1. Number your pages.
  2. Divide your essay into chapters, sections, or sub-sections, and list these in a table of contents. This makes it easier for your readers to keep track of where you’re going.
  3. Don’t end a page with the title of the next section.
  4. Consult the citation guide.
  5. Write clear, simple, and grammatically correct sentences. Don’t burden your readers with mindless jargon. Howard Becker’s Writing For Social Scientists is an excellent resource that you should consult.
  6. Use spell-check, but don’t forget that it won’t catch incorrect homophones (their/there, it’s/its, to/too/two, etc.).
  7. Learn what’s considered first-rate work by reading distinction comps from previous years.
  8. Include an abstract.
  9. Be considerate of your aging faculty’s eyesight and use a legible font.
  10. The order of sections should be: title page, abstract, table of contents, list of figures, acknowledgements, body of text, appendices, references cited.

PROOFREAD WHAT YOU’VE WRITTEN BEFORE TURNING IT IN! Egregiously sloppy or careless comps will be returned to the writer for revisions before being evaluated, and they will not be considered for distinction.