Penn Guide to Scholarly Documentation

General Use Dictionaries and Thesauri
Links to the Oxford English Dictionary, Webster's, Roget's Thesaurus, etc

Style Manuals and Guides to Citation
When to use APA, MLA, AMA, Turabian or Chicago and links to resources on how to use them

Grammar, Usage, Punctuation
Handbooks, Tips, Exercises for English and non-native speakers

General Writing Tips
The Nuts and Bolts, Transitioning to College Writing, Tips on the Writing Process

Types of Writing
Writing for a Job, Grad School or typical types of essays- i.e. compare & contrast, exam essays, abstracts, speeches, etc

Writing Tips by Discipline
Tips for your specific subject area- the sciences, humanities, business, law, engineering

General Reference
References and Resources- general and for specific subjects- such as Bartleby.com: Great Books Online and the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

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Dictionaries

• Concise Oxford Dictionary - provides brief definitions
  
  
• Oxford English Dictionary - a comprehensive dictionary providing definitions and etymologies
  
  
• Webster's Unabridged - another complete dictionary
  
  
• One Look searches - a variety of dictionaries such as general, art, business, computing, medicine, religion, science, slang, sports, technology and foreign languages among others
  
  
• Oxford Dictionary of American Style and Usage - a reference for grammar issues such as plurals and diction (when to use affect versus effect)
  
  

Thesauri

• The Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English - provides synonyms when looking for alternative words for better descriptions
  
  
• Roget's Thesaurus - another source for synonyms
  
  

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Style Manuals and Guides to Citation

These manuals provide guidelines for how to cite resources and how to incorporate quotes as well as general pointers for style and layout.

The style manuals below are sorted by discipline. Check with your professor to be sure you are using the appropriate style.


General Styles and Their Disciplines

Style	Usage
APA	Psychology, education and other social sciences
MLA	Literature, arts, humanities
AMA	Medicine, health, and biological sciences
Turabian	Designed for college students to use with all subjects
Chicago	used with all subjects in the "real world" by books, magazines, newspapers, and other non-scholarly publications


For a comparison of these styles click here


• Links for the manuals and related resources:
  
  
  • APA
    American Psychological Association website
    APA Style Resources
    
    
  • MLA
    Modern Language Association website
    A guide for writing Research Papers based on MLA
    
    
  • AMA (American Medical Association)
    AMA Style Guide
    
    
  • Turabian
    Turabian Style Guide
    
    
  • Chicago
    Chicago General Guidelines
    
    
  • For the Humanities
    In-Text Citations: MLA / Chicago
    List of Works Cited: MLA / Chicago
    
    
  • For the Social Sciences
    In-Text Citations: APA / Chicago
    Works Cited: APA / Chicago

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top General Writing Tips

• The Nuts and Bolts: a wealth of information on the writing process for thinking, style, structure, evidence, and mechanics
  
  
• Transition to College Writing: how is college writing different from what you did in high school? What are the traits of an academic paper?
  
  
• Beginning an Essay can be the hardest part; here are some tips on writing your introduction.
  
  
• Transitioning makes your paper a fluid, cohesive piece of work. This link gives you some advice on doing so.
  
  
• Conclusions: how to end your paper well.
  
  
• Sources: a general guide from Dartmouth about citations, includes examples and FAQs, such as, how to cite lectures or Lexis-Nexis articles.

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Types of Writing and Guides for Each

• Writing an Exam Essay
  
  • More advice
  
  
• Writing a Compare and Contrast Paper
  
  
• Writing an Abstract
  
  
• Writing a Research Paper: Performing and incorporating research into your writing.
  
  
• Writing a Review
  
  
• Writing a Speech
  
  
• Writing a Literature Review
  
  
• Writing an Honors Thesis
  
  
• Writing for a Job or Professional Audience
  
  
• Writing a Grad School Application
  
  • Writing Application Essays
  
  
• Writing a Dissertation

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Writing Tips By Discipline

School of Arts and Sciences

Wharton (business writing)

Nursing

Engineering

Education

Medicine

Law

• School of Arts and Sciences
  
  
  • Anthropology
    • American Anthropological Association Style Guide
    • Writing an anthropology paper
    • Citations for an anthropology paper
    • An Overview: Ethnography, Observational Research, and Narrative Inquiry
    
    
    
  • Art History
    • A Preliminary Handbook
    • Writing an art history paper
    • More about art history papers
    • Documenting sources
    • Writing about Art
    
    
    
  • Biology
    • Writing for Biology
    • Biophysical Style Guide
    • Writing lab reports
    
    
    
  • Chemistry
    • American Chemical Society Style Guide
    • Lab Write-ups
    • A Guide to Writing in Chemistry
    
    
    
  • Classical Studies
    • Tips, resources, and how to use them
    
    
    
  • Communications
    • Writing a Communications Paper
    
    
    
  • Economics
    • Advice for Writing in Economics
    
    
    
  • English
    • Penn's advice on grammar and style
    • Writing a paper on literature
    • Writing a poetry explication
    
    
    
  • Film Studies
    • Writing about Film
    
    
    
  • Geology
    • Suggestions to Authors of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey
    
    
    
  • Health Sciences
    • A listing of all the major journals and requirements for submissions
    • National Library of Medicine
    
    
    
  • History
    • Writing a History Paper
    • Advice on writing in historical disciplines
    
    
    
  • International Relations
    • Writing in Public and International Affairs
    
    
    
  • Mathematics
    • Style Specifications for Submissions to the New York Journal of Mathematics
    • Writing for Math
    
    
    
  • Music
    • Writing about Music
    • Composing a paper about Music
    
    
    
  • Philosophy
    • Writing a Philosophy Paper
    • About Philosophical Papers
    • Guidelines for Writing a Philosophy Paper
    
    
    
  • Physics and Astronomy
    • American Institute of Physics Guide
    • Writing for Physics
    
    
    
  • Political Science
    • Writing in Political Science
    • Writing a Political Science Paper
    
    
    
  • Psychology
    • Writing in Psychology
    • APA Research Style Crib Sheet
    • Guide for Writing Research Papers based on the APA Style
    • Writing in the APA Style
    • Writing a Lab Report
    
    
    
  • Religious Studies
    • About Religious Studies Papers
    • Writing a Religious Studies Paper
    
    
    
  • Sciences
    • Writing in Sciences
    • Style in Scientific Writing
    • American Physical Society
    • Science of Scientific Writing
    • Writing a variety of types- reports, correspondence
    • Scientific Reports
    • Writing Lab Reports
    
    
    
  • Sociology
    • American Sociological Association Guide for journal submissions
    • Writing a Sociology Paper

• Wharton (Business Writing)
  
  • Tips for writing in the business style compared to general academic writing
  • Business Writing Handbook
  • Writing a Business Letter

• Nursing
  
  • Writing in Nursing and Health Science

• Engineering
  *You might want to also look at the sciences under the School of Arts and Sciences link.
  
  
  • For anyone in engineering
    • Writing Technical Articles
    • Writing a Proposal
  
  
  
  • Computer Science
    
    • How (and How Not) to Write a Good Systems Paper
    • Computer Society Style Page

• Education
  
  • Writing about Education

• Medicine
  *For additional help check under the sciences in the School of Arts and Sciences link
  • Writing in the American Medical Association Style
  • Writing for Grants
  • Writing about Public Health
    
    
  • Health Sciences
    • A website listing all the major journals and the requirements for submissions
    • National Library of Medicine

• Law
  • Resources for Legal Writers
  • Law Student's Guide to Good Writing
  • Drafting Legal Documents

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General Reference Materials

• Bartleby.com
  Great Works Online: Reference Books, Anthologies, Quotations, etc
  
• Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
• Life Sciences Resources

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top Style

• http://web.mit.edu/writing/Resources/Writers/Process/analyzing.html
  Analyzing your own Style, MIT Online Writing and Communication Center

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