Welcome to the Oxy Online Writing Lab
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Most every major
and discipline in academia has its own
particular standards when it comes to writing
papers. While there are similarities between all
of them, knowing the specifics of formatting and
style that pertain to each can help improve your
papers. Use these guides to help shape your
papers for different classes.
Objective: A clear and concise
statement of the scientific problem, its goals,
and the general approach to solving the problem
must be stated. State and explain your
hypothesis to the laboratory problem.
Format: All proper scientific
reports must include:
1) Abstract
2) Introduction
3) Experimental Methods and Materials
4) Data/Results
5) Discussion
6) Conclusion
The physical appearance of the report, including
paper size, margins, font size, line spacing,
page numbers, footers, titles and title pages,
graphics, etc., are standardized.
Bibliography/Citations: In
general, a researcher should include a reference
for every factual assertion made that is not
based upon the evidence in the text. Most
scientists refer to the American Chemical
Society publications, manuals, or various
scientific texts as resources.
Type and Presentation of Evidence:
Objective data gathered from experimentation
is primarily used. This section (Data/Results)
should present the major experimental results
obtained, including the original data and all
necessary calculations. All relevant
information and assumptions made in the
collection of all data should be included. For
clarity, the usage of tables, graphs, and
figures, are pertinent. Tables, graphs, and
figures should be clearly described in terms of
the results.
Style: When writing a scientific
report, a researcher must always use passive
voice except in the Experimental Methods and
Materials division, one uses first person
plural. All sections are written in paragraph
style, with the exception of the Experimental
Methods and Materials division. The subsection
of equipment within this division, allows the
researcher to use numbering only when listing
equipment. When writing a report, clear
organizational flow with a well-developed
logical framework is essential alongside
logically developed paragraphs. Always be
concise. Application of all the rules of good
style is essential for a solid report: correct
spelling, proper subject-verb agreement,
complete sentences, and the use of parallel
construction.
Thesis:
1. Must be clear, concise, and argumentative
rather than merely descriptive. The most common
weakness is not taking the thesis far enough.
Ask yourself: How? Why? What is the implication?
The impact?
Intro:
1. Must be clear, concise, and succinct. Do not
add ‘fluff.” Ask yourself if a diplomat or an JR
expert would have the time to read your paper
and would be interested in doing so after
reading the introduction.
3. Must outline the framework of how substantive
evidence will be provided.
4. First person is acceptable here.
Body:
1. Each paragraph must start with a clear topic
sentence and contain 2-3 pieces of evidence that
constantly and explicitly reinforce the thesis.
Conclusion:
1. Must reflect the introduction and synthesize
the arguments
Sources:
Wikipedia is unacceptable. Find scholarly
articles using ProQuest, LexisNexis, or Works
Cited from other articles. Credible newspapers
can be acceptable, but use discretion.
Any style is OK as long as it is consistent. CMS
Style is on page 429 in Hacker’s A Writer’s
Reference.
Longer Papers:
Break up with section headings, offer counter
arguments & reconcile with thesis, suggest
policy based on own conclusions.
Above all: be clear, succinct,
and offer a good, interesting argument!
General Tips:
Evaluate sources and arguments. Ask
yourself, are they credible? How would
experts respond?
Use good sources such as books, scholarly
journals, and reputable newspapers.
Wikipedia is NOT acceptable.
When writing a policy brief, be clear on
ideas, offer factual support, and link all
recommendations.
Include an antithesis (counter-argument) in
longer papers and reconcile it with your
thesis.
Be selective with quotations. Paraphrase
where you can and explain the significance
of all quotations.
Structure:
Headers give a quick glimpse of what is
being addressed.
Figures and graphs should be clearly labeled
at the end of the paper but be referred to
in the text of the paper.
First sentence of each body paragraph should
introduce the paragraph. Each succeeding
sentence should contain one point. Last
sentence of paragraph should summarize and
lay groundwork for next body paragraph.
Content:
Economic papers should report relevant
evidence and explain relevant models.
When appropriate you should compare and
contrast models and use real world economic
evidence to analyze their validity.
Style:
Be conscious of audience. Use academic style
like you are addressing a smart classmate.
Use more detail than if you were explaining
to an expert.
Use active verbs like “push” rather than
“is” or “to be.”
Omit needless words like “in order to
understand...”
Citation:
Footnotes or MLA formats acceptable
Can use footnotes for thoughts less
essential to argument, but parenthetical
citation for those sources you want to
emphasize for your reader.
General Tips:
Brainstorming! Try using spider charts
and/or outlining to find common themes and
connections between
Edit a hard copy: helps catch little wording
problems that can make a big difference.
Read the paper out loud: prevents wordiness
and grammar mistakes.
Avoid colloquialisms, slang and non-academic
language.
Helpful Suggestions from a Pro:
Greg Mankiw’s Economics Blog
Keep sentences short. Short words are better
than long words. Monosyllabic words are
best.
The passive voice is avoided by good
writers.
Avoid unnecessary words. For instance, in
most cases, change “in order to” to “to.”
Avoid “of course,” “very” and “clearly”
Remember two basic rules of economic usage:
“Long run” (without a hyphen) is a noun.
“Long-run” (with a hyphen) is an adjective.
Same with “short(-)run.” “Saving” (without a
terminal s) is a flow. “Savings” (with a
terminal s) is a stock.
Format: If
not specified, 12 pt font Times New Roman with
1” margins is the standard. Your Prof can tell
Courier New from Times New Roman. Do not
put an extra space between paragraphs or after
the title. Your paper should start in the middle
of the page.
Intro: The
length of your paper should determine the length
of your intro. Your intro should not take up
most of the first page if your paper is only 3
pages long.
Thesis:
Should be SPECIFIC. General statements make for
weak arguments. If you want to see if you can
strengthen your thesis, read it and ask yourself
so what? Then use your own answer to make the
statement stronger.
Body Paragraphs: Your
topic sentence should be focused. If you don’t
talk about it in the paragraph, it shouldn’t be
in the topic sentence. Integrate a relative
quote smoothly into the paragraph. Even if your
quote is great, it still shouldn’t be dropped
off in the paragraph. And finally analyze, don’t
summarize.
Conclusion:
Sometimes all you’re expected to do is summarize
your points and restate your thesis. Sometimes
it’s okay to introduce a new idea/question, so
ask if you’re unsure. Because you’ve just
written your paper, it’s sometimes hard to do
the conclusion. When stuck, copy and paste your
intro into the space. This takes your mind back
to the beginning so you can bring it full
circle.
Quotes: Keep
it concise. If you can say it better-paraphrase.
Long quotes make it look like your trying to
take up space, which is usually the case.
Finishing your paragraph with a quote is often
not a good idea. Don’t let someone else drive
your point home; your analysis should do that.
Citation: Take
the time and look up how things should be cited.
Most of the time it’s MLA. If a Prof asks for
it, or any other citation, don’t ignore it and
do your own thing. Online source for MLA. Other Sources: When using other
sources in your paper, such as critiques,
don’t let the author take over, it’s still
your paper. The reader should be able to
tell your thoughts from theirs. Don’t just agree or
disagree. Disagreeing can be great, if you
use it to strengthen your argument. If you
agree with the scholar then use their ideas
and build on them.
Finishing Up: Always look at your
paper closely before turning it in. Even
though you’re tired and would be perfectly
happy if you never saw the paper again,
don’t let a good paper suffer because of
laziness. Even if you have to give yourself
some time and space from the paper, look it
over because small mistakes that you don’t
catch could cost you big!
Abstract:
A brief summary,
250 words or less written in passive voice, of
the paper. i.e.: What is the main idea? What
kind of experiment did you perform? What were
the results?
Introduction:
A quick
review of the essential background information
is necessary in order for an "outsider" reader
to thoroughly understand the report. All
unusual terms or abbreviations must be defined.
Once completed, a clear and concise statement of
the problem, its goals, and the general approach
to solving the problem must be stated.
State and explain your hypothesis to the
laboratory problem. In general, you should
include a reference for every factual assertion
made that is not based upon the evidence in the
text.
For example: most chemists refer to the American
Chemical Society publications, manuals, or
various scientific texts as resources.
Experimental Methods & Materials:
Provide enough details and descriptions so a
stranger, one not familiar with your work, could
replicate or reproduce the experiment. Do
not write this section in passive or second
person voice. Instead use the first person
plural ("we").
(a) Identify all materials used throughout the
duration of the experiment; be sure to indicate
the amount of material, concentration of
material, etc. used. Provide the formulas of
all compounds, once, alongside their chemical
names.
(b) List all equipment. Describe the
equipment, unless it is commercially available;
provide a drawing if necessary.
(c) Include a detailed description of all
steps. You should include all of the background
data, formulas, and equations necessary for the
experiment.
Data/Results:
This section should
present the major experimental results obtained,
including the original data and all necessary
calculations (for each varying calculation
define all variable, include the formula, and at
least one worked-out sample calculation per
formula). All relevant information and
assumptions made in the collection of all data
should be included. For clarity, the usage of
tables, graphs, and figures, are pertinent.
Tables, graphs, and figures should be clearly
described in terms of the results and must be
properly titled.
Discussion:
The discussion
section states the conclusions drawn from the
data and results section; describe what your
conclusion(s) imply about your system, science,
or the universe. If your results differ
significantly from what was expected, discuss
all possible sources of error in detail. Prove
whether or not your hypothesis was correct.
Conclusion:
Summarize the
experiment. Once completed, discuss how the
results relate to the initial goals of the
experiment and any conclusions that may be drawn
from the experiment. Consider any alternate
explanations for your experimental outcome.
Suggest an alternate approach or a refinement
that could be useful in future studies.
INTRODUCTION:
You need to situate the subject in its
historical context; this is what
historiography is all about. Go from the
broader picture to your specific topic.
Your thesis has to be strong, and it has to
take sides. History, more than many
other disciplines, is driven by debate.
Historians often contradict each other and
come to differing conclusions, even when
examining the exact same sources.
As always, use clear topic sentences and
transitions.
Engage the material (your sources), using a
mix of direct and indirect quotes (and
always cite, in CMS format!). Don’t riddle
your paper with quotations, but don’t
paraphrase everything either—try to strike a
balance.
Use the material carefully to bolster
your argument. Confront the evidence that
contradicts your thesis, but make sure you
can argue against it persuasively.
CONCLUSION:
Restate your argument, taking into account
all the examples and evidence you’ve
provided. Reconnect your specific topic to
the broader context—e.g. if you’re
discussing anarchist militias and
collectivization in the Spanish Civil War,
reconnect that with the broader conflict
between right-wing and left-wing forces ca.
1936-1939.
In history there are two kinds of
sources—primary and secondary. Primary sources
are firsthand account from someone who witnessed
or participated in the events being written
about; secondary sources are written later by a
non-participant (almost all historiography is
secondary). Don’t mix these up! Both are
extremely useful; primary sources are what we
construct history out of, and secondary sources
are how we analyze and interpret it. Also, if an
author is quoting someone else, be careful not
to misattribute the quote to the author you
cite—you can add a qualifier like “Thurlow
quotes Mosley’s newspaper Blackshirt,
which argues...” In general primary sources are
good to draw direct quotes from, while secondary
you can paraphrase (there are exceptions, of
course).
Always use Chicago Manual of Style citations
(unless the professor says otherwise, which
happens about once every thousand years). Here’s
a basic guideline for a footnote of the most
common source, the single-author book:
Don’t be disingenuous—cite sources whenever you
consult them, even if it’s just for background
information like dates of birth or names of
cities. After the first time you can just put
the author’s last name and the page number.
You have to use your sources carefully in
history, especially primary sources. While
interpretation and analysis is encouraged and
expected, you can’t read whatever you want into
the text. In history, the author isn’t
totally dead—you’ve got to keep track of
what a writer meant and who their audience was.
If you try and argue (to take an extreme
example) that The Doctrine of Fascism is
actually articulating an egalitarian,
democratic, internationalist political position,
you’re going to face some stiff opposition (to
say the least!). Always stay aware of context so
you don’t slip up and attribute something
totally alien to a source.
Historicism is the guiding principle of history
writing— attempting to understand events by
situating them in their historical context.
Don’t commit anachronism by de-contextualizing
or taking things out of chronological order.
While you might, for example, apply a Marxist
interpretive framework to a pre-Marxist era,
don’t talk about things like wage labor,
commodities, or capitalism in feudal Europe
because they didn’t exist yet. And always engage
the issues of context; don’t ignore what’s
obvious. If you’re writing about labor
organization in the 1 930s but don’t even
mention FDR’s the New Deal, you’re going to get
nailed.
History is often classified as a social science
(it is here at Oxy), but historiography is
really a mix of art and science. While you may
be working with “hard” data (census records,
election results, other statistics, etc.),
history also always contains an element of
interpretation—it’s never simply a matter of
telling what happened. Every historian puts his
own emphasis on certain elements over others,
and adds his own interpretive spin. This is
okay: recognize that you’re going to be telling
a particular history whenever you write. This
doesn’t mean you can’t stay grounded in
fact—you’re supposed to! But the facts, in
history, are often seen from many different
perspectives.
Be unique: Most
important is your ability to distinguish
yourself from every other candidate! This
means that you need to think critically
about what makes you unique and use that
as a theme to propel your statement. Many
people choose themes of adversity, describe a
particular accomplishment they’ve had, or
describe a particular experience they’ve had
that has challenged/reinforced their worldview.
Whatever you choose, make sure that the
lessons you learned from the event carry through
to who you are and who you will become within
the context of whatever you are applying for.
Be positive: If
you have overcome adversity in your life, do not
complain about it, but rather use the event to
establish your individual identity. Have a
positive outlook on the future because of the
strength you’ve gained from the event(s) you
have described.
Be clear:
Clear structure and logical flow are vital in
order for the writer’s thought process to be
easily understood. Thus you need to have a clear
introduction (may be more than one paragraph),
body paragraphs, and conclusion that address
the specific prompt. A
paper must also show use of proper academic
rhetoric and be free of grammatical
errors. If you turn in a poorly written
statement rife with errors the reader will
automatically think less of you as a candidate.
Make sure to proof read. Ask others to help and
advise you. Complete multiple drafts!
-From Anthony Solana Jr.’s People of
Color Law School Admission’s Guide
Thesis:
“The importance of Augustine’s theory of
predestination” is a topic.
“Augustine developed a theory of
predestination” is a fact.
“Augustine’s theory of predestination is
great” is an opinion.
“Why has Augustine’s theory of
predestination been influential?”: a
question with no argument.
“For religious, social and cultural reasons,
Augustine’s theory of predestination has
been important”: a list which also has no
argument.
From what perspective am I looking at the
question or the sacred text?
How have views on this topic changed? If
they have stayed the same, why?
Am I trying to cover too much ground? Too
little?
Using evidence from your sources, clearly
present a case that supports your thesis.
Definitions in Religious Studies:
Often, how you write in religious studies
significantly depends on the vocabulary you use
and how you use it. The best way to
ensure that you are using words with definitions
that are appropriate for the kind of paper that
you are writing is to make sure that you
thoroughly understand-and are able correctly to
use-the vocabulary in your course readings. But
in addition, you may want to use more general
terms in your writing. For the definitions of
general terms, you should consult either the
Oxford English dictionary or the Harper Collins
dictionary of Religion. Below are a few
definitions of common, general terms in
religious studies to help you get started with
your writing.
Introduction:
Introduction should be
specific to paper topic and should avoid
unsupportable generalizations (i.e. “Throughout
history. ..“)
Must be concise:
“Fluff will flunk”
Contains an easily
identifiable thesis (usually near the end of the
paragraph).
Thesis:
Thesis must be clearly
stated, easily identifiable and thoughtful.
Must be supported with
statistics, illustrations or other relevant
data.
Body:
Must have clear topic
sentences- no topic sentence=no argument
Accurate use of
theoretical concepts-Did writer clearly
understand material? Did they communicate this
effectively to the reader?
Evidence- Each
paragraph must contain evidence that supports
its main point and the thesis in the form of
statistics, paraphrasing etc. Must be cited!!!
Analysis- Analyze not
describe!
Conclusion:
Sum up main points of
essay
Reiterate ideas of
introductory paragraph.
May or may not pose a
larger question-posing a larger question will
not necessarily add up to extra points.
Subheads:
o Short papers
generally do not require subheads but in longer
papers,
Use of Concepts:
o Students need not
agree with a theoretical concept but they must
prove
o Don’t worry about
being right. Use sociology as a “thought
experiment”
Creative
approach to topic:
o Showing creativity
and critical thinking in an essay pushes it past
Sources:
o Paraphrasing
preferred
o Sources should be
cited using the American Sociological
Association’s
o Be clear on “who
said what”: Must cite appropriate source
Quantitative
Research:
(Thanks to Earl Babbie)
Purpose and
Overview
Review of
Literature
Study Design and
Execution
Analysis and
Interpretation
Summary
and Conclusions |
