Is Your Final Paper Finally Done? Here is what to check before you turn in your final draft!

 Is Your Final Paper Finally Done? Here is what to check before you turn in your final draft!

Is your final paper finally done? I talked to Writing Consultant Cara Wenz about some things to check before you celebrate that you finished before the 11:59pm deadline. Points 3, 4, and 5 were their suggestions, and 1 and 2 were my own! Also, remember that writing is a process that requires revision, editing, and revising; so while this list is a starting point for how to finalize a paper, these are not the only things your should be doing! Write, rewrite, reward! Before you finally hit “submit” on your FINAL final draft, here are some things to check after the content of the paper is finished. 

Also: Everything on this list is what we help writers with in the CWC, so read through for some tips on how to help writers with it!

1. Respond promptly

Read the prompt. I’ll say that again: Read. The. Prompt. Read it, annotate it, understand it, make sure that you know what the professor wants. Just like the previous point, there can be the best piece of writing known to man, but if it doesn’t answer the prompt, then it is a bad paper. Make sure that if it is an argumentative paper, your thesis is a defensible argument. If it is a position paper, you take a firm position and defend it with evidence. Read and answer the prompt. Be on target!

How to help a writer with this: Start by asking to see the prompt (and) rubric yourself. It will be a lot easier to help the writer if you can actually read what the professor said rather than what the writer kinda-sorta-maybe remembers about the prompt. Next, annotate the prompt with the writer. Ask them, "What does this prompt ask you to do?" or "Ok, so what is the first thing that comes to mind when you read this?" Even if the writer already has a draft, ask to see the prompt to make sure that the paper actually does what the prompt asks. If the prompt is super confusing and even a super smart consultant such as yourself can't figure out what the professor wants, that is when you can ask another writing consultant, writing fellow, or even have the student go to the professor and say "I went to the Writing Center and we could not figure this out, any ideas to help me get started?" 

2. “F” is for Format

Are you writing a history paper? Politics opinion paper? Psychology case study? Well, depending on the class, the assignment, and the department, there is a specific format you need to follow. Make sure that if the assignment calls for a Chicago format, you are not turning in a fantastic paper… in APSA format.

How to help a writer with this: Just like the prior point, read the prompt! It can also help to look at previous papers the writer has written in that class to see what format they usually write in. If they have been writing in MLA all semester and are suddenly writing in Chicago, something might be up and you should double-check the assignment.

3. (CITE)

When I am writing, I often get into the “groove” and will quote something but not write the citation right away, instead writing “(CITE)” right after the quote. Then, when I am done and revising, I will replace the “(CITE)” with the actual in-text citation. This works great for me until…I forgot to replace one of the “(CITE)”s. So you can imagine my humiliation when I got my Intro to Politics paper back and in the first sentence, there is a “(CITE)” and the professor’s comment was “yes”. So, moral of the story, make sure you cite all of your sources thoroughly and in the correct format!

How to help a writer with this: To help a writer make a citation in the first place, use Purdue Owl or another citation guide! Purdue Owl is also super helpful if you don't know the citation style the professor is asking for; remember that there is nothing bad about not knowing something and looking it up (learning!) If you suspect someone has not cited something, politely ask them where they found that information and make sure they cite it (not giving credit is stealing). If you think someone has used AI to write the paper or a portion of the paper, again, ask them where they found the info. You could say something like "Ok, tell me what you wrote, but without looking at the paper." (This is also helpful for when someone knows the content but does not know how to explain/word it!)

4. Did you mean to say that?

Make sure that what you intended to say comes across in the final paper. There can be the most eloquent, beautiful, fantastic writing, but if it is disorganized and your thesis does not make sense, then the paper is not very good. So, check that what you want the reader to be left with after reading your paper is what they are actually getting. 

How to help a writer with this: Like I mentioned above, if a writer knows what they want to say but not how to say it, asking them to simply speak to you about the answer to the prompt can be really helpful. Additionally, the fact that the writer is getting a second set of eyes on the paper in the first place is a great way to spot wording errors. Read over the paper, and if you come to a part that doesn't seem quite right, ask them if that is what they meant. You can say, "Ok, I am getting _____ from this, is that what you meant for me to take away from this part of the paper?"

5. “Let’s eat Grandma!” “Let’s eat, Grandma!” 

See how punctuation is important! Make sure that before you hit “submit” your punctuation is grammatically correct and makes sense for the style/tone of the paper. I tend to overuse commas, so before I turn something in, I go through and remove all the commas that I don’t think are absolutely necessary. So make sure that you don’t have an exclamation point in a formal paper, or a comma after “eat”.

How to help a writer with this: Do what you do best and read the paper! We have this weirdly accurate ability to feel when something sounds off, so just reading through the paper is a super easy way to figure out grammar errors. If you come across something that sounds off but you are not sure why, Google, other consultants, the professor, and (if the professor allows it) even AI can all be great resources for figuring out grammar. Also, read it aloud! That is a great and easy way to spot weird pauses caused by extra commas or long stretches caused by run-ons.

So, before you turn in that paper, make sure that it is a FINAL final draft. Go crush your finals!