Editing Checklist for Grammar in Assignment

Organizational Requirements

¨Each paragraph has a topic sentence that tells your reader exactly what each paragraph is
about (that is, each paragraph states explicitly one of the defining features of feminism)—
ask yourself: Will Luke have a clear idea what this paragraph is about, if he is to read
only my topic sentence?
¨ Each paragraph explores one of feminism’s defining features—do not include several of
the main ideas in each paragraph, only one main idea—ask yourself: How many main
ideas are in this paragraph?
¨ Each paragraph has at least five sentences
¨ Sentences connect in idea, that is, your paragraphs flow from one sentence to the next,
and sentences build from one to the next—read your sentences aloud, and ask yourself:
Does each sentence connect to the next sentence in a logical, clear way?
¨ Paragraphs do not end with new information; instead, the last sentence ends by wrapping
up the paragraph—ask yourself: Does this last sentence introduce a new idea, or does this
sentence wrap up the paragraph in a clear, logical way?
¨ All quotations are contextualized, introduced, and cited properly
¨ No paragraph has a quotation in its topic sentence
¨ No paragraph ends with a quotation

Class-Specific Rules/Principles

¨ Assignment must be in present tense, and you must introduce the quotes in the present
tense (e.g., “Sumner states”—not “Sumner stated”)
¨ Assignment does not have any of the banned words/phrases discussed in class (e.g.,
“interesting[ly],” “society,” “stuff,” “thing[s],” “to get” [or conjugations thereof], “we,”
“us,” “our[s],” “my,” “I,” “mine,” “me,” “you,” “your,” “in conclusion,” “in sum,”
“true,” “truly,” “in truth,” “in fact,” etc.)
¨ “This”/“That”/“These”/“Those” have a noun directly following them
¨ No absolute language (e.g., “never,” “always,” “forever,” “perfect,” “everyone,” “for
certain,” “will,” “for sure,” etc.)
¨ No contractions
¨ Do not end a sentence with a preposition
¨ No emotive/emotional language (e.g., “sadly,” “disappointingly,” “awesome,” “great,”
etc.)
¨ Do not use the imperative tense, that is, do not command your reader (e.g., “Imagine you
are walking through a room”)
¨ Do not use hedgers (e.g., “kind of,” “maybe,” “sort of,” etc.) or intensifiers (e.g., “very,”
“really,” “so,” etc.)
¨ Numbers under 100 are to be written out (e.g., you must say “eighty,” not “80”)
¨ Do not use vague phrases (e.g., “this quote,” “this idea,” “this concept,” “this topic,” “this
phrase,” etc.) and, instead, be specific
¨ Be cautious out for words like “also,” “lastly,” “next,” “first,” “second,” “third”—they
can sound listy

¨ No clichés or colloquial phrases
¨ No large spaces between paragraphs
¨ Paragraphs are indented

Grammar Requirements

¨ No run-on sentences (remember to punctuate properly if you are joining independent
clauses [complete sentences] together with conjoining words like “and,” “but,” and/or
“yet”)
¨ No comma splices (remember: if a sentence ends, put a period/full stop at the end of it,
not a comma)
¨ No sentence fragments (make sure your sentences are complete and can stand on their
own)
¨ Apostrophes are properly used