Guidelines for Writing a Research Paper

Guide to format paper formats (PDF)

Most large academic institutions have writing centers that provide online guides to help users understand the process of writing a research paper. The following links are but a few of the centers that offer such information.

• The Center for Theological Writing (Duke Divinity School) provides a set of reading and writing resources developed for theology students.
• ESL resources The ESL page at the Emory University Writing Center provides helpful links to online ESL resources at other websites.
• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is one of the most detailed and helpful sites for academic reading and writing. It offers many online resources for every area of academic writing from research, to grammar, to crafting an argument, to proper reference styles, and more. (Click on the '+' signs beside each link for more information)
• Welcome to Writing (Colorado State University) Look under 'Resources for Writers'.
• Writing at the University of Toronto Look under 'Advise on Writing' section for Academic Writing
• The Writing Center @ Rensselaer (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) includes: Basic Prose Style and Mechanics; Cover Letters; Critiques; Definitional Techniques; Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering Senior Project Reports; Electrical Lab Report; Format; ESL: Use of Articles "A," "An" and "The"; Graduate School Application Essays; Laboratory Reports; Memos; Preparing a Resume; Plurals of Greek- and Latin-Derived Nouns; Suggestions for Revising Prose; Thesis Development in analytical Writing; Writing with Gender-Fair Language.

• Writer's Toolbox (UBC) includes: Effective titles; Introductory paragraphs; Thesis statements; Development; Unity and coherence; Conclusions; Argument; Writing a rhetorical analysis; and more.