Human Behavior

Academic Writing Expectations Checklist

The faculty Assessor will use this checklist to evaluate whether your written responses adhere to the conventions of scholarly writing. Review this checklist prior to submitting your Assessment to ensure your writing follows academic writing expectations. Click the links to access Writing Center resources:

Sentence-Level Skills

|_| Constructing complete and correct sentences
Note: See an explanation of sentence components and how to avoid sentence fragments and run-ons.

|_| Using and spelling words correctly
Note: See a list of commonly misused words and information on MS Word’s spell check.

|_| Using punctuation appropriately
Note: See the different types of punctuation and their uses.

|_| Using grammar appropriately
Note: See a Grammarly tutorial to catch further errors.

Paragraph-Level Skills

|_| Using paragraph breaks
Note: See a description of paragraph basics.

|_| Focusing each paragraph on one central idea (rather than multiple ideas)
Note: See an explanation of how topic sentences work.

Use of Evidence

|_| Using resources appropriately
Note: See examples of integrating evidence in a paper.
|_| Citing and referencing resources accurately
Note: See examples of citing and referencing resources in a paper.

|_| Paraphrasing (explaining in one’s own words) to avoid plagiarizing the source
Note: See paraphrasing strategies.

Formatting Written Assignments

|_| Using appropriate APA formatting, including title page, margins, and font
Note: See APA overview and APA template from the Writing Center.

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