Audience:

• Choose only one specific audience.
• Address intended audience.
• Keep in mind the audience's prior knowledge and attitude.
• Use specific information to gain and keep the attention of the audience.
• Decide on an appropriate tone (your way of speaking, formal or informal, for example)

Purpose:
Decide on your purpose for writing the paper

• Inform
• Persuade
• Compare/Contrast
• Define
• Explain
• To propose a solution

Organization:

• Arrange your paper into the basic shape of introduction, body, and conclusion.
  
• Decide on a logical scheme of organization.

• Chronological (time)
• Cause-and-effect
• Definition
• Problem-solution
• Compare/contrast
• Spatial (describing an object as it appears in space)

Paragraph Unity:

• Generally, open each paragraph with a topic sentence.
  
• Write on only one topic per paragraph
  
• Develop sentences that "connect" to each other (Note: coherence in a paragraph is important and can be achieved by imagining your sentences as building blocks, with each sentence "evolving" and flowing from the one preceding it.)

Clarity:

• Tighten wordy sentences.
• Use active verbs.
• Balance parallel ideas.
• Repair misplaced and dangling modifiers.
• Vary word choice.
• Be consistent with tone.
• Provide clear transitions.

Sentence Structure and Grammar:

• Make sure subjects and verbs agree.
• Watch verb usage and be alert for irregular verbs.
• Use pronouns with care; check for agreement with antecedent.
• Choose adjectives and adverbs with care; check for agreement with antecedent.
• Use parallelism. (Use the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, and yet.

Punctuation: Correct use of:

• comma
• semicolon
• colon
• apostrophe
• quotation marks
• other punctuation marks

Mechanics:

• Capitalization
• Abbreviation, numbers, italics (underlining)
• Spelling and use of the hyphen

Documentation:

• Cite your sources accurately.
• Integrate quotations smoothly.
• Use a standard format such as MLA, APA
• AVOID PLAGIARISM