Some Suggestions 

Research paper grading rubric can vary wildly among university professors. So how do you figure out if your paper will be up to snuff. No doubt different categories will be more important to different professors, so it’s a good idea to initially review the research paper grading rubric and ask your instructor questions about his/her criteria to gauge what is a priority.

My suggestion is that you first “prepare the ‘shell’ of your paper based on the style your program requires or your instructor recommends. Begin with compiling every page and section your professor has requested for your finished research paper such as a title page, abstract page, headers for your sections, works cited page, etc.

Check the introduction to be clear and provocative as it functions as a road map to your research paper. It should certainly describe your purpose, your research question, and what you’ll be examining, analyzing, and proving. Readers begin forming judgments about a research paper after just viewing the introduction, which is why it’s so critical to make it shine.

A great research paper may appear ordinary or trite if the hypothesis is unclear or not stated. Most professors locate and evaluate thesis statements as one of their primary grading criteria. Your thesis statement should be evident by the end of your introductory paragraph, and it should be repeated in your conclusion.

The following questions may help you check the quality of your paper, so ask yourself these questions before turning in your research paper:

1. Do I have all the items my professor asked for: a title page, an abstract, an introduction, body paragraphs, a summary, a conclusion, a works cited page?
2.  Are they in order in accordance with what my professor has outlined or based on whichever editorial style the professor has established for the paper?
3.  What about subheadings, footnotes, parenthetical references (or superscript, depending on style)?
4. Do I have transition sentences, and are they serving their purposes?
5.  Do my ideas progress logically throughout the paper?
6.  Have I checked and double-checked with the grading rubric or appropriate style manual to ensure that I’ve included every necessary portion?

Scientific studies require documentation and Professors expect sources to be cited and integrated and fused with your ideas. If you have ,say, 10 sources and only used two, a professor will notice and grade you down. Similarly, make sure you are using reliable research sources. Ask your professor ahead of time whether your sources are valid  and okay—most will not accept sources such as Wikipedia or blog entries; some will only accept sources from approved journal databases.

Wordy, bombastic writing will impress no one, nor does your professor. The longer it takes him/her to understand what you’re saying, the less clear you’ll be and the quicker your grade will drop. Ask a roommate, peer, or friend to proofread your research paper and offer feedback.

Check your paper for correct in-text citation. What you write in your paper is your views and ideas unless they are shown as paraphrases or quotations. In other words, anything not in quotations should be your ideas and analyses, not anyone else’s. It’s not uncommon for students to pursue the same research topic, but most professors will try to ensure that each one is unique. Many instructors request the thesis ahead of time so they can evaluate it, as well as verify that each student is working on a different re

Plagiarism isn’t always stealing someone else’s paper—it can be something as simple as cutting and pasting a quote from a journal and forgetting to cite it correctly. Plagiarism most commonly occurs accidentally or unintentionally, when writers are unaware of the appropriate conventions for referencing other people’s work. Whether accidental or deliberate, if you are submitting a piece of writing for credit or possible publication, you are likely to be severely penalized if you are found guilty of plagiarism. Check and recheck your work to ensure this hasn’t happened.

Your instructor may require a certain research paper format such as APA, MLA, orChicago. Follow the recommended or requested format if you don’t want to lose grades for it.

Click the link below to see how your research paper will be evaluated.

Grading Criteria for Research Papers