Writing Guides

A collection of resources to help students do research, understand different types of resources, and write a research paper.

Books

501 Grammar and Writing Questions. New York: Learning Express, 1999. eBook NetLibrary

The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Reference Collection 808.02 C43

Dalton, Rick, and Marianne Dalton. The Student's Guide to Good Writing: Building Writing Skills for Success in College. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 1990. 808.02 D17

Elbow, Peter. Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process, 2nd ed . New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 808.042 El1

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003. Reserve Desk and Reference Collection 808.02 M72

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference, 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Reserve Desk and Reference Collection. 808.02 H11

Rozakis, Laurie. Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. eBook NetLibrary

Strunk, Jr., William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Penguin Press, 2005. Reference Collection 808 St89

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Reference Collection and 2 copies in the Main Collection 808.02 T84

The Research Process

Cornell University Libraries: The Seven Steps of the Research Process

OhioLINK: Ohio Library and Information Network: Steps in the Research and Writing Process

Purdue University: OWL Online Writing Lab: Writing a Research Paper

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

University of California Berkeley Library: Library Research Finding Primary Sources

University of California Santa Cruz Library: Distinguish Between Primary and Secondary Sources

Scholarly vs. Popular Resources

Valencia Community College: Distinguishing Between Popular and Scholarly Sources

Florida Atlantic University: Differences Between Scholarly and Popular Journals

Evaluation of Information

Susan Beck: Evaluation Criteria

John Hopkins University Library: Evaluating Information Found on the Internet

UC Berkeley Library: Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask

Plagiarism

University of Arizona Library: Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism.org—Turnitin. This is the online reference resource that accompanies Turnitin.
URL: http://www.plagiarism.org/

The Owl at Purdue— Purdue University. The “Avoiding Plagiarism” section presents a basic overview of plagiarism and prevention.
URL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It— Indiana University.
URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

What is Plagiarism—Georgetown University Honor Council. The guide is presented as a narrative on why not to plagiarize and the importance of citing others’ work.
URL: http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/honor/system/53377.html

Plagiarism: Its Nature and Consequences—Duke University Libraries. Examples at the end outline how to apply quotes, apt phrasing, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
URL: http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/plagiarism.htm

You Quote it, You Note It!—Acadia University Vaughan Memorial Library. The tutorial outlines when to use quotes, how to paraphrase, and how to cite correctly.
URL: http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/

Plagiarism Tutorial— Duke University. This is a brief tutorial on the definition of plagiarism; the difference between international and unlimited plagiarism, and avoiding plagiarism.
URL: https://plagiarism.duke.edu/

Acknowledging Sources— University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. This tutorial is an overview on the importance of information evaluation and intellectual property.
URL: http://library.uta.edu/tutorials/Plagiarism/

SearchPath: Citing Sources— Western Michigan University. The sixth module, Citing Sources, provides an overview of plagiarism and basic citation tools.
URL: http://www.wmich.edu/library/searchpath/module6/