People often ask how to use ellipses, those little dot-dot-dots you often see sometimes at the ends of sentences. When is it appropriate to use ‘…’ in writing? Is it something featured only in informal writing or can it be used in academic or otherformal writing? The truth is there are many ways to use […]
How to Use Chicago Style in English Writing
As most non-fiction authors know, there are many citation styles available. Many of them are discipline specific (e.g., Modern Language Association for the humanities, American Psychological Association for the social sciences, etc.), and they vary in many different ways. Sometimes, however, you don’t know what citation style you should follow in your writing. For example, […]
Lay or Lie
When to use “Lay” versus “Lie”: difference between lay and lie Lay means “to place something down.” It is something you do to something else. It is a transitive verb. Incorrect: Lie the book on the seat. Correct: Lay the book on the seat. (It is being done to something else.) Lie means “to recline” […]
What makes a great academic paper?
The first rule concerning how students should set about writing academic essays is that there are no universal rules, since what works well for one writer may not suit another person. You may have been told in school that ‘you should always begin with a plan’ or that ‘you should develop your essay through successive […]
Writing is a process, not an event
Writing is more than just tapping words onto the page. There are several steps to writing: thinking, planning, researching, drafting and reviewing. What’s more, often all the stages in the writing process have to happen before a deadline. There can be a lot to do in a limited amount of time. In this blog we […]
How to do research using primary source methods
A primary source is basically source material that is closest to the person, information, time period, or idea that is being studied, such as surveys, interviews, and observations. It is contrary to secondary sources, which is information that has been passed through another person, medium, or agent. A primary source typically includes any sort of […]