Use This Before Every Submission
Most academic submissions contain errors that could have been caught with fifteen minutes of methodical checking. This checklist is organised by category so you can work through it systematically rather than hoping you’ll spot everything in one pass.
Structure and Argument
Does your introduction clearly state what your essay or chapter argues? Does each paragraph have a clear main point? Does that point connect back to your thesis or research question? Is there a logical flow from one paragraph to the next, or do the ideas feel disconnected? Does your conclusion actually conclude — drawing together your findings — rather than just summarising?
Grammar and Sentence Structure
Check for subject-verb agreement: ‘The results shows’ is wrong; ‘The results show’ is correct. Watch for dangling modifiers — sentences where a descriptive phrase doesn’t attach logically to the right noun. Look for run-on sentences that try to do too much in one go. Check that your verb tenses are consistent within sections. Academic writing in English generally uses past tense for methodology and results, and present tense for established findings.
Punctuation
Commas: Are you using them correctly, or scattering them wherever you pause? Apostrophes: ‘its’ (possessive) vs ‘it’s’ (it is) — this one error appears in submitted work more than you’d expect. Colons and semicolons: A semicolon connects two independent clauses. A colon introduces a list or explanation. They are not interchangeable.
Word Choice and Tone
Is your language appropriately formal? Informal phrases like ‘a lot of’, ‘stuff’, ‘kind of’, and ‘things’ generally don’t belong in academic writing. Have you overused certain words? If ‘significant’ appears seven times in one section, vary it. Are there any vague terms — ‘various’, ‘several’, ‘many’ — that could be replaced with specific figures or examples?
Formatting
Is your font, size, and line spacing consistent throughout? Do your headings follow the correct hierarchy? Are page numbers in place? Does your title page include everything your institution requires? Have you followed the correct margin settings?
Citations and References
Every in-text citation — does it have a corresponding entry in the reference list? Every entry in the reference list — was it actually cited in the text? Are your in-text citations in the correct format for your style? Is your reference list alphabetical (for APA and Harvard) or in order of appearance (for IEEE)? Have you italicised journal names and book titles correctly?
Final Check
Read the whole thing aloud. Slow down. If you stumble over something, that’s usually a signal that the sentence needs reworking. Then put it away for an hour — if you have time — and do one final read. You’ll catch at least one thing you missed.
