Intro

There are many great resources available to aspiring writers.

Two of the most comprehensive are the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Writing Center

You'll find everything here, from the structure of academic writing to grammar and punctuation. Browse these resources for direct links to topics and a few more of our favorite website resources. 

Resources

The key to writing good papers is understanding that academic writing is based on a claim that is backed up with evidence. These resources describe some of the key features of academic writing and are designed to help you master the rules of the writing game. 

Punctuation is important. Poor punctuation can lead to all kinds of confusion, as we all know from the joke about the panda who walks into a bar. It also results in lower grades and unfair assumptions about the writer's intelligence or level of education. Fortunately, it's easy to learn and quick to fix! There are thousands of good websites about punctuation available. These are a few of our favorites.

Plagiarism is copying words or language created by someone else and presenting it as your own. Most students understand it as copying a paper written by someone else, or asking or paying someone else to write their paper, but it also includes accidentally or deliberately copying strings of words from the sources you are citing without putting them in quotation marks. Plagiarism is considered a form of academic dishonesty and can result in a fine, failing the assignment or course, and even expulsion. 

  • Review the University of Iowa's policy on plagiarism and other forms of academic fraud.

  • Indiana Bloomington's plagiarism website provides a good overview and examples of plagiarism. Students are advised to do the practice questions and take the certification test to ensure they know exactly what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Instructors can ask students to complete the test and submit the certificate of completion as a course assignment. To prevent accidentally copying the language in a source, we suggest taking notes and working from your notes and not with the original text open in front of you.

  • University of Wisconsin Madison has a concise guide to what information needs to be cited. It also includes articles on how to paraphrase an argument or couch a quote.