Tip: How Do I Write On a College Level? Here are Some Academic Standards For Your Writing

Academic Expectations in your assignments: 
All good college writing has these characteristics:
• It covers the topic fully.
• It reveals complexity and depth of thought.
• It uses an academic voice.
• It uses information from various sources.
• It always credits its sources properly (NO plagiarism).
• It goes beyond the obvious -- shows originality of inquiry.



More specifically, it’s expected that you do the following:
• Follow written and oral directions carefully.
• Address or fulfill ALL parts of the assignment or question.
• Write in complete and correct sentences.
• Organize sentences into paragraphs that have topic sentences and organized supporting details.
• Carefully adhere to the prescribed academic style (the Chicago Style for this class).
• Spell-check papers and obtain help, if needed.



Use this checklist for all your submissions. Do not be chatty or colloquial in formal papers. Pay attention to formatting: for example, always follow the directions for page margins, headers, page numbers, and title pages. These are requirements on the papers you submit, and they are skill sets you are meant to learn.