Spring 2014: The Great Gatsby Research Paper CHECKLIST
MLA Formatting
Works Cited Page
___ 1 inch margins for entire paper
Look CLOSELY at appearance of Works Cited page on
model – imitate it precisely!!!
___ double-spacing for entire paper
___ 12 pt. Times New Roman font
___ entries are in the form given in the “source
___ header (last name, page #)
citation” section of database entries
___ 4 line heading (student, teacher, class, date)
___ My American Dream resource(s) is/are cited
___ original title
___ The Great Gatsby is cited
___ proper font and spacing in Works Cited
___ My 1st secondary source is cited
___ My 2nd secondary source is cited
Introduction Paragraph
___ entries are in alphabetical order by first word
___ “hook” development of American Dream/1920s
in entry (usually author’s last name)
___ 2-3 cited quotes from AD/1920s source
___ hanging indent!!!!
___ Ends with a clear thesis
___ no bold fonts, no numbering
___focused and coherent (topic strings/word glue)
___ check CLOSELY for 1:1 correlation between
citations in paper and works listed in Works Cited
Analysis Paragraphs (minimum: 3)
___ clear topic sentence stating focus of paragraph (no
evidence, only associations and relationship)
___ min. 2 direct primary quotes per paragraph;
properly cited and blended (6 total)
___ min. 1 direct secondary quote per paragraph;
properly cited and blended (4 total)
___follows proper analysis format
___focused and coherent (topic strings/word glue)
Conventions
___no spelling errors, including typos, and
author’s name, works, etc.
___correct punctuation, including apostrophes,
titles of works, commas, colons, etc.
___no sentence-level concerns – no fragments,
comma splices, run-ons
___ 6 CAPITALIZED vocab words from the book
___ 3 underlined PrPP and/or PaPPs
Conclusion Paragraph
___ clear topic sentence that restates/visits thesis
___ seeks to explain the greater significance of the
characterization, symbolism, and themes and its
connection to the American Dream/1920s
___focused and coherent (topic strings/word glue)
___ 3 bold AbPs
___ 3 italicized compound or complex structures
with at least one effective semicolon