Name _________________________  Date ________________ Number ______ 

Research Project /Checklist 

Criteria  Description  Not  Starting  Yes! 
yet  to... 

Organization and  ❏ I used paragraphs to ​organize​ and ​structure​ my ideas. I grouped information into       
Structure  sections and used paragraphs and sometimes also chapters to separate those 
sections. I may have used headings and subheadings. 

❏ Paragraphs separate new dialogue, change in setting and/or       

time, different subtopics. 

❏ Each paragraph is indented.       

❏ I made choices about how to structure my writing.       

organization. I might have used compare/contrast, 
cause/ effect, or pro/con. I may have used diagrams, 
charts, headings, bold words, definition boxes, and 
other text features to help teach my readers. 

 
Content  ❏ I restated each question in the prompt before answering with a claim or inference.       

❏ I provided at least two pieces of evidence for each claim I make in my answer.       

❏ I answered the entire prompt.       

❏ To answer each research question, I used ​more than one resource​ (digital articles,       
texts, my own experience and schema, videos on the topic, etc.) I used cross-text 
synthesis to guide this work. 

 
Analysis  ❏ I grew my own defensible ideas.       
■ 2-3 per paragraph 

❏ I made connections.       
■ Text-to-text 
■ Text-to-self 
■ Text-to-world 

❏ I wrote about ​why​ this information is important.       

❏ I balanced facts and ideas/opinions.       

❏ I wrote about how one part/detail connects to the whole text/main idea.       

 
Elaboration  ❏ I used elaboration prompts to help add strong analysis.        
■ Sentence starters/frames 

❏ I taught my readers different things about the subject. I       

chose those subtopics because they were important and 
interesting. 

❏ I included different kinds of facts and       

details such as numbers, names, and 
examples.  

❏ I got my information from talking to people, reading       

books, and from my own knowledge and 
observations.  

Originality  ❏ My work demonstrates that I comprehend what I’ve researched.        

❏ My writing reflects original thoughts.       

❏ I paraphrased, or said things in my own words instead of copying another author’s       

writing.  

❏ I added the title or name of resource to my B ​ ibliography​ page to make sure that I       
am citing, or giving credit to all authors whose work I used to help me answer each 
prompt.  
Punctuation  ❏ I used punctuation to mark the end of a sentence. I made       
sure that the punctuation I chose adds to the ​narrative flow 
of my ideas.   

❏ When writing long, complex sentences, I used commas to       

make them clear and correct.  

❏ I used quotation marks at the start and at the end of what is       
being said.  
■ I used quotation marks…  
➢ To quote text evidence/another author 
➢ Dialogue