannot stand alone)
  • Quotations are referenced with a source and page or paragraph number
  • Paraphrased material is references with a source
  • Look closely at any paragraph (excluding introduction/conclusion) without a citation
  • A page number is not required for paraphrased material, but may be included if it helps the reader locate the information
  • All sources on the reference page are cited in the text/body of the paper
  • All sources cited in the text/body of the paper are cited in the reference list
  • Reference page is correctly formatted and includes:
  • Running head
  • Page number
  • The word References centered at the top of the page at the 1” margin
  • References are correctly formatted
  • The citation on the reference page should match the citation in the text/body of the paper
  • The required information is included
  • Choose the correct type of reference (book, edited book, chapter in an edited book, journal article, entire journal etc.)
  • Books – include publication city and ST
  • Journal article – include DOI
  • Check capitalization/italics rules
  • Paper has been spellchecked and grammar checked
  • Paper has been proofread

Major APA Errors (not exhaustive)

  • Failure to cite
  • Failure to appropriately and accurately cite quoted material
  • Failure to appropriately and accurately cite paraphrased material
  • Consistent failure to cite may be plagiarism
  • The citations in the body/text of the paper should match the citations on the reference page and vice versa
  • Sources cited in the text of the paper are not on the reference page
  • Sources cited on the reference page are not cited in the text of paper
  • The citation on the reference list does not correlate to the citation in the text of the paper
  • Information is missing from the reference citation which makes it difficult to find the source
  • Information in the reference citation is inaccurate
  • Title on first page of text missing
  • “References” missing from reference page
  • Running head or page numbers missing
  • Missing APA requirement from title page
  • Formatting of block quotes

Paper Content - Check Your Own Paper

  • Is there a length requirement?
  • Are there requirements about references (number, age)?
  • Are there any other requirements/restrictions for this paper?
  • Turnitin
  • Attachments
  • Does the paper cover the content?
  • Is the topic clearly introduced?
  • Is the topic developed?
  • Are there specific issues to address/develop?
  • Is all the content supported?
  • Is the conclusion comprehensive?
  • Is everything in the conclusion developed in the paper?

NGB 9-8-12_Web