QC check 2.0.

Comments and explanations

 Comments to quality metrics

Quality metric: Proper VISUAL PRESENTATION

What an evaluator will look for: proper size of paragraphs/ consistency in the use of
margins, indentions, font, correct formatting of all the structural elements.

Visual presentation is more important than you might expect. The running head, size of
paragraphs, number and location of headings, left or right adjustment - all of the details
matter because this is the first criteria (often unconscious but a very powerful one) in the
client's evaluation of your paper once they see it. After checking how well you formatted
their order, they will get a closer look into the context. Hence, if something is not right, the
customer is more likely to be biased about the overall quality of the paper even before
reading it. So, everything should look neat and fine - balance in the sizes of paragraphs,
consistent fonts of the text and subtitles, etc.

Few recommendations based on real cases:

Do not just copypaste the title from the order profile. The customers may write some
titles just to fill the gap “Title” as they place the order. Check the instruction carefully to
define what title is expected to be provided. Often the title from the order profile should be
adapted to the paper (for example by removing upper-case letters if needed, or changing
punctuation, or reformulating it). Example of a title that should not be copypasted -
“Medicine essay”; “What do you think of article essay”.

The paragraph layout should be proportional from the beginning to the end. The
sharp contrast in the size of paragraphs will neither be visually appealing nor create an
impression of a well-organized text. So, make sure your paragraphs are approximately of
the same size.

Maintain consistency in font usage. Make sure the same font is used throughout the
text, especially in quotations, proper names, citations, or other elements. It will make your
text clean and appealing. This way you will communicate your diligence and precision,
which are the primary components of the expertise our clients are looking for.
Format your paper correctly. There is always a risk of confusing details of APA 6 and
APA 7 formats (like the formatting of title, subheadings, headers). Check all the necessary
samples to make sure you do not overlook those details.

Quality metric: STRUCTURE as per instructions

What an evaluator will look for: structure as per the type of the paper or instruction:
presence of the required structural elements (intro/thesis/main part/conclusion or any
other as per type of the paper), correct paragraph composition (one central idea per
paragraph, proper topic sentence/supporting sentences/concluding or transitional
sentence).

Understanding how to approach paper structure in different types of orders (including non
standard ones) is what makes one a good writer. It is vital to keep in mind the size of the
paper, its type, and a particular instruction that comes with it to get a clear picture of how
the final piece should look. There are various types of papers that one can apply under
different circumstances. Still, a good writer should remember that every order should have
a decent form and composition regardless of the instructions and the type selected.

Recommendations:

While the structure of a classical essay is more or less clear (introduction, thesis
statement, main body, conclusion), customers often request so-called hybrid papers. In
such papers you are supposed to follow a specific outline or sample, which presupposes
deviation from any standard essay structure that we usually apply. It can be one or
several well-developed paragraphs, answers to questions, a short essay, or all types
combined in one paper. Mind that the outline, draft, or sample provided by the client
should be followed precisely.

A well-developed paragraph (when the whole paper is supposed to be one

paragraph long). Suppose you see that the order instructions ask you to write a short
response to a prompt question with no emphasis on essay structure or any particular
format. In that case, the chances are high that you have to complete a well-developed
paragraph. While there is no need to waste space on an introduction, a strong thesis-like
introductory sentence is the right way to start this kind of paper. After you convey all your
thoughts and supporting arguments in a coherent manner, a sort of an afterthought can be
provided at the end of the paragraph. Examples of essays with this type of structure:
discussion post, reflection post, short summary.

Question-Answer. In this type of paper, the writer is expected to insert the question from
instructions or just enumerate the answers for better navigation. Either way, the answers
should be navigable - the client has to be able to spot them easily. The best way to draft a
well-shaped paragraph in a Question-Answer type of paper is to provide a thesis-like
sentence at the beginning of a paragraph that offers a concrete response/answer to a
question.

It can sometimes be hard to grasp the format in which the client wants instructions
question(s) to be answered. One has to note all the ‘markers’ hinting at a specific type in
the very instructions. Are the questions related? Does the question look like a prompt for a
paper that can be unfolded best in the form of an essay? Or is it a set of questions that
require the writer to provide specific responses with no hint on the need to provide
argumentation, specific examples, and distinct conclusions? Depending on the answers,
one has to decide what format they are expected to stick to.

Paragraph composition basics. Keep in mind the following structural elements of a

paragraph:
- Strong topic sentence that conveys the main idea of the paragraph (and directly
supports the thesis statement in the classical essay).
- No more than one idea per paragraph

- The rest of the paragraph serves to support the main idea (expressed in the topic
sentence)
- Concluding/transitional sentence or a sentence that would organically close the
paragraph.

Quality metric: Logical IDEAS ORGANISATION

What an evaluator will look for: the text flows; logical order of ideas, logical transitioning
between ideas, overall adequate organization of ideas; easy readability of the text; ideas
are coherent and do not sound like a list of bullet points.
Ensure that your text flows and ideas are connected at the idea level (coherence) and at
the sentence level (cohesion). Lack of coherence means that points within one paragraph
are unrelated (or paragraphs within a single paper are unrelated). Cohesion is the
connection of sentences through linguistic means, which allow the text to flow. Cohesive
elements include conjunctions, referring words, substitutions, repetition of key terms, and
other elements which will make ideas sound NOT like bulleted points. Mind that overuse
of transitionals under the excuse of achieving cohesion should also be avoided, as it is a
direct way to awkwardness.

Quality metric:THE WRITER DEMONSTRATES UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECT

What an evaluator will look for: the use of topical vocabulary; specific, not general
information; quality and adequacy of ideas; demonstration of expertise in the area;
substantial engagement with the sources.

Comments and recommendations

- Your text has to give answers instead of creating even more questions;

- Go deep – demonstrate not only that you have substantially engaged with the
topical materials or sources attached, but have thought about it – share strong ideas;
- Incorporate facts and cite sources – validate your recommendations/claims;

- Include concepts and terminology covered in sources provided and topical materials
to show your proficiency in the subject;
- Use terms correctly, avoid 'describing' concepts instead of naming them
(circumlocutions) – you should aim to find the exact word for each meaning you want to
convey;
- Avoid cliches. While using cliches is fine in everyday informal situations, they are
not acceptable in academic writing.
Examples of cliches:
“In modern society”
“Throughout the history”
“In the current age”
“From the dawn of men”
When you write application essays, there is a temptation to use phrases like “little did I
know”, “the time of my life”, “I learned more from them than they did from me”, and others.
AVOID THEM. Cliches are boring, vague, create ambiguity, blur your arguments, and
devoid your text of credibility.

Quality metric: STICKING TO THE TOPIC

What an evaluator will look for: absence of space-fillers.

Make sure every sentence you provide carries value and directly contributes to the
instruction question.

Quality metric: ALL THE POINTS OF INSTRUCTION ARE FOLLOWED

What an evaluator will look for: the paper addresses what the customer asks for, all the
instructions/paper details issues are communicated effectively, no plagiarism, proper
sources, correct format.

This point may look similar to the “understanding of the subject” metric. However, while
the instruction is about a list of requirements from the order profile (word count, number of
questions to answer, number of sections to provide, number of sources etc),
understanding of the subject relates to the topic material itself. So, for example, answering
5 out of 5 questions relates to “instruction”, while the quality of answers relates to
“understanding of the subject”.

Quality metric: NO WRITER’S FAULT REVISION CASE

We understand that it is not always possible to avoid revisions. In case there is a revision
in the order the evaluator will look through the order history and files to check whether it
was the “writer's fault” revision case.

Quality metric: CORRECT FORMAT OF IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND REFERENCES. NO

MADE-UP CITATIONS.
What an evaluator will look for: correct punctuation, format, indentions, absence of
faulty citations, no plagiarism, proper sources are used.
Make sure you do not leave any information from outside sources uncited. Avoid random
citation (as well as citing common knowledge or general phrases) and self-citation (citing
someone when you talk about your personal experience or reflections). Remember that
made-up citations are unacceptable.

Quality metric: DECENT LEVEL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

What an evaluator will look for: no cases of mistakes in basic grammar and
punctuation; no formulations below the required academic level; the paper is proofread.

Some of the common mistakes to watch out

Disagreement, which takes place when we shift a person/number/tense without taking into
account the given grammatical context. For example, “This controversial issues are
intentionally skipped by the author because of censorship attacks that take place at that
time”. Please, always maintain consistency of tenses in your narration, check whether the
subject is plural or singular and use a corresponding verb form, and never switch
grammatical forms without a reason.

Faulty modification/dangling modifier. A modifier is an optional element that adds details

to a particular word, explains it, or gives shades to its meaning. “Dangling” means that the
modifier is placed in such a way that it does not modify the noun that immediately follows
it.
Example of this mistake:
“As a nurse, work in the hospital is a challenging experience”.
Correct variant: “As a nurse, I can confirm that working in the hospital is a challenging
experience”.
or
“As a student, balancing and supporting theory with practice is an essential condition of
proficiency”
Correct variant: “For a student, balancing and supporting theory with practice is an
essential condition of proficiency” or “As a student, I believe that balancing and supporting
theory with practice is an essential condition of proficiency”

Incorrect use of parallel constructions.

We use parallel constructions when we have to organize parallel ideas into one
grammatical structure.
Examples of the incorrect use of parallel constructions:
Incorrect variant: “This paper will address No Child Left Behind, how
to teach effectively, and instructing with multimedia aids.”
Correct variant: “This paper will address No Child Left Behind benchmarks, effective
teaching strategies, and multimedia instructional aids.”
Incorrect variant: “The students were unprepared, ill-behaved,
and disrupted the class”
Correct variant: “The students were underprepared, misbehaving,
and disruptive”.

Quality metric: ABSENCE OF ESLish MARKERS AND BIASED LANGUAGE

What an evaluator will look for: absence of awkwardness in formulations or structuring;
no cases of biased language.

Comments

Avoid awkward constructions. The term awkwardness goes beyond the matter of vividly
incorrect expressions or sentences. It is more about a gap in expectations between the
writer and the reader. Sometimes what you write and what you imply may not be
consistent, which means that the real message is clear only to you, not to the reader. That
is why you can “skip” awkward sentences while proofreading, since they would still sound
fine to you. Besides, the mark “awkwardness” can be used when a sentence contains
unnecessary “сluttering” words, when the same word is repeated within one sentence,
when dangling modifiers are used, and when a sentence simply does not sound natural
(because you build sentences using the structures from your native language, for
example). We admit that awkwardness is not really a well-defined concept, but in any
case, it means that something was not phrased quite right.

Examples of awkward sentences:

1) As far as I’m concerned, because of the fact that a situation of discrimination
continues in the field of medicine, women have not at the present time achieved
equality with men.
2) The best teachers help each student become a better student both academically
and emotionally.
3) College students have a lot of pressure on them being high achievers.
Biased language
There is no place for biased language in any kinds of papers. Biased language involves
unintentional excluding, offending, misunderstanding, or misrepresenting of certain groups
of people. It is often the result of outdated social norms and historical oppression.

Make sure you use “people-first” language, not biased language.

As we convey ideas in the paper, we should be sensitive to labels and acknowledge
people’s humanity. In practice, it presupposes avoiding using adjectives as nouns to label
people (e.g. “the poor”, “the disabled”) or labels that equate people with their conditions
(e.g. “schizophrenics”, “drug users”, “autists”) and using nouns with descriptive phrases
instead (e.g. “people living in poverty”, “people with disabilities”, “people with
schizophrenia”, “people who use drugs”, “a person with autism”). Mind
also that using some labels is acceptable, but they should be capitalized to identify a
sense of community (e.g. “the Deaf”).

Avoid false hierarchies. Be attentive when you contrast or compare particular groups of
people. Bias occurs when we use one group as a standard against which others are
judged (e.g. contrasting lesbians with “the general public”).

Use appropriate terms for older adults. Terms that we should avoid are: “seniors,”
“elderly,” “the aged,” “aging dependents.” These are stigmatizing terms. More preferred
terms are: “older persons,” “older adults,” “older individuals,” “the older population.”
Avoid negative and condescending terminology. Avoid using negativistic terms that imply
restrictions, such as “wheelchair bound,” “confined to a wheelchair” (use the term
“wheelchair user” instead). The same for
“Persons with AIDS” instead of “AIDS victims”. Also, avoid euphemisms when describing
individuals with disabilities (e.g. “special needs”, “physically challenged”, “handi-capable”).

Use appropriate terms related to racial and ethnic identity

We should use “Black” and “White” instead of “black” and “white” (the same for “Native
American,” “Hispanic,” “Indigenous,” “Aboriginal”). Whenever we refer to a specific group,
each word should be capitalized (e.g., the Indigeneous Peoples of Canada). When we talk
about American people of African ancestry, both terms “Black” and “African American” are
acceptable. However, the term “African American” should not be used as an umbrella
term for people of African ancestry worldwide, as there exist other ethnicities, such as
Nigerian, Kenyan, Jamaican (The same principle is applicable for “Asian” and
“Asian-American”). Terms “Negro” and “Afro-American'' are considered outdated and
inappropriate.

A list of other acceptable terms can be found below.

Asian Canadian
East Asian
European
European-American
Southern European
Scandinavian
Native North American
Hawaiian Native
Alaska Natives (not “Eskimo”)
“Maori” (the Indigenous People of New Zealand)
Latinx
The use of “Caucassian” as an alternative to “White” or “European” is discouraged.