Disciplinary-Specific Writing Guides
Here is a short list of writing guides you may want to reference in your W course, organized by discipline.
- Art History
- Biological Sciences
- Business
- Drama
- Economics
- Engineering
- Health Sciences
- History
- Information/Computer Sciences
- Music
- Physics
- Political Science
- Social Ecology/Social Science
- Anthropology
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Other Favorites
Art History
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Art History”
- The Purdue OWL, “Writing Essays in Art History”
- Howe Writing Center at Miami University, “Writing in Art History: Threshold Concepts in Art History”
- Pop, Andrei, How to Do Things with Pictures: A Guide to Writing in Art History (Harvard College, 2008)
- D’Alleva, Anne and Michael Cothren, Fundamentals of Art History (Quercus Publishing, 2021)
- Carrier, David, Writing About Visual Art (Skyworth, 2003)
Biological Sciences
- Southwestern University, “Guide for Writing in Biology”
- The Writing Center at UConn, “Writing in Biology”
- McMillan, Victoria E., Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences, 5th edition (Bedford/St. Martins, 2021)
- Knisely, Karin, A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology, 6th edition (Macmillan, 2021).
- Turbek, Sheela P., et al., “Scientific Writing Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Undergraduate Writing in the Biological Sciences” Bulletin: Ecological Society of America, 2016.
- Parija, Subhash Chandra and Vikram Kate (eds), Writing and Publishing a Scientific Research Paper (Springer, 2017)
- Joubert, Pieter H. and Silvia M. Rogers, Strategic Scientific and Medical Writing (Springer, 2015).
Business
- “General Guidelines for Business Writing,” Purdue OWL
- “Workplace Writers,” Purdue OWL (resource collection)
- Morris, John and Julie Zwart, Business Writing Style Guide (Open Educational Resources, Oregon State University)
- Garner, Bryan A., Harvard Business Review Guide to Better Business Writing (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012)
- Alred, Gerald J., Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu, The Business Writer’s Companion, 8th edition (Macmillan, 2017)
Drama:
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Drama”
- Southwestern University, “Guide for Writing in Theatre”
- Fisher, Mark, How to Write About Theatre: A Manual for Critics, Students and Bloggers (Bloomsbury, 2015)
- Hudson, Suzanne. Writing About Theatre and Drama, 2nd edition, (Cengage Learning, 2006).
Economics:
- Brandeis University, “Writing Tips for an Economics Paper”
- Dudenhefer, Paul (Duke University). “A Guide to Writing in Economics”
- Bernhardt, Stephen and Nancy Sommers, A Guide to Writing in Economics (Macmillan, 2019)
- Miller, Jane. The Chicago Guide to Writing about Multivariate Analysis, 2nd edition, (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing, 2013)
- Thomson, William, A Guide for the Young Economist: Writing and Speaking Effectively about Economics, 2nd edition (MIT Press, 2011).
Health Sciences:
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences, “Writing in the Health Sciences”
- Purdue OWL, “Healthcare Writing”
- Gimenez, Julio. “Beyond the academic essay: Discipline-specific writing in nursing and midwifery.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes3 (2008): 151-164.
- Luby, Steve and Dorothy Southern, The Pathway to Publishing: A Guide to Quantitative Writing in the Health Sciences (Spring, 2023).
- Parija, Subhash Chandra and Vikram Kate (eds), Writing and Publishing a Scientific Research Paper (Springer, 2017)
- Joubert, Pieter H. and Silvia M. Rogers, Strategic Scientific and Medical Writing (Springer, 2015).
History:
- Harvard College Writing Center. “A Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper”
- University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, “History Writing and Style Guide”
- Southwestern University, “Guide for Writing in History”
- Page, Melvin E. and Brian J. Maxson, A Short Guide to Writing about History, 10th edition (Waveland Press, 2023).
- Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 10th edition (Macmillan, 2021)
Information/Computer Sciences:
- Zobel, Justin. Writing for Computer Science, 3rd Edition (Springer, 2015).
- Paradis, James and Muriel Zimmerman. The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication (MIT Press, 2002).
- Taffe, William J. “Writing in the Compueter Science Curriculum,” Writing Across the Curriculum, vol. 1, no. 1 (1989)
Online:
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Music”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/music/
Print:
- Herbert, Trevor. Music in Words: A Guide to Researching & Writing about Music. London: The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 2012. Print.
- Holoman, D. Kern. Writing about Music: a Style Sheet. 2d ed. Berkeley, et al.: Univ. of California Press, 2008.
- Woodworth, Marc and Ally-Jane Grossan. How to Write About Music: Excerpts from 33 1/3 Series, Magazines, Books, and Blogs with Advice from Industry Leading Writers. New York and London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.
Online:
- Bottorff, Mark. “Guide for Writing in Physics and Dual-Degree Engineering” (9 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4179-guide-for-writing-in-physicspdf
- Elliott, Celia M. Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper (46 pages): http://physics.illinois.edu/people/Celia/SciWrite.pdf
- McLean, James G. “How to Write a Physics Journal Article” (11 pages): https://www.geneseo.edu/~mclean/Dept/JournalArticle.pdf
Print:
- Katz, Michael Jay. From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing. 2nd Ed. Springer Science, 2009. ($32)
- Markel, Mike. Technical Communication. Tenth Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. ($95)
Online:
- George Washington University, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. “Types of Political Science Writing” (with links to more specific resources for each genre): https://politicalscience.columbian.gwu.edu/types-political-science-writing
- Mariotti, Shannon. “Guide for Writing in Political Science” (6 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4180-guide-for-writing-in-political-sciencepdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Political Science”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/political-science/
Print:
- Baglione, Lisa M. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science: A Practical Guide to Inquiry, Structure, and Methods. 2nd Edition. 2011 ($25)
Online:
- Gerring, John. “General Advice on Social Science Writing” (11 pages): http://blogs.bu.edu/jgerring/files/2013/06/Adviceonessaywriting.pdf
- Pasek, Josh. “Writing the Empirical Social Science Research Paper: A Guide for the Perplexed” (formatted like an APA research paper, 12 pages): https://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/empirical-social-science.pdf
Print:
- Cuba, Lee J. A short guide to writing about social science, 4th New York: Longman, 2002. Print. ($12-59).
- Feak, Christine, and John M. Swales. Telling A Research Story: Writing A Literature Review. Michigan Series In English For Academic & Professional Purposes. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan U. Press 2009. Print. ($13)
- Publication manual of the American psychological association. Washington DC: American Psychological Association, 2001. Print. ($14).
Online:
- Harvard University Department of Anthropology. A Student’s Guide to Reading and Writing in Social Anthropology (52 pages): https://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1270719.files/anthropology_writing_guide_2010-3.pdf
- Johnson, Melissa. “Guide for Writing in Anthropology” (6 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4165-guide-for-writing-in-anthropology-pdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Anthropology”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/anthropology/
Print:
- Emerson, Robert and Rachel I. Fretz. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Second Edition. Chicago Guides to Writing Editing, and Publishing. 2nd Ed. U. Chicago Press, 2011. ($13)
- Lamott, Ann. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor 1995. ($13)
Online:
- Giuliano, Traci. “Guide for Writing in Psychology” (7 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4181-guide-for-writing-in-psychologypdf
- Harvard College Department of Psychology. Writing for Psychology: A Guide for Psychology Concentrators (48 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/writing_for_psych_final_from_printer.pdf
- Harvard College Writing Center. “A Brief Guide to Writing the Psychology Paper” (4 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/bg_psychology.pdf
- Purdue University Online Writing Lab. “Writing in Psychology”: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/670/01/
Print:
- Dunn, Dana S. A short guide to writing about psychology. 3rd Ed. New York: Longman, 2010. Print. ($45)
Online:
- Jones, Jennifer, Sarah Quinn, and Hana Brown. Writing for Sociology 2d ed. (109 pages): http://sociology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/documents/student_services/writing_guide/Writing%20for%20Sociology%20Guide%20Second%20Edition.pdf
- Oregon State University Department of Sociology. Writing Within Sociology: A Guide for Undergraduates (91 pages): http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/sites/liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/files/sociology/pdf/socwritingguide1-7.pdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Sociology”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sociology/
Print:
- Williams, Joseph M., et al. Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition. London: U. of Chicago Press, 2010. Print. ($40)
Our favorite all-purpose guides:
- Bean, John C. and Dan Melzer. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. 3rd Ed. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass, 2021. Print.
- Cioffi, Frank L. The Imaginative Argument: A Practical Manifesto for Writers. 2nd Ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017. Print.
- ———. Stellar English: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Grammar & Style. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2024. Print.
- Palmquist, Mike. The Bedford Researcher. 4th Ed. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2011. Print.
- Trimble, John. Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing. 3rd Ed. New York: Longman, 2010. Print.
- Truss, Lynn. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Gotham 2006.
- Lunsford, Andrea. EasyWriter: A Pocket Reference. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. Spiral-bound.
- Williams, Joseph and Joseph Bizup. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 12th Ed. New York: Longman, 2016.
CONSPICUOUS ABSENCE: You may notice no entry for Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. According to a Chronicle of Higher Ed‘s appraisal commemorating its 50-year anniversary, the guide is benign at best and inconsistent, imprecise, and misleading at worst on both matters of grammar and style. A particularly damning assessment from the piece’s author, linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum, follows:
The book’s toxic mix of purism, atavism, and personal eccentricity is not underpinned by a proper grounding in English grammar. It is often so misguided that the authors appear not to notice their own egregious flouting of its own rules. They can’t help it, because they don’t know how to identify what they condemn (“50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice” April 17, 2009).