ACADEMIC PAPER/ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST

The following is a checklist for writing an academic style paper/assignment. Use this to ensure all your
academic papers are complete and correctly structured.

This checklist helps you meet course expectations. To get top marks (A-, A or A+), requires going beyond
basic requirements. It means excelling in the various aspects of research, and giving evidence that you
have engaged with ALL course materials in some way over the period of the semester. Remember that
your professor is a primary source (expert) of knowledge, and integrating and citing their work is well-
advised. Further, outstanding performance involves appropriately integrating and applying concepts and
principles; this is often supported by a relevant personal (or other) illustration. Exceptional work
involves being perceptive, insightful, and creative, and expressing yourself well in textual and visual
formats. Acquaint yourself with the criteria of the grading rubric and set your goals accordingly.

CAUTION: DO NOT CHECK OFF A BOX UNLESS YOU HAVE APPLIED THE RULE / GUIDELINE.

1. Have you addressed all the items in the assignment instructions, on the syllabus and on the
course site? Use those instructions as a checklist to be sure you’ve covered everything. Before
you start, make sure you understand the nature of assignment. Is it a research paper, an analysis
and report, an interaction or reflection paper, etc.?

2. Did you create an engaging title that accurately reflects the content of your paper? An
assignment label is not a title.

3. Is your Outline clear? Include an Outline for a major paper and use APA sub-topic heading
levels.

4. Did you begin your paper with an effective Introduction paragraph that has a clear Thesis
Statement? (put that sentence in italics)

5. Have you included multiple, well-developed Body Paragraphs and integrated concepts, ideas,
or information from course readings and resources, as well as additional research (if required)
into those paragraphs?

6. Did you create a Conclusion paragraph that reiterates the overall thesis, the main points
made, and shares the significance of the topic?

7. Have you used an Academic Voice throughout your paper? E.g. research paper, report, or
case study. For reflection and interaction papers, use first person.

8. Did you correctly cite your sources according to the 7th edition of the APA Style? Did you cite
everything that is statistical in nature?

9. Did you create a References or Works Cited page for the sources you used, using APA style?
Use the APA resources on the course site, in addition to www.apastyle.org for more
comprehensive information. This should include, because you have used these:
 o the main item used for the assignment (e.g., video or article details)
o relevant course material: chapter or class material, or articles posted on Moodle
(recognize that your professor is a primary subject-matter expert, and to include a
quote or concept presented in class, shows your ability to integrate ‘new learning’).
o relevant qualitative research that takes you deeper into the subject matter or topic.
There should be sufficient entries based on the type of assignment, the degree to which
it contributes to the final grade, and overall graduate-level work.
o For a short paper, use 3-4 resources over and above the course materials. Use 10-15
articles or other resources, over and above the course materials, for a major paper.

10. Have you met all the requirements within the assignment instructions, including word count,
sufficient sources, and other requirements?

11. Did you review your writing for correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling? This requires
more than one editorial review.

12. Is your page and paper format, font style and size, correct and consistent? E.g. According to
APA procedures, papers should never be justified on the right margin.

13. After you have finished your final draft, did you have someone proof-read your paper?
Editing it for accuracy is your responsibility. *** There should be no more than 2-3 grammatical
or technical errors per page.

14. Did you use the required Title Page and Writing Centre confirmation page (2nd page)? See
the webpage on Moodle that provides you with essential templates, guidelines, and documents.

15. Did you follow all the guidelines for “Preparing and Presenting with PowerPoint” (Anaya)?
This is on the Resource webpage. E.g. Are your images and graphics (tables and figures)
appropriate and correctly formatted and cited?

16. Did you save your assignment with the correct label? Include your name for individual work.

17. Finally, does your assignment demonstrate graduate level competencies in significance (i.e.
insight), quality of work, and degree of effort. The percentage of value (e.g., 10% vs 25%) should
be considered in how you approach your different assignments.

18. My assignment is, in its entirety, a product of my own original work, unless borrowed
material is cited in the text and in my References.

19. If I used AI tools, I used them to do the following. (Check or mark an “X” accordingly.)
a. _____ Brainstorm ideas and create an outline.
b. _____ Generate research material for the sub-topic(s) or section(s).
c. _____ Create my draft.
d. _____ Anything else? Name it.
e. _____ I cited AI use in my References using this format:
OpenAI. (year). ChatGPT (month day version) [Descriptive text here].
https://chat.openai.com
f. _____ I did not use AI or Chat GPT for this assignment.

M.A. Leadership | Dr. E. Ruth Anaya 2