Writing Help
This guide contains writing resources and information for students.
Getting Started
Academic writing refers to the style of expression used to write for academic purposes, and includes essays, literature reviews, and reports. It often contains:
- A thesis or guiding hypothesis
- Clear writing style
- Organized structure, with clear introductions and conclusions
- Well-supported writing using citations and references
If in doubt about your assignment, the best place to ask first is your TA, instructor or professor.
The Library and the Student Success Centre have many resources to help you with your writing. The handouts below will help you get started.
- Preparing to write your first paperBetter understand the expectations of university writing (video)
- Figuring out an outlineTaking the time to think through your project is an important step in the writing process and often overlooked.
- Getting started: Picking a topicBefore you overwhelm yourself with new ideas, try to figure out what you already know about the topic. Consider it like building a hypothesis.
- Report writing guidelinesWhatever your writing context, you should always keep your purpose and audience clearly in focus.
- Planning for revision: Develop your own checklistEveryone makes mistakes, but we don’t want to repeat them. Make a common error checklist that you can pull out before the next assignment. You’ll be able to look for each error by reading for them individually.
Essays
- Developing a thesis statementA working thesis statement can be helpful for your research and writing process.
- How to structure an essayAn essay usually follows a standard format, which makes it easier for you to write and for your reader to understand.
- Essay outliningTaking the time to think through your project is an important step in the writing process and often
overlooked. Strong assignments take time to form. Set aside time for prewriting. - Scientific reports & research papersA Technical Report or Research Paper document is organized in a way that clearly conveys the
information in an expected order and format. This order and format facilitates the reading of
complex content, while reducing distraction or confusion.
Assignment Tracker
Looking for a tool to help organize your assignment schedule?
The Assignment Tracker allows you to plan out your paper or project, showing estimated timeframes and resources to help you through the process.