Editing Checklist
Keyed to Little, Brown Handbook, 11th ed.
Dr. Rowe
Editing Checklist
_____Have I formatted my document correctly, with one inch margins all the way around, and doublespaced everything, as well as included an academic heading and proper pagination in the upper right
corner? [CH46c 689-91]
_____Have I centered my title, appropriately capitalizing first letters of most words? [33b 483]
_____Have I checked for sentence boundary errors-- comma splices or fused sentences [CH18 338-52] or
sentence fragments? [CH17 330-7]
_____Have I checked for verb tense consistency? [CH14g-h 289-95]
_____Have I checked for numerical agreement? [CH15 301-15 and CH20a 353-5]
_____Have I made sure my pronouns clearly refer to the nouns they represent? [CH19 345-51]
_____Have I checked for word endings--such as the dropping of final -s or final -ed? [CH14c 279-80 and
CH15a 301-9]
_____Have I checked for spelling errors? [CH40 531-46]
_____Have I edited for correctness in the use of ellipsis, when leaving out words in a quotation? [CH32
475-8]
_____Have I checked to make sure each body paragraph is focused, unified, and well developed? [CH4ac 72-143]
_____Have I checked my punctuation for accuracy? [Section 6 416-79; See chart 416-7]
_____Have I taken out unnecessarily repetitive or redundant language? [CH39 523-30]
_____Have I examined my use of quotation or dialogue to make sure it is clear, grammatical, and
consistent with MLA guidelines? [CH31 459-67]
_____Have I carefully checked the assignment instructions to make sure that I have followed all of them?
_____Have I checked my in text parenthetic citations for correctness and smoothness? [CH46a 644-53]
_____Have I made sure my list of Works Cited consistently follows MLA format? [46b 653-89; See
directory 656-7]
_____Have I made sure there is no plagiarism in my work? [CH44 626-35]
_____Have I carefully searched for, and corrected, any problems identified on previous work?
After examining your work for each problem area and making any needed correction, check the
appropriate space. Attach the completed checklist to your final draft before turning it in.