Paragraph Checklist

Format

This paragraph has a title.

The first sentence is indented.
This paragraph contains 8-12 sentences.

Organization

This paragraph has a clear topic sentence.

The TS has a topic and a controlling idea.
The TS has a point of view (not a fact) OR contains a classification
.
This paragraph has at least TWO major sentences.
The major supporting sentences are relevant to the TS.
The major supporting sentences elaborate the TS by providing
examples , stories , or facts .
Each major supporting sentence has at least ONE minor supporting
sentence.
Each minor supporting sentence is relevant to its major supporting
sentence.
The minor supporting sentences elaborate the major supporting
sentences by providing additional details , examples , stories
, or facts .
This paragraph has a concluding sentence.
The concluding sentence is a restatement of the TS or a
summary of the major supporting sentences .

Structure and Mechanics

All the words in the title (except prepositions, conjunctions and

articles) are capitalized.

All the sentences in this paragraph are complete (they contain AT

LEAST ONE independent clause and have a subject and a verb).
All sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a period.
Sentences do NOT contain unnecessarily capitalized words.
Apostrophes are used correctly.
Commas are used correctly to separate items in a list.
The paragraph contains transitions at the beginning of each major
supporting sentence and at the beginning of the concluding
sentence.
Transitions are followed by a comma.
The paragraph does NOT have any sentences beginning with but
or and.
Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two clauses, AND the
conjunctions are preceded by a comma.
Subordinating conjunctions are used to link an independent clause
to a dependant clause, AND the dependant clause:
Occurs in the first half of the sentence and is
followed by a comma .
Or occurs in the second half and is NOT preceded by
a comma.
The paragraph does NOT contain run-on sentences or comma
splices.
The subject and verb in each sentence agree in a number (singular
subject takes singular verb, plural subject takes plural verb).
Adjectives describing the same noun appear before that noun and
are separated by commas.
The paragraph is written in the third person (does not contain I,
you or we).
All the words in this paragraph are spelled correctly.
All the verbs in this paragraph are in the correct tense.